If you’re somebody who has no idea what a Lamington is, as was the case with me before I moved to the land down under, let me give you a mental picture. A lamington is basically a square of sponge cake dipped in dark chocolate icing and then coated with desiccated coconut. It was apparently born out of mistake by a French Chef, and trust me, this is the best mistake ever! Ever since I have moved to Sydney, I have become an absolute fan of them. I mean, there’s nothing not to love! Now if you’re a lamington virgin, I apologise in advance, for this post doesn’t reflect the true beauty of a lamington and I would recommend not basing your opinion about them on this post. You can see how deeply I feel for them, haha  HOWEVER, true lamington or not, this recipe is great in itself with all the beautiful flavours coming together.

I created this version to suit the romantic vibe of February with Valentine’s Day just around the corner and what says romance better than rose and white chocolate?!  Here’s a little secret about Valentine’s Day and me. I used to cringe at the idea of Valentine’s Day because of all the soppiness and cheesiness that comes with it and I, for one, is somebody who is miles away from cheesy town. However, saying that, for the longest time in my life, my Valentine has been my sister or my best friend, Shubhangi. And as I grew older (and hopefully wiser), I realised it doesn’t have to be all soppy and cheesy. Valentine’s is just a day to celebrate love, and I kinda love love. I’m the hopeful romantic kind, except I am way too awkward to be expressive, and therefore, I resort to baking as my way of expressing love. So if you ever get a cake from me, you know to take the hint! HAHA, just kidding  Anyhow, if you’re as awkward as I am, bake this for your loved one (even if your Valentine is your mum!) and let them know that you love them. Or even if you’re not as awkward, bake them something regardless because let’s be honest. who doesn’t love cake?!  So here’s the breakdown. There is an eggless rose & vanilla sponge which is based off of my Mom’s Special Vanilla Cake (love!), filled with berry jam, dipped in white chocolate and then coated with shredded coconut & dried rose petals. I KNOW!  This is such a beautiful tasting cake (yes, beautiful!) and yet light that you would be coming back for seconds, or thirds, or maybe the whole thing. Who’s to judge! 

Recipe adaptation: Mom’s Special Vanilla Cake

Recipe

Makes: 12-16 pcs

Ingredients

For the rose vanilla sponge cake:

• 100 g butter, at room temperature

• 3 tbsp castor sugar

• 180 ml condensed milk

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 tbsp rosewater *

• 190 g plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 120 ml milk, at room temperature

• 80 ml coca cola, at room temperature

For the berry jam:

• 100 g mixed berries, frozen or fresh

• 30 g castor sugar

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp cointreau, optional

For the assembly:

• 250 g white chocolate

• 100 g dried shredded coconut

• 5 g dried rose petals, roughly broken into pieces

Method

For the rose vanilla sponge:

• Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a 20×20 cm baking pan with baking paper. Keep aside.

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

• Add in the vanilla extract, rosewater and condensed milk and beat again until fluffy.

• In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together.

• Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mix, alternating with milk.

• Lastly, add the coca cola and mix until just combined. Don’t worry if it looks a little split.

• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smoothen the top with the spatula for a flat surface. Bake for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Let it cool.

For the berry jam:

• In a small pot, put the mixed berries and sugar and cook over medium heat until the consistency of spreadable jam. **

• Remove from heat and add in the lemon juice and cointreau, if using. Let it cool.

• Once cooled, pipe the jam into a piping bag. Snip a small hole at the tip of the piping bag. Keep aside.

Assembly:

• Remove the cooled cake onto a chopping board. Cut into 3″ squares.

• Using either a chopstick, or a thick skewer, poke a hole in the centre of the squares.

• Fill the centres with the berry jam. Keep aside.

• Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler. Mix the shredded coconut and dried rose petals together in a bowl.

• Dip the cake squares into the melted chocolate and coat evenly on all sides. Wipe off the excess and then roll the cake in coconut. Press lightly if you have to to stick the coconut. Repeat with all the cake squares. Let the chocolate set for 5 mins and then serve. Bon appetite!

Notes:

*- This recipe calls for rosewater and not rose essence. If you’re using rose essence instead of rosewater, only use 1 tsp and maybe add 1/2 tsp later if you feel like the flavour isn’t strong enough. Remember that the flavour will get stronger with baking.

**- You want to cook the jam to a thick consistency so that it doesn’t leak while piping.

If you enjoyed that and tried it at home, please tag me at @myyummyspatula on instagram so that I can see all your bakes! For more BTS stories, updates and fun, you can follow long here: