Lamingtons for Milo

 

The Recipe

Makes: 12 medium lamingtons
Preparation: 30 minutes
Baking Time: 20-30 minutes

Supposedly named after Lord Lamington, the governor of the northern state, Queensland in the late 1800s these little vanilla cakes rolled in chocolate and coconut have become a cake that one either loves or hates.

I don't think that there are many foods that are iconic to Australia. Sure, we have pavlova, meat pies, sausage rolls and hamburgers with egg, canned beetroot, and pineapple, amazing seafood and then we have lamingtons.

Supposedly named after Lord Lamington, the governor of the northern state, Queensland in the late 1800s these little vanilla cakes rolled in chocolate and coconut have become a cake that one either loves or hates.

I remember the lamington drives when I was in primary school. The school would order a massive amount of artificial looking and tasting blocks of stale cake squished together with stark white cream and a small slathering of jam that resembled a little bit of a strawberry flavour. We raised quite a bit of money for these drives; however, the memory of those artificial cakes left a bad taste in my mouth....

Fast forward, to Singapore, in 2012. I was a proud owner of a cafe where I served just as many Australian ex-pats as I did local Singaporeans. It was here I started making my version of lamingtons. using fresh cake, good vanilla, and quality chocolate. Baking a batch at 5am, ensured a sell-out by 10am.

Fast forward, to Mexico, in 2014. A bright young Canadian Mexican graced us with his ever-enthusiastic presence and questioned me... "Do you know how to make lamingtons?", I sure do.

 

INGREDIENTS

CAKE
260g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
113g butter unsalted (room temperature)
150g caster sugar
100mls milk
2 medium eggs (50g in weight each) @ room temperature
1 tsp good vanilla extract or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste

ICING
454 g icing sugar
30g cocoa (sifted)
42g salted butter
120 mls milk (4oz)
100g desiccated coconut

METHOD

  1. Preheat the Oven to 180’ Celsius and grease and line with baking paper a 20cm square pan.

  2. Beat butter, vanilla & sugar together until smooth and creamy.

  3. In a separate bowl, sift flour & baking powder.

  4. Add eggs to the butter mixture one by one

  5. Add 1/3 of the flour and 1/3 of the milk and mix. Continue doing this until all the ingredients are used up, ending with the flour.\

  6. Spoon into the pan and level off with a spatula.

  7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes. When a skewer is inserted into the centre of the cake it should come out clean.

  8. Allow the cake to cool completely then wrap it in cling film and refrigerate overnight.

  9. Once the cake is set and nice and firm, cut it into even squares.

  10. Over a double boiler on medium heat, mix all ingredients (except the coconut) until melted and combined

  11. Put the coconut in a separate bowl.

  12. Take a square of the vanilla cake and dip it into the chocolate mixture until completely covered. Next roll the square in the coconut.

  13. Place on a cooling rack to set

*The cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. If not used right away it can also be frozen and then defrosted (room temperature)

CHOCOLATE PECAN BABKA WITH MAPLE GLAZE

 

The Recipe

Makes: 1 medium loaf
Preparation: overnight proofing
Baking Time: 30-40 minutes

The traditional babka, meaning “Little Grandmother” is an Eastern European bread that is dense, rich and light all at the same time. Swirled with chocolate, nuts and cinnamon – this was only a version that seemed to develop mid-century by the American Jews.

 
babka.jpg
 

Babka is not the easiest bread to make but it is also not the most difficult. It takes a bit of time and patience, a lot of love but the benefits and joys of munching down on this nutty, dense, chocolatey bread is worth it.

A sweet, yeasted bread that finds its origins in Eastern Europe, developed by the Ashkenazi Jews in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Lithuania. This Jewish community has a very coloured history with ancestral routes tied to Germany and Austria. It is a bread that is traditionally served on special occasions such as the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) or holidays and represents good fortune and prosperity.

It can be found throughout the year in Jewish bakeries around the world and there are many variations of babka that exist today, yet the original recipe was either a plain or nut-filled dough that was braided and then baked into a tall cylindrical shape.

This chocolate version is messy and extremely delicious and I hope you have fun making it!

THE INGREDIENTS

BABKA DOUGH

280g plain flour
60g white sugar
7g instant yeast
150mls milk, room temperature
Zest of 1 orange
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 x medium eggs
¼ tsp salt
140g butter, cubed
Oil (for greasing)

CHOCOLATE FILLLING

120g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon
2tblsp/20g cocoa
80g brown sugar
Pinch of salt
80g semi sweet chocolate, roughly chopped or chocolate chips
80g toasted pecans, roughly chopped.

GLAZE

50g maple syrup
10g butter

THE METHOD

The Day Before

  1. Mix milk with vanilla, salt, and eggs

  2. Place the sugar, yeast, zest, and flour in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment

  3. Add milk mixture to the flour until combined

  4. Switch to a dough hook and then start adding the butter, bit by bit until all is incorporated.

  5. Mix for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth

  6. Place in a well-oiled bowl and cover with cling film and allow the dough to rise and double in size then place in the refrigerator overnight so it can work its magic

The Next Day

  1. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle 25cm width x 40cm length

  2. For the chocolate filling, mix cinnamon, sugar, cocoa, and butter together until combined.
    Have it on stand-by for when the dough is ready to be rolled.
    Spread the chocolate mixture over the surface of the dough, leaving about a 1.5cm edge all around

  3. Roll the dough lengthwise to form a 25cm cylinder. Place in the fridge for about 10-15minutes to firm up (you will thank me for this later)
    Take out the dough and with a sharp knife, cut it in half so you have long strips
    Braid the two pieces of dough over each other so they are nicely twisted firmly together
    Place into a greased and lined loaf tin (about 20cm in length), cover with a damp cloth, and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes. For the maple glaze, heat the ingredients at a low temperature until the butter is just melted.

  4. Preheat the oven to 190’C and bake the babka for 30-40 minutes until well risen and golden.
    Allow the bread to cool slightly before turning it out and brush the babka while still warm with the maple glaze

 

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