Topsy Turvy Australia Day

A little bit of a twist on the most delicious traditional treat Australians have shared with the world. Who would have thought spongecake, chocolate and coconut would be such a magical combination?

An Australian, that’s who 🙂

The spongecake is dense, but soft and rich, and when it melts onto your tongue along with the white chocolate, you melt right with it – just like any dessert should make you!

 

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Happy Australia Day mes cheris! Wait no, let me try that again. Can’t really be my what-I-remember-of-French person (I’ll leave that till Bastille Day shall I?)

Now, take deux. I mean two! 😉

Happy Australia Day mates! Toss some sausages on the barbie will ya?

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Aaah… much better 😛

This year, Australia Day (at least for me) is all over the shop. I suppose not all over the shop in a bad way at all, just very different.

Hence the title of this post.

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Instead of meet ups with friends, and fireworks in the city, I am quietly chilling at home with my mum while my dad is in India. Yeah, it is kinda weird not having everyone around on a holiday day.

Especially since public holidays, when my daddy doesn’t work, are so exciting cos we usually stay up a little later the night before (though I will tell you now, the usual stay up time is 10:30pm 😛 ) – Still though!

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Besides that, my family isn’t exactly in its usual state either. Firstly grandma’s ankle is slightly fractured so she’s barely moving around the house, and I have gotten used to the noises of her and my mother ‘exchanging words’ in the kitchen at all hours of the day.

This silence is a bit unnerving to be honest, though I suppose it’ll start up soon enough!IMG_0293

Also, my brother (like tradition), has gone out to chill with his mates and devour his weight’s worth of meat dishes, but when he comes home it will be just for a second before he has to leave for his internship, which is interstate.

My question, really, is where is everyone on Australia Day?

If that weren’t enough to make me question the very essence of January in 2015, today is. not. hot. Now I don’t know if you understand this, but when it is nearing the end of January in Australia, we expect heat waves.

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Oodles and oodles of nature’s warm breath causing windows to fog up from humidity and my hair to clump and stick into an unnatural afro of epic proportions.

We expect Bondi Beach to be packed to the tee with so much sand being carried back home in people’s swimwear that half the beach is bare come nighttime.

And it has been so ridiculously hot that movement (such as getting out of bed) causes the sweats to start, each day this past week until BAM – Australia Day hits.

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And now today, it is quite pleasantly cloudy, with rain the night before and a chill in the air so that a cardi would not go amiss. Um, I’m sorry WHAT? The one day we expect heat, if not insist for it (since nothing is more Australian than summer), the weather listens to our pleas for cool air.

Um… thank you?

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Despite this waaay different Australia Day for me personally, Australian citizens themselves are keeping the traditions going true blue (see what I did there?) 😀 Just check out all the adventures you could get up to today all over the country!

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And it is just the tip of the dirtberg (because the idea of icebergs in Australia is a joke, we are not that close to Antarctica!)

#Strayaandproud 😀

Everywhere you look there are cheesy party picks all over the country, from inflatable kangaroos (unless you have real ones in your backyard) to novelty flags flying around and that really does add to the atmosphere!

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Despite having so much to do to join the nation in celebrating our special day, I decided to celebrate the fact that my Australia Day is all over the place this year by twisting a classic dessert!

National colours meet Coconut. Coconut meet Lamington. Oh you’ve met before? ‘Course ya have ya litl buggers! That was my mistake 😛

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Why not get your green and gold on and join me on this holiday with some extra special dessert? 😀

Or, try a few of these recipes on for size 🙂

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Enjoy and hope you all had a marvellous long weekend *muah muah*

Green & Gold Lamingtons

Barely Adapted From: Little White Lamington Recipe

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Spongecake

  • 250g butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 4 eggs
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 100g brown sugar (light)
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 2/3 cup self raising flour
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1/4 cup full cream milk

Icing + Decoration

  • 1 cup full cream milk
  • 300g white chocolate chips
  • 800g icing sugar/mixture, sifted
  • 1 large packet desiccated coconut
  • Green and yellow food colouring

