Lemon Lamingtons

I was never a big fan of lamingtons when I was young - I associated them with kitch pastry food that you got from the corner bakery store that used to sell other kitchy New Zealand pastry products. When I think back, it was probably a case of cultural cringe - I was more of a croissants and french pastry fan.

Fortunately, I rediscovered a love for lamingtons. Kind of. My favourite fruit is a lemon, so when I discovered a recipe for lemon lamingtons it upgraded the humble lamington in my eyes. 

They are so easy to make! People often think of lamingtons as fairly difficult to make - mainly because making sponge cake is almost an art form. This recipe below is a bit of a cheat’s method because you buy the sponge cake beforehand but make the lemon curd yourself.

My flatmate’s friend made these for her birthday part on New Years day, but she bought store bought lemon curd and watered it down a bit with boiling water which also worked. I prefer to make my own lemon curd – especially as you tend not to use it all so you can use it on toast the next morning. If you’re rushed however, I would recommend using store bought lemonade.

To make these delightful afternoon tea treats here is the recipe that I use.

Lemon Lamingtons

Ingredients

One premade rectangle sponge cake (buy these from the supermarket in the cake section)

4 lemons

1 1/3 c sugar

170g unsalted butter, cubed

5 eggs, lightly whisked

2 cups of dessicated coconut

Method

1. Cut your sponge cake into 15 square pieces and then carefully slice off the brown outer edge. Leave  aside. It's important you do this step first as it enables the sponge to develop an ever so slight hardness which makes it easier to dip into the lemon curd.

Sponge cake cut up.

2. Wash and dry the lemons Finely grate and juice the lemons. You will need 2/3 cup of lemon juice.

3. Strain the lemon juice into a medium heavy-based saucepan. Add the lemon rind, sugar and butter and stir over a low heat for about 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the butter has melted.

Melting the butter.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly beat in the whisked eggs with a wooden spoon. Return to a low heat and cook, stirring continuously, for 20 minutes or until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil or the eggs will curdle. Take off heat when done.

Thickening the lemon curd.

5. Lay out a baking tray with baking paper and scatter about a quarter of the dessicated coconut on the tray.

6.  With tongs, dip each sponge square into the lemon curd and then roll it ever so gently on the coconut, ensuring that you keep the sponge intact and the lemon curd doesn't come off. Once you've done this, put the final lamington on a plate and repeat with the rest of the sponge squares.

7. To add some final touches, I like to whip up some cream with some lemon zest and but a sploge on top of each lamington, top off with a sprinkly of lemon zest. You could also do jam and cream or anything that tastes good with lemon.


Last year, my mother invited me to a family friend’s place for afternoon tea. For some bizarre reason, it turned into a mother- daughter bake off. I made the above lemon lamingtons, and she made lime lamingtons.* I’m pretty sure I won.

My lemon lamingtons.

My mum's lime lamingtons.

*She also used a different recipe - using lime jelly. Crazy!