Lamington

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For other uses, see Lamington (disambiguation).

Lamington with cream

Two traditional lamingtons

Lamingtons are sponge cake (or more traditionally, butter cake) cubes, coated in a layer of traditionally chocolate icing then desiccated coconut. They are sometimes served as two halves with a layer of cream and/or strawberry jam between, and are commonly found in Australian outlets such as coffee lounges, lunch bars, bakeries, and supermarkets. The strawberry variety is more common in New Zealand, while sightings of a lemon variety have occurred in Australia.

The chocolate coating is a thin mixture, into which cubes of sponge cake (one cookbook states 4 cm per side) are dipped, and the chocolate is absorbed into the outermost layers of the sponge where it sets. (Similarly, the strawberry jam or chocolate icing is absorbed into the sponge.) The cubes are then covered with coconut and left to set.

They have traditionally been popular as fund raisers for Australian youth groups such as Scouts, Guides and churches. These usually annual events are termed "Lamington drives." They can be on a large scale with dozens of helpers. The cake is supplied by commercial bakeries in large slabs and cut into about 40mm cubes. Teams of volunteers work together, dipping the cake into the chocolate icing and rolling it in the coconut. Generally they are packaged up into one dozen lots for distribution within communities which have been solicited for orders ahead of time. Lamingtons often generate feelings of nostalgia. In the early twenty first century these type of community bonding events are becoming obstructed by food handing regulations. Commercial entrepreneurs have also produced "branded" alternatives.

[edit] Name

Like many recipes common to both countries, there is dispute about the origin of the lamington's recipe and name.

Lamingtons are most likely named after Charles Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. However, the precise reasoning behind this is not known, and stories vary. According to one account, the dessert resembled the homburg hats favoured by Lord Lamington. Another tells of a banquet in Cloncurry during which the governor accidentally dropped a block of sponge cake into a dish of gravy, and then threw it over his shoulder, causing it to land in a bowl of desiccated coconut or peanut butter. A diner thought of replacing the gravy with chocolate and thusly created the lamington known it today.^[1]

A 1981 report in the Brisbane Courier Mail states the following: A colleague ... swears this really is how the lamington came about. At one stage when Baron Lamington was Queensland Governor, there was a large amount of stale cake in the government House kitchen. In an attempt to make it palatable, the cake was dipped in chocolate and then tossed in desiccated coconut. The parliamentarians liked this 'gateau' and ordered their cooks to obtain the recipe from the Government House cook.

Ironically, Lord Lamington was known to have hated the dessert that had been named in his honour, once referring to them as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".^[1].

Most of these reports amount to hearsay, and some border on the absurd. The most probable version of events surrounds the visit of Lord Lamington and his entourage to Toowoomba's Harlaxton House. An industrious cook, lacking some ingredients, came up with the "lamington". Tea and lamingtons are part of the festivities that follow Australian Citizenship ceremonies.

Lamington is also a small Hamlet/village in north of Scotland near Tain. It has a postbox.