Lamingtons

Name: Lamingtons
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 9
Cuisine: Australia
Ingredients: 4 eggs; 150 g sugar; 150 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 60 g melted butter; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 250 g icing sugar; 40 g unsweetened cocoa powder; 20 g butter; 150 ml hot milk; 200 g desiccated coconut

Australian sponge squares dipped in a thin chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut until every side is coated.

Published on 19 May 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

#sponge#chocolate#coconut#australia#teatime

Photo: Spacekadet at English Wikipedia, Public domain

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 65 min
Serves: 9
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk for 8 minutes, until the mixture triples and falls in a ribbon.
Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder with a spatula, then the melted butter and vanilla.
Pour into a lined 20 cm square tin and bake at 180 C for 25 minutes.
Cool, then wrap the sponge and refrigerate it overnight. Cold day-old sponge soaks up less icing.
Cut 9 squares. Mix the icing sugar, cocoa, butter and hot milk into a thin, pourable icing.
Spear each square on two forks, dip it in the icing and let the excess run off.
Roll straight into the coconut, then set on a wire rack for 2 hours until the icing firms.

The name points to Lord Lamington, governor of Queensland around 1900, whose cook is said to have rescued a dry sponge by dipping it in chocolate. Dryness is the whole technique: a fresh sponge falls apart in the icing, while yesterday’s holds on the fork.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 423 kcal
Protein: 6.1 g
Fat: 17.7 g
Carbohydrate: 61.7 g
Fibre: 2.5 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why must the sponge wait until the next day before icing?

A same-day sponge is moist and fragile: dipped in icing, it drinks up liquid and falls apart on the fork. A night in the fridge firms and slightly dries it, so it takes on just the right amount of chocolate. This is the one step you cannot skip.

My icing thickens and goes pasty halfway through. What now?

It sets as it cools. Sit the bowl over a pan of hot water while you dip, and loosen it with a spoonful of hot milk as soon as it stiffens. Thick icing forms a heavy coat and the coconut no longer sticks evenly.

Can lamingtons be made without eggs?

Not with this sponge: the four eggs whisked for eight minutes are the main source of lift, and there is neither enough raising agent nor enough fat to compensate. You would need a different cake altogether. The icing and coconut are egg free, and the butter can be swapped for margarine.

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