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| Vancouver baker Jackie Kai Ellis shares here recipe for an Australian treat, Lamingtons. |
I have an intense affinity for those recipes so ingrained in a cultural identity that every citizen and their descendants hold a passport to the dish.
The requirements for entry are only their mouths and their fondest memories of it.
Learning about the Australians love for the lamington can only be akin to Canadians love for the chocolate chip cookie. The best?
The one mom made of course, whether it be chewy, cakey, crispy, milk or dark.
In the case of lamingtons, the most debated variations seem to be: Jam or plain in the middle? Butter or sponge cake?
If I were a purist, I would surely ask Lord Lamington, a former governor of the Australian State of Queensland, his thoughts on the variations.
As for where it came from, the legends are varied from maids accidentally dropping cake into chocolate, to chefs desperately creating solutions for important, unexpected guests.
Regardless of how they came to be, it only needs to be known that they were delightful.
Lamingtons
I boldly decided to create an ever so slight variation on the classic. Not to worry as I’ve added notations (*) on how to adjust it to the original, so as to satisfy the longing for nostalgia.
For the genoise cake:
10 tbsp (150 mL) butter
1 tsp (5 mL) real vanilla extract
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
¼ tsp (2.5 mL) lemon zest (*optional)
1 cup (250ml) cake flour, sifted
1/4 cup (60ml) cornstarch, sifted
¼ tsp fine sea salt
Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Grease an 8” x 8” (20.3 x 20.3 cm) pan and line with parchment. Make a beurre noisette by heating the butter in a small saucepan on medium-high heat until it bubbles and turns to a medium brown colour. (Be careful as this burns easily.) Let cool until warm to the touch.
In another small pot, boil water to create a double boiler. In a heatproof mixing bowl, add sugar, eggs and yolks and whisk constantly over the boiling water until the eggs feel warm to the touch.
Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, whisk until the mixture is light yellow and tripled in volume, about 5-7 minutes.
Incorporate the sifted flour and cornstarch in two additions, folding with a large spatula until there are only a few streaks of flour remaining.
Drizzle the beurre noisette into the batter in two additions, folding in well after each one being careful not to deflate the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Remove from the oven when a wooden tester comes out with a few crumbs remaining. Allow to cool completely.
For finishing:
*I decided to use a thin ganache, as it would provide the most chocolate flavour without being overly sweet. Feel free to use a traditional chocolate icing.
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