Cookies, cakes and all things baked!!: Happy Australia Day!!

Woo hoo, Australia Day is here!!

Whatever you're doing today, beaching it, bbq, spending it with family, friends, or going out for the fireworks, I hope you have fun.

Yesterday, to get in to the spirit of things, I decided to make some lamingtons.

Last year, I was living in England for Australia Day and my flatmate made some Lamingtons from a recipe that was in a free magazine called TNT that is issued in England for foreigners (specifically Aussies, Saffas & Kiwis). They tasted really good and I made a point of ripping the page out and bringing the recipe back to Aus with me, and decided to use it to make them this year!!

They turned out really nice - they're not as spongey as a Lamnington you would buy from the supermarket, but they've got a really nice flavour and the cake isn't too sweet which is good as it balances nicely with the sweeteness of the icing.

Lamingtons - makes approx 18

125g butter, softened
1/2 cup of sugar

cream this until light and fluffy

add to this 2 eggs & vanilla and beat well

measure out 125 mls milk (I used buttermilk as I had some in the fridge that needed to be used up) and 1 1/2 cups of Self Raising flour.

Fold in milk and flour alternatively until it is all combined.

Pour in to a Lamington tin and bake at 180C for about 20 mins or until a light golden colour and the cake comes away from the edges of the pan.

Cool on a rack, slice in to squares and chill in the fridge until you're ready to dip them in the icing.

Icing recipe:

1 cup icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp boiling water
2 tbsp butter

And you'll need about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of coconut for rolling the iced cakes in.

Add all the above to a saucepan and stir constantly until boiled. Dip chilled squares of cake in the icing and let the excess drip off. Toss immediately in the coconut and then pop them on a plate and let them set.

That's it. It's pretty simple and they're damn tasty too!!