Lamington Cakes on Australia Day

Today is Australia Day - the day when we get an excuse to have a day off, chuck seafood on the barbie and to eat as much sausage rolls, meat pies, red meat and wash it down with foster or four x beer. Chant Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi and sometimes make a fool of ourselves in front of family and friends! ... Very Bogan LOL. I don't really understand why we do that? I know I don't. It is a time to come together to reflect what is good about being Australian, what is great, how lucky we live in this land, and be proud of what we have achieved. A lot of people today will celebrate becoming an Australian Citizen. I am pretty thankful that I am Australian. I am very lucky to be here and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I am not a true blue Aussie when it comes to Australian food because it is so unhealthy lol and I sometimes don't really know what is Australian food since the country is so diverse in culture and nationalities. There are so many Chinese, Indian, English, Thai, Italian and Greek restaurants here but you hardly see an Australian restaurant. I do know there are about 2 Australian restaurants in Bali - I wonder what they serve there? A fancy meat pie? lol.

I can name some iconic Australian foods which are: Vegemite which you spread a little bit on buttered bread (toast tastes better), meat pies, sausage rolls, Anzac biscuits, Bunderburg Rum, damper, cheezels (chips), burger rings (chips), sangas (sandwiches), chiko roll (this pastry filled roll (looks like huge springroll) - sometimes I don't know what is inside those things!) and last and not least the lamington cake which are traditional small sponge cakes covered in chocolate and then covered in coconut.


My little friends from overseas (China) helped me make some lamington cakes the other day and they were so excited. Too bad the recipe wasn't a very good one. It was too sweet for their tiny taste buds. Well at least they know how the Aussie lamington is made. It was so cute to see how they were so focused and concentrated so hard in processing these cakes.

I got this recipe from this site here (Aussie Slang) which came up first from a google search :P. Next time I will half the sugar! I probably make tiramisu with those lamingtons now.

LAMINGTON CAKES

by Aussie Slang http://www.aussieslang.com/features/australian-lamingtons-recipe.asp

sponge cake

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter
* 3/4 cup castor sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 2 cups self rising flour
* 1/2 cup milk

Method

* Grease and Line a Lamington Tin (11 x 8 x 1.5 inches)
* Cream the Butter, Castor Sugar and Vanilla until light and fluffy.
* Add the eggs one at a time beating together as you go.
* Fold in the Flour and Milk, alternating as you go.
* Pour the batter into the prepared tin, spread evenly, and bake in a Moderate Oven (375f/190c) for 30-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
* Allow to stand for a few minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.
* Leave to cool then store in the Fridge overnight.

Choc Icing

Ingredients

* 1 slab sponge cake (one day old)
* 4 cups icing sugar
* 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 - 3 cups desiccated coconut

To make the icing

* Cool the cake for at least half an hour in the Fridge or Freezer, then cut into squares or fingers
* Combine the Sugar and Cocoa in a large bowl
* Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan until the butter is melted.
* Add to the sugar/cocoa mixture and mix to a fluid yet not runny consistency

To put it all together

* Make a production line of Sponge Fingers, Chocolate Icing mixture in a bowl, coconut in a shallow container or plate, and a cooling rack with paper underneath.
* Using a fork dip the sponge fingers into the icing, roll it in the coconut covering it well, and then place on to the rack to dry.
* Once they have dried, place in an airtight container and leave to "mature" for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, before eating.

Processing - sponge cake dipped into chocolate icing and then sprinkled with coconut! Too easy.
Honestly, I should of just bought already made lamingtons from the store hihi