Lamingtons - Chocolate Coconut Sponge Cake- The Foreign Fork

Name: Easy Lamingtons Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 4 eggs; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour; 1 ½ tsp baking powder; 1 stick unsalted butter (melted); 4 tbsp butter (melted and rested for a few minutes so it is not scorching hot); ¾ cup whole milk (room temperature); ½ cup cocoa powder; 3 cups powdered sugar (sifted); ⅛ tsp salt; 12 oz desiccated coconut

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Lamingtons are a classic Australian dessert that features a sponge cake covered in chocolate and coconut. They can be hard to get right but this article will give you all the information you need to make this Easy Lamingtons Recipe and impress Aussies and foreigners alike.

Lamingtons stacked together on a plate with bright pink flowers garnished on the side.

Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!

I’ve had some fun cooking meals from Australia on this Cook the World Journey. Between Sausage Rolls, Zucchini Slice, and a dangerous foray into Fairy Bread, we have sampled most of Australia’s favorites. But I knew there was one more thing on my Australian recipe wishlist that needed to make its way into your kitchen…. Lamingtons!

Lamingtons are a distinctly Australian treat that are difficult for anyone to pass up. They’re made with fluffy sponge cakes, coated in chocolate and rolled in coconut. While each element is simple on its own, when combined it creates a treat that is moist, delicious and full of texture.

This treat can be found in many different flavors in bakeries throughout Australia. They may be coated in different colored chocolate or filled with different creams or jelly.

This classic Lamington recipe is the original and it’s the best place to start if you’re trying this dish for the first time. This recipe comes straight from the kitchen of my Australian friend, Katelyn. Thank you Katelyn, for sharing your authentic recipe with Foreign Fork readers!

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Key Ingredients to Make Lamingtons

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Ingredient shot of ingredients to make Lamington.

Cocoa Powder: I use standard cocoa powder for this recipe, but you can swap in natural cocoa powder for a milder, slightly fruity flavor, or Dutch-processed cocoa powder if you prefer a smoother, richer chocolate taste with less bitterness. If you want the boldest dark chocolate flavor possible, go for dark cocoa powder. It will give your Lamingtons a deeper color and a more intense chocolate punch although keep in mind that it will also increase bitterness.
Desiccated Coconut: I made this for the first time with shredded coconut and my final result looked so sloppy. Desiccated coconut is finer and will decorate your desserts with a far cleaner look. See the section below about making desiccated coconut yourself.

Tools

8×8 Glass Dish: A square pan will give you perfect, square pieces of cake. If you don’t have a square pan you can still make this recipe in a 9×13 pan, but the cake pieces will be thinner!

How to Make Desiccated Coconut

Desiccated coconut is very different from shredded coconut and you’ll find that out quickly if you try to make this dish with shredded or sweetened coconut. I struggled originally to find desiccated coconut, and so I made this recipe with shredded coconut. The flavor was fine, but the texture and the look were definitely not right.

Little did I know, it’s actually pretty easy to make desiccated coconut at home.

Desiccated coconut is shredded to a finer texture than shredded coconut and is much drier as well. This gives it the perfect texture for coating chocolate and keeping fingers somewhat clean.

To make desiccated coconut, you can simply pulse dried coconut flakes in a food processor until they are small, somewhere between the size of quick oats and flaky salt. You can dehydrate coconut flakes beforehand in a food dehydrator or at a low temperature in the oven for about 10 minutes for best results.

You can also make desiccated coconut from fresh coconuts, though this takes a bit more effort. You must crack open the coconut, grate the flesh onto a baking pan and then dry it out at a very low temperature in the oven or in a dehydrator. Pulse those grated flakes in a food processor to finish.

How to Make This Recipe

Mixing bowl with eggs, sugar and vanilla whipped together to a light pale color.

Step One: Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer for about three minutes until the eggs turn pale and thick.

Spatula resting in a mixing bowl of batter for lamingtons.