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C and line a 20 by 30cm baking tin with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars till light and fluffy.
  3. Add in the eggs and essence and beat in till creamy.
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  4. Sift the flours together into a bowl containing the almond meal.
  5. With the setting on low, tbs by tbs, beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with the 1/4 cup full cream milk.
  6. Beat till just combined and then spoon the batter into the prepared tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon.
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  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till a skewer inserted comes out clean and the cake is golden brown.
  8. Let cool in tin for 10 minutes before moving onto a wire rack to cool completely (if you can refrigerate it after cooling that is better)
  9. Cut cooled cake into around 20 squares.
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  10. Divide the desiccated coconut between two plates and add in a few drops of green food colouring to one, and yellow to the other. Use your hands to massage the colour through the two dishes of coconut.
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  11. Make icing: In a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, melt the white chocolate and full cream milk together. Stir until smooth, remove from heat and stir through the sifted icing mixture until a smooth icing forms (it will not be thin)
  12. One at a time, use a fork to dip the cake into the icing till coated (do not leave it long, otherwise the cake will break apart from too much softness).
  13. Gently shake off excess icing and choose a colour of coconut to dip it into it. I rolled it through the coconut using the fork and a spoon carefully, till the icing is completely covered by the coconut.
  14. Let sit on a wire rack to dry and continue the process till the cake pieces, coconut or icing finishes.
  15. Refrigerate in a box lined with baking paper, or serve (best served at room temperature).

Disclaimer: Go Bake Yourself collaborated with eBay and dgm on this post. However, any opinions expressed are honest and her own.

 

 

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75 Comments

  8. thelady8home says:

    Happy belated Australian Day! Must you bake stuff that’s so inviting? I wish I lived near you somewhere…..but then again I have enough on my plate trying to get the pounds I have gained in last few months. The colors of thos lamingtons are beautiful.

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  17. shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com says:

    I wish we had heat waves at the end of January here in Atlanta – Clearly, I am in the wrong hemisphere!
    GAH!
    I ❤ these Lamingtons – I've heard so much about them – but never had one – boyoboy do they look scrumptious!

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  21. Kumar's Kitchen says:

    A Happy Australia Day!!
    These gold and green tinted lamingtons look so pretty… will be making a batch for our nephews sometime…they love the chocolate coated ones.That sponge cake you baked looks so good…we wanted to have a bite….a beautiful recipe as always,thanks 🙂

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  24. Louise says:

    What festive Lamingtons Uru!!! I’m sorry your Australia Day wasn’t filled with the usual festivities. You sure wouldn’t know by the looks of these delicate pillows of goodness. I do hope your grandmother’s ankle is on the mend. I’m sure there will be boisterous conversations in the kitchen very soon:)

    I totally missed wishing my Australian blogging pals a Happy Day. Sorry about that. (well at least I did on my blog:) Any time you get tired of those balmy nights or days for that matter, you can send some of that heat this way. We’d gladly swap you for some snow, lol…Thanks so much for sharing, Uru. Hope things get back to “normal” soon:)

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  41. jlaceda says:

    So this is how Lamingtons look like! Never knew what they were until today. Thanks for the education. And Happy Australia Day (belated)! Green and gold – winners!

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  46. shenANNAgans says:

    Happy Straya Day ol mate. Sounds like yours was a quiet one, wasn’t feeling it much this year either. The weather wasn’t great in the Berra. Sigh! I did have me a barbie, ate snags, and downed a VB #lies (I cracked the VB for a photo) I got in a spot of sun baking, played cricket and settled in for a few episodes of Home & Away. So Australian, I am! 🙂

    Your lamingtons are freakin gorgeous, love the colours, so much prettier than the traditional kind.

    Have a happy week lovely lady.

    Cheers,
    Anna

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  67. kitchenriffs says:

    You’ve having a cold wave? Well, a somewhat warm wave? Amazing for this time of the year. Thoroughly fun post. Happy Australia Day!

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