A playful challenge to start the new year! I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a big fan of lamingtons, but this is something different. The balance is perfect between light and rich, and smooth and crunchy. She caters for everyone’s taste!
INGREDIENTS
CAKE 3 cups cake flour 1 ½ cups sugar 4 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 4 large eggs 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup milk 1 tbsp vanilla essence SYRUP ¼ cup cacao 1 ½ cup water 2 cups sugar 1 tbsp butter 500g desiccated coconut ICING 300g white chocolate ½ cup cream 1 ½ tub cream cheese (350g)
METHOD
CAKE 1. Prepare 2 (23cm) or 3 (20cm) round cake tins with baking paper and non-stick spray. 2. Preheat the oven to 180C and ensure that the oven rack is in the middle. 3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. 4. Make a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour all the wet ingredients into that hole. 5. With an electric mixer, whisk everything together until smooth and well combined (±5 min). 6. Divide the batter by weight between the cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean when the cake layers are tested. 7. Allow the cake layers to stand for 10 minutes before loosening the sides and demoulding the cakes onto cooling racks. 8. Once the cakes are cooled down, you can start rolling them into the syrup and coconut (Tip 1). SYRUP 1. Mix all the ingredients, except the coconut, in a medium sized saucepan. 2. Allow the sugar to melt over medium heat, stirring regularly. 3. Bring the mixture to the boil and allow to boil for 2-3 minutes. 4. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour into a glass dish to dip the cakes into the syrup (Tip 2). 5. Pour the coconut onto a tray and roll the cakes into the coconut until they are covered with coconut (Tip 3). ICING 1. Mix the white chocolate and cream in a medium glass jug. Heat in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between the intervals. 2. Heat until just melted and allow the mixture to cool down a bit. 3. Using an electric whisk, whisk the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. 4. Fold the chocolate mixture into the cream cheese and mix until well combined. 5. Spread a layer of icing in between each cake layer and on top of the third layer.
TIPS 1. Handle the cake layers with care and as little as possible to prevent them from breaking. Use egg lifters/ palette knives to handle the cakes and move them between the syrup and coconut and then onto the serving plate. 2. Use a glass dish as close to the size of your cake layer as possible. This way the syrup will be absorbed faster. Keep some of the syrup in a glass jug to pour over the cake layer’s top to minimize the handling and turning of each cake layer. 3. Place the cake layer onto the coconut and sprinkle coconut over the top of the cake and press some coconut to the sides of the cake.