Step Two: Sift the flour and the baking powder into the wet mixture. Then add the melted butter into the mixture and stir to combine.

A freshly baked cake resting in a pan to cool.

Step Three: Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Cocoa powder being mixed into a bowl with melted butter, milk, powdered sugar, and salt to create chocolate icing.

Step Four: Make the icing by whisking together the melted butter and milk. Then add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt and whisk again.

Step Five: Cut the cooled cake into even squares.

A chocolate covered piece of cake in a shallow bowl of desiccated coconut.

Step Six: Dip each lamington in the chocolate and then roll in the coconut desiccated coconut. Let your creations sit on a wire rack to cool for about one hour before enjoying!

Expert Tips

Take your time: Perfect looking Lamington takes time. Don’t try to bake the cake and apply the icing before the cake has fully cooled. It will not work. It’s best to bake the cake the day before you plan to serve.
Freeze your Cake: If you are having trouble with the final assembly of the cake, try freezing the cake pieces. This will make your cake firm and easier to handle and the cold will also help the icing become firm on the cake. Your cake will thaw as the icing continues to set. Make sure it is fully thawed before serving.
Cool Your Icing: Make sure your chocolate icing isn’t too hot when you try to assemble the pieces. If the icing is too hot it will run right off the cake while slightly cooled icing will give you a thicker layer.
Use the Right Coconut: The finer your coconut is shredded, the better it will stick to the icing. Some professional bakers will even sift their desiccated coconut so only the finest slivers get through.

Tips for Assembling Beautiful Lamingtons

I have two main tips to make sure that the assembly of your Australian dessert goes smoothly:

It is very important to make sure your milk is room temperature and your butter isn’t too hot. If the temperatures of these two ingredients vary greatly, the butter will seize up and form chunks in the icing. Room temperature milk will solve this issue.
Keep your coconut clean by only placing a bit in a shallow bowl at one time. After 2-3 lamingtons, your coconut will get chocolatey and not as pretty. At this point, throw out the remaining coconut, add a little more fresh coconut into the bowl, and continue assembling your cake pieces. Alternatively, you can pour your coconut over the top of your iced cake, which will preserve more of the coconut. In this case, place your lamingtons on a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath to collect the extra coconut so that you can use it again!

Variations

A bite taken out of a lamington stacked on top of them.

A plain chocolate and coconut lamington is the old-school way to enjoy this dessert, but there are so many ways to mix up different flavors and textures!

Try coating your creations in different flavors or colors of chocolate or fill them with a layer of cream, a layer of chocolate, strawberry jam, raspberry jam, or jelly. It may not be the traditional way, but it is certainly popular in Australia, and these variations are so delicious!

To fill your cake squares, you have two options:

Fill after coating: To do this, coat the cake in chocolate and coconut and allow it to cool and set. Then cut the lamington in half and fill the center with jam.
Fill before coating: To do this, take your cake square and cut it in half. Fill it with jam, then place the top back on. Coat this entire thing in chocolate and coconut.

Recipe FAQs

Close up photo of lamingtons coated in coconut and chocolate.

Why Freeze the Cake?

Freezing the cake is the real secret to making perfect squares. Some people suggest letting the cake dry out slightly overnight before applying the icing, but then you risk ending up with a dry cake and no one wants that.

Freezing the cake makes it incredibly easy to work with with far less crumbs. As the cake thaws it becomes even more moist and delicious inside that chocolate outer shell.

How Long Can You Store Lamingtons?

Lamingtons keep well on a cake stand at room temperature for about a week. The chocolate coating will harden slightly, keeping the cake moist inside.

You can also store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one month.

Can I Use Other Cakes?

Lots of people make lamingtons with squares of butter cake but the traditional homemade lamingtons are made with fluffy vanilla sponge cake.

Did you enjoy this recipe from Australia? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:

If you tried this Lamingtons Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!