easy vegan lamingtons

Have you tried Lamingtons yet? They originate from Australia and are vanilla sponge cake squares, dipped in chocolate and coated with coconut.

The traditional lamington is made from a large vanilla sponge cake, cut into smaller squares. Some recipes add a layer of raspberry jam between two cake squares to make a cake 'sandwich' before dipping them into the chocolate coating and covering them with desiccated coconut.

In this recipe I baked them as individual little cakes (because I had access to the cutest little cake pans) and decided not to add the raspberry layer to these, but you can definitely add the jam if you like. This is my easy vegan version of a lamington.

For the sponge cakes you will need:

• self-raising flour

• almond or oat milk (or milk of choice)

• vegetable oil or melted vegan butter

• apple cider vinegar

• baking powder

• pinch of salt

• vanilla paste

The sponge cake itself is light and airy, but also not too soft that it breaks when dipping in the chocolate coating.

So messy, but worth it!

The chocolate coating is a simple mixture of icing (powdered) sugar, cacao powder, coconut oil and hot water.

Tips for coating:

• I recommend leaving the cake to cool overnight, ideally at room temperature and not in a container as the cake will become a bit stale which will make it easier to handle.

• Coating the cake can be messy so I would recommend using forks or spoons for dipping the cakes as it allows the excess chocolate to drip off (and somewhat cleaner fingers).

• Don't let the cake sit too long in the chocolate coating as the cake will go soft and will start to crumble.

You will most likely get coconut everywhere when making and eating them, but it's worth it!

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EASY LAMINGTONS

(vegan)

Little square of spongy, chocolatey and coconutty treats. What is not to love!

Yields: 12 mini cakes/ cupcake sizes

Time: 30 - 35 min (baking and assembly only)

INGREDIENTS

SPONGE CAKE

• 155 g self-raising flour

• 125g cane sugar or coconut sugar

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• pinch of salt

• 190ml almond or oat milk (or milk of choice)

• 60ml vegetable oil or melted vegan butter

• 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste

CHOCOLATE COATING

• 1 cup icing (powdered) sugar

• 2 heaped tbsp organic cacao powder

• pinch of salt (optional)

• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil (preferably organic cold-pressed coconut oil)

• 4 - 5 tbsp hot water

TO FINISH

• About 2 cups desiccated coconut for coating

INSTRUCTIONS

TO MAKE THE SPONGE CAKE

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease your mini cake pan (I used a cooking spray).

2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make sure to break up any lumps.

3. In another small bowl, mix all the wet ingredients and pour over the dry mixture. Mix the batter with a spoon until completely smooth.

4. Divide the batter between the mini cake pans, but no more than 3/4 full otherwise the batter will run over.

5. Bake for about 15 - 17 min or until a baking pin/ skewer can be inserted into the cake and comes out clean.

6. Remove from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pan to let them cool on a cooling rack.

7. The cake needs to cool completely. Ideally I would recommend making the cake a day ahead before dipping and coating the cake. Ready my tips for coating above.

TO COAT AND FINISH

1. Add all the ingredients for the chocolate coating into shallow bowl and mix until smooth. Add a tablespoon more water if the mixture is too thick or add more icing sugar if the mixture is too runny. Set aside until needed. You want the texture of the chocolate to be on the thicker side so that the coconut sticks to the coating.

2. Place the desiccated coconut in another shallow bowl. Set aside.

3. Once the cakes have cooled completely dip each cake into the chocolate coating. Using a fork or spoon make sure the cake is coated everywhere, but don't let the cake sit too long in the chocolate as the cake will get to soft and might start to crumble.

4. Using a fork, transfer the chocolate coated cake into the coconut flakes and toss the cake with the coconut until all sides are covered.

5. Once covered, transfer the cake back to the cooling rack and repeat with the remaining cakes.

6. Store them in an airtight container until ready to serve.

7. The cakes will keep in the fridge for about 3 -4 days.

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Did you make this recipe?

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