Lamington Day – and we've got all the treats!

It's National Lamington Day! The chance to celebrate all the things we love about lamingtons.

From soft, fluffy interiors, to chocolate soaked and coconut dusted finishes. There's not doubt that we love a good lamington! So much so that we've branched out…

There are jelly crystal covered and brightly coloured fairybread variations, to supersized, there's a lamington for everyone.

The legend of the lamington is that is was created around the early 1900s by the Governor of Queensland's French chef, Armand Galland.

The chef was unexpectedly asked to cater for extra guests at the last moment and the story goes that the chef soaked leftover sponge cake in chocolate sauce – to keep it moist – and then dusted it in coconut to avoid guests getting chocolatey fingers.

The dish was a hit and took on the name of Lord Lamington. Et voila! An emergency dessert has become a national treasure with its very own day of celebration.

So, here are some of the fun things we like to do to celebrate lamington day.

It all starts with a cake base

The inside of a lamington is almost always a vanilla sponge. You can – of course – make it chocolate sponge too or flavour it any way you like.

However, the classic is a light and fluffy vanilla that soaks up the chocolate coating. There's also no shame in using a good vanilla pound cake or butter cake too, for a more solid finish.

And if you're short on time, a box or packet vanilla cake works a treat too.

Create your vanilla cake base and bake it in a square tin. Then just cut it into neat squares for the classic lamington look, and it's time to decorate!

READ MORE: Find a classic sponge recipe here.

Classic lamington coating: chocolate and coconut

Really it's all about how you dress your lamington – and a classic chocolate and coconut one is simpler than you might first think.

Ingredients:

• 1 x vanilla sponge cake, baked in a square tin, cooled and cut into cubes

• 3½ cups soft icing sugar mixture

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• 1 Tbsp butter, softened (NOT chilled)

• ½ cup boiling water

• 2 cups desiccated coconut (the fine shredded coconut)

Method:

1. In a shallow bowl sift together the icing mixture and cocoa powder. Then add the butter and pour over the boiling water and whisk until smooth and combined.

2. Place the coconut in a separate bowl.

3. Roll each square of cake in the chocolate coating to lightly cover it all over and allow the excess to drip off, then roll in the coconut and place on a wire wrack over a tray to catch the drips and allow the icing to set for about an hour.

Fairybread coating: white chocolate and hundreds-and-thousands

This is what happens when two Aussie icons of food have a love-child… behold the fairybread lamington. And yes, it is exactly what is sounds like; cake covered in hundreds-and-thousands sprinkles.

• 1 x vanilla sponge cake, baked in a square tin, cooled and cut into cubes

• 3 cups soft icing sugar mixture

• 50g butter, softened (NOT chilled)

• 1 Tbsp finely grated white chocolate (or very finely chopped)

• ½ tsp vanilla paste

• ½ cup boiling water

• Hundreds-and-thousands sprinkles

Method:

1. In a heat-proof bowl add the butter, vanilla and grated white chocolate. Add the boiling water a little at a time, stirring to melt the butter and chocolate until smooth and all incorporated.

2. Place the icing sugar in a large, shallow bowl and pour in the butter mixture, stirring until smooth.

3. Place hundreds-and-thousands in a separate shallow bowl.

4. Roll each square of cake in the icing to lightly cover it all over and allow the excess to drip off, then roll it in the hundreds-and-thousands and place on a wire wrack over a tray to catch the drips while the icing sets.

Rainbow jelly coating: caramilk and jelly crystals

This fun trick for rainbow lamingtons uses caramilk or white chocolate icing to keep the coating light and then incorporates coloured jelly crystals into the coconut mix for a cheeky and colourful finish.

• 1 x vanilla sponge cake, baked in a square tin, cooled and cut into cubes

• 3 cups soft icing sugar mixture

• 100g caramilk or white chocolate, grated or chopped very fine

• ½ cup boiling water

• 2 cups desiccated coconut (the fine shredded coconut)

• 1 pack each red, yellow, blue and green jelly crystals – or flavours and colours of your choice

Method:

1. In a heatproof bowl place the icing sugar and grated chocolate and then whisk in the boiling water until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Divide the coconut between four plates and add 2 Tbsp of one colour of jelly crystal to each plate and mix through.

3. Roll each square of cake in the chocolate coating to lightly cover it all over and allow the excess to drip off, then roll it in in one of the jelly-coconut mixtures and place on a wire wrack over a tray to catch any drips while the icing sets.

Lamington cake: cream and jam filling

If you're feeling like an epic centrepiece – or your just greedy and want one giant lamington all to yourself – then this monster is for you, complete with jam and cream filling. Have at it!

• 1 x vanilla sponge cake, sliced in half horizontally

• 3½ cups soft icing sugar mixture

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• 1 Tbsp butter

• ½ cup boiling water

• 2 cups desiccated coconut (the fine shredded coconut)

• ½ cup raspberry jam

• 300ml cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Method:

1. In a shallow bowl sift together the icing mixture and cocoa powder. Add the butter, then pour in the boiling water and whisk until smooth and combined. Transfer to a large shallow dish, bigger than the cake.

2. Place the coconut on a large plate that will fit your whole cake.

3. Take each half of the cake and dip it into the chocolate icing to cover all except the cut side, and allow the excess to drip off. Then dip those chocolate coated sides in the coconut and place each half of the cake on a wire wrack – cut side down – over a tray to catch the drips and allow the icing to set.

4. Once the icing is set (½ hour or so), place the bottom cake – cut side up – on a presentation plate and spread jam all over the cut side, then pipe or spread the cream in a layer over the top of that. Chill in the fridge to help stiffen then cream and when ready to serve, add the top layer of the cake (with the cut side down) to make one giant jam and cream lamington. Serve with extra cream.

Jane de Graaff is Today's kitchen expert, food writer and recipe developer and content creator for fun family recipes of all kinds.

Find all Jane's food adventures, tricks and tips on Instagram and TikTok