Ever since I learned about Lamington, a cake that originates from Australia, I’ve been eager to explore it. In its original form, this popular creation named after Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland, consisted of individual squares of sponge cake, dipped in chocolate, and coated with shredded coconut. I love its pure architectural form—a cube of cake that you can eat with your hands.
I expect back in the late 19th century, though, Ozzies used proper utensils as they tasted the earliest versions. Later, the cake evolved with fillings such as chocolate, pastry cream, raspberry jam, or even lemon.
After seeing the different species, I wanted to come up with my own. I’ve been thinking about chocolate lately, but here was a serious drawback. Chocolate sponge cakes are only made with cocoa powder–not real chocolate. I wasn’t going to take that approach. I went into the kitchen lab, experimented with cross-breeding and came up with a solution–to maintain a real chocolate profile, I switched out the type of cake.
Since this metamorphosis succeeded, I’m eager to move to my next subject: applying the individual square cake concept to my future creations.
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350℉. Combine chocolate, cocoa and espresso powder in small bowl; pour boiling water over and let stand to melt chocolate, about 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth; set aside until cooled to room temperature.
2. Spray 9-inch-square cake pan with nonstick cooking spray; line bottom with parchment. Spray paper, dust pan with flour, and knock out excess. Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside.
3. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, sugars, and salt at medium-low speed until sugar is moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed.
4. Reduce speed to medium, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scrape down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low, add vanilla and room temperature chocolate mixture, then increase speed back to medium and beat until combined, about 30 seconds, (batter may appear broken).
5. With mixer running at low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream (in 2 additions), beginning and ending with dry ingredients, and beating in each addition until barely combined. Stir by hand with rubber spatula to finish mixing batter, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, to ensure that batter is homogenous (batter will be thick). Pour batter into prepared cake pan; spread batter to edges of pan with rubber spatula and smooth surfaces.
6. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 25- 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment paper. Cool cake to room temperature before filling, about 1 hour. With serrated knife, trim off dome, if necessary, on top of cake to level; cut cake horizontally into two even layers.
1. Whisk yolks in medium saucepan; gradually whisk in evaporated milk. Add sugars, butter, and salt and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is boiling, frothy, and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla, then stir in coconut. Transfer mixture to bowl and cool until just warm. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
3. Stir toasted pecans into chilled filling. Carefully lift off top layer of cake and set aside. Using icing spatula, distribute filling evenly on cake, spreading filling to very edge of cake and leveling surface. Carefully place upper cake layer on top of filling.
Note: Depends on how much you like to use, there might be extra filling,
1. Combine chocolate, butter, milk, espresso powder and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until mixture is smooth and fully incorporated. Remove bowl from simmering water, whisk in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder until fully combined.
2. Cut cake with filling into sixteen squares and whisk boiling water into the icing. Combine coconut and pecans in a medium bowl.
3. Using two forks, dip one squaree into the chocolate, rolling them around to make sure each side is coated with the chocolate icing. Lift cake and briefly drip off excess back in the bowl. Place the cake in the coconut-pecan mixture, toss gently to coat all sides. Place cake on a wire rack and let stand until the icing firms up, about 30 minutes. Repeat with remain cakes.
