Aussies---Lamingtons?

[dugarner]

I just read a funny/sad article linked from Fark on news.com.au about Gen Y women losing traditional skills like cooking, cleaning, hemming and sewing, etc.

The article said (in part), "Only 51 per cent of women aged under 30 can cook a roast compared with 82 per cent of baby boomers. Baking lamingtons is a dying art with 20 per cent of Gen Y capable of whipping up the Aussie classic, down from 45 per cent for previous generations."

I thought, well, I cook a pretty darn good roast, I can clean, I can sew almost anything . . . but lamingtons? I don't even know what they are!

So I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and the top-rated lamington recipe looks pretty good. Are these a common homemade item in Australia? Like apple pie here in the U.S.?

[cathieinoz]

Sarah....I would guess very few people cook lamingtons anymore. They're not difficult at all but take several steps - bake the cake, let it cool, cut into the right size pieces, make the icing, frost then roll in coconut. Most people won't take the trouble - and they are available at all bakeries and grocery stores. Sadly that's true of most things though - it seems like people have forgotten how great homemade food tastes, and the value of the creative process. My DH doesn't like coconut so they don't get made by me either!

[muddygirl]

I baked them last year for Australia day ( they were my POTD). They are a favorite snack for lots of Aussies, but like Cathie said, its easier to get them from a bakery, or the supermarket, but they aren't as nice as homemade ones. My grandmother used to make pink ones that were red jelly instead of the chocolate icing, you make the packet jelly (not fruit jam (?) which I think you guys call jelly, but flavoured gelatine wobbly stuff) let it set a bit, then dip the vanilla cakes in it and then roll in coconut, then put in the fridge for the jelly to fully set. I loved them!

[carollee]

Good gracious I'd never make lamingtons, too much fuss and bother. But they're one of my favourite cakes. Every year of my teens (and beyond) I got a lamington cake for my birthday, it was a full on cake dolled up with strawberries and cream too, YUM!

So yes Sarah, they're as common as an apple pie, but me? I wouldn't be bothered baking them.

[Shannamay]

I think I have baked them once - mind you, I don't do anywhere near the baking/cooking etc I did before I had to start working full time. Yep - you can buy them everywhere and they are well, aussie icons I guess - but if you compare shop bought apple pie with the real deal then you can see the difference between a bakery lamington and a homemade one!
Hey Sam - my nanna used to make those jelly ones too!!

[esther_a]

Yep, love a good lamington but I'm not sure if I've ever made them... maybe just once and decided they were too fiddly!

[Amson]

I've never made them but my Grandma used to make them all the time and they were fantastic. Store bought cannot compare.

[Britgirl]

oh my goodness... this brings back a funny memory I did make them once; the mess and the faffing were something!!!! My teen daughter wanted to make them recently and I admit I did all I could to talk her out of it!! yummy tho

[dugarner]

This is so fun--I'm going to make some this week. I baked a cake yesterday, so I need to wait 'till hubby finishes that.

Sam, it sounds like Jello that you're describing? The powdered gelatin that you add hot water to, and it sets up all jiggly? Yum . . . interesting take!

[krystav]

Not Australian, but an australian colleague had the most delicious lamingtons he brought to work a few months back. The recipe's still unused in my notebook, but reading this thread really has me yearning for those.. they were SOOOO good.

[carollee]

Originally Posted by dugarner

This is so fun--I'm going to make some this week. I baked a cake yesterday, so I need to wait 'till hubby finishes that.

Sarah I have heard that it's best to do the cake one day and store it in an air tight container overnight, and do the icing the next day, the cake won't be as crumbly when you are dipping it in icing.

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by carollee

Sarah I have heard that it's best to do the cake one day and store it in an air tight container overnight, and do the icing the next day, the cake won't be as crumbly when you are dipping it in icing.

That's what I read; some people say leave it out on the counter overnight to go a little stale, others say to freeze the cake. I'll probably not make it 'till this weekend.

Also, I guess you're supposed to use unsweet coconut, I think that's harder to find here in the U.S. I haven't looked yet, though, but this will be something fun to try!

[muddygirl]

Not sure about the "unsweet coconut" what we use here is called desicated coconut.

[cathieinoz]

Sarah...the only time I have made lamingtons as an adult was when I was homesick during the 12 years I lived in the States- and I remember having trouble finding the right coconut. I could only get sweetened flaked coconut. The coconut we use here is unsweetened as you say, but it is also much more finely shredded. I remember putting the coconut into a blender and pulsing a few times to make it finer so it would stick to the icing better. Good luck with your baking!

[cathieinoz]

Sam...you mentioning jelly (jello) made me think of a great cake my girlfriend in Kansas City used to make. She called it a Jello Poke cake. Once the vanilla cake was cooling in the pyrex dish she would poke it all over with a chopstick and pour over warm prepared strawberry jello and put it in the fridge to set. Then she put whipped cream over the top. It was yum! I remember she brought me one when I came back from the hospital with a new baby. Such sweet memories!!!

[emjaytee]

Nope, I can honestly say that I have NEVER made lamingtons! I did buy a packet to take to the beach for the kids yesterday however. And they love them in their school lunches.

I do, however, make my own pavlovas rather than buying them.

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by cathieinoz

I remember having trouble finding the right coconut. I could only get sweetened flaked coconut. The coconut we use here is unsweetened as you say, but it is also much more finely shredded.

That's right, dessicated coconut is how it's listed in the recipe, but we don't have that here in the States. I'll find a workaround, maybe I can stick sweetened coconut in the processor to at least make it finer.

[ValerieP]

I googled the lamington and it looks quite similar to a Mexican dessert cake that I ate when I visited Mexico, I think I have seen them in the convenience stores around here-too. Lots of people from South of the border live here, so we have lots of different types of food.
Actually, I just saw the other day that we even have a Russian restaurant! Along with a Brit store-crumpets are do die for, a Eastern European store, an Ethiopian restaurant, Columbian, Argentinian, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Japanese- and the list goes on...

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by ValerieP

Actually, I just saw the other day that we even have a Russian restaurant! Along with a Brit store-crumpets are do die for, a Eastern European store, an Ethiopian restaurant, Columbian, Argentinian, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Japanese- and the list goes on...

Surprisingly, even though I live in a relatively isolated, rural area, we have a good diversity of restaurants. Granted, many of them are Americanized---I don't think I've ever had authentic Chinese, for example---but I still appreciate the diversity! It's a great way to experience other cultures when you can't afford to travel. Cafe du Monde beignets, for example, are delicious when you make them from the mix at home, but when you're sitting in the cafe drinking cafe au lait and eating the real thing, there's nothing like it. One day I would love to be able to eat a lamington IN Australia.

[ValerieP]

A visit to Australia is definitely on my bucket list!

[muddygirl]

Originally Posted by dugarner

One day I would love to be able to eat a lamington IN Australia.

If you come, I'll even bake you some homemade ones Sarah

[carollee]

Sweetened coconut? Now you have me wondering. That sounds so bizarre.

[lisa.hinrichs]

beinets, lamingtons, crumpets, jello cake, is all making me very hungry for sweets. I'm home due to the blizzard, maybe we'll bake something this afternoon.

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by carollee

Sweetened coconut? Now you have me wondering. That sounds so bizarre.

Carol, that is funny! You know, in general, Americans don't eat anything unless it's at least slightly sweet. It's nearly impossible to find a 100% whole wheat bread on the shelf that doesn't have a teaspoon of sugar in every slice.

I can't imagine an unsweetened coconut, but I am not a fan of coconut, either. So I haven't spent much time looking. I love learning all these nuances about different cultures---the things we eat and sort of assume everyone else does the same way. I would love to do some kind of recipe exchange sometime just to see how ingredients and dishes differ.

[Janet1949]

Love this thread... I wouldnt dream of making Lamingtons, but love the shop ones.. I am a HUGE coconut fan, and often eat it with a spoon when cooking... I LOVE that idea of the 'Poke cake', I think I will make this for my DH.. he has a terrible sweet tooth and would love this..

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by Janet1949

Love this thread... I wouldnt dream of making Lamingtons, but love the shop ones.. I am a HUGE coconut fan, and often eat it with a spoon when cooking... I LOVE that idea of the 'Poke cake', I think I will make this for my DH.. he has a terrible sweet tooth and would love this..

You can also use the rounded end of a wooden spoon (not the spoon end) and poke all over, and pour any other kind of mix---you could do a chocolate cake and pour cookies 'n cream pudding in, or a yellow cake with chocolate pudding, or a strawberry cake with cheesecake pudding---so many choices!

[cathieinoz]

Originally Posted by Janet1949

Love this thread... I wouldnt dream of making Lamingtons, but love the shop ones.. I am a HUGE coconut fan, and often eat it with a spoon when cooking... I LOVE that idea of the 'Poke cake', I think I will make this for my DH.. he has a terrible sweet tooth and would love this..

Hey Janet....so good to hear that your DH is doing well. DO make the Poke cake!! My teenagers stunned me by all making their beds and tidying their rooms - ALL ON THE SAME DAY!!- so I decided to give them a treat and made it two days ago. My kids all turned on me and said 'you've known about this cake for 14 years and haven't made it for us?' Suffice it to say it's a new family favourite. I did make my own cake (nice rich vanilla cake)instead of use a mix and I used raspberry jelly but mixed in a bit of homemade strawberry jam. I covered it with unsweetened whipped cream as the cake was sweet enough. It was great! Leftovers yesterday were divine. I would recommend making it 3-4 hours before serving as it is so nice chilled. Yum.....

[Amson]

Originally Posted by dugarner

Carol, that is funny! You know, in general, Americans don't eat anything unless it's at least slightly sweet. It's nearly impossible to find a 100% whole wheat bread on the shelf that doesn't have a teaspoon of sugar in every slice.

I can't imagine an unsweetened coconut, but I am not a fan of coconut, either. So I haven't spent much time looking. I love learning all these nuances about different cultures---the things we eat and sort of assume everyone else does the same way. I would love to do some kind of recipe exchange sometime just to see how ingredients and dishes differ.

I know what you mean about the sugar. Our supermarkets started a few years ago to stock American cake mixes and there was a big sale when they first came out. We purchased one of the cakes but could not eat it as it was so sweet. I looked at sugar levels on the pack and they were way over the comparable local product. I am not sure now if they have modified for our taste or our tastes are changing as I still see them available.


Food is such an interesting topic. I love your idea about recipe exchange.

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by Amson

We purchased one of the cakes but could not eat it as it was so sweet. I looked at sugar levels on the pack and they were way over the comparable local product.

As a type 2 diabetic, I have a hard time finding any prepared product that is truly no-sugar-added. (I personally don't eat much processed or prepared food at all--mostly things like canned vegetables once in a while which I rinse thoroughly before I use them.)

I haven't been able to eat sweets in four years and I tried a new recipe a few weeks ago where I used a cake mix and made sugar cookies that I rolled and lightly filled with a cinnamon roll (sweet roll) filling. I tasted one and it was so sweet, it made my stomach hurt. I was disappointed but took them to my meeting anyway, and they were a hit. They were devoured and everyone loved them. I couldn't understand, because you couldn't taste the butter or the lovely cinnamon for all the sugar. In fact, after I made them, I declared boxed cake mixes to be disgusting. I'll stick with homemade from now on.

It's sad to me how uncreative prepared food is. It is either full of sodium, fat, or sugar. Reduce one of those and the other two things double just to compensate. We need to learn to reprogram our taste buds to appreciate more nuanced flavors and that's the curse of convenience. Since I've had to cook almost completely from scratch these past years, I have learned how to flavor and I've also become finely tuned to how bad most prepared food is. There is no comparison in flavor or texture when you make it yourself!

[home in ottawa]

I'm with you Sarah in making things from scratch. I can tomato sauce for spaghetti in the fall and I sometimes put meatballs in it. A Canadian supermarket chain launched a healthy choices product line recently and I bought lean beef meatballs to try them. If if put the meatballs in the sauce, I didn't have to add salt, which made me realize just how much sodium they contained and I went back to making them on my own.

I like to drink chocolate milk after a long run, a half litre (2 cups) of prepared chocolate milk contains 600 mg of sodium! Why do we need to add salt to chocolate milk? Maybe if we used less sugar, we could ease up on the salt! Susan