Gluten Free Lamingtons for Australia Day

This recipe is bittersweet in light of the huge blow dealt by climate change to Australia and its animals, ecology, and people. Let this post be a a celebration of one of the most colorful, friendly, and wonderful countries and groups of people out there, and a digital hug from across the Pacific that might comfort those who’ve lost so much in the recent and ongoing fires and disastrous weather. Australia is dear to me for many reasons, not least of which is that Australia was the first country I traveled to outside of the US which left a cherished impact. When I was thirteen, I applied to be a student ambassador as part of the People to People Student Ambassador Program set up by Eisenhower in 1961. The impetus for the program was the realization that, after two world wars, the only way international cooperation and co-existence could occur was if people made an effort to meet, learn from, and create friendships, not just between politicians, but between citizens of those different countries. The 21-day trip was preceded by months of preparation: researching the Australian rain forest, learning about similar atrocities Australia committed against Aborigines  that the US committed against Native Americans, writing essays upon essays about Australian customs and popular culture. And then we were there, amongst some of the sunniest people you’ll ever meet – all smiles and g’days and no worries mate. I filled notebooks with excited observations on the amazing foods (fresh passion fruit every day?! and beets on hamburgers?!), incredible wildlife up in Queensland, out on the Great Barrier Reef, and on Moreton Island (third largest sand island in the world). My host family in one southern Queensland town even made sure I had a gluten free dessert at the cane toad race and potluck, and made the first and most incredible pavlova I’ve ever seen.

Years later, I got to return with some of my dearest friends and people I love and spend days up in the blue mountains, savoring dusky sunsets over gum trees and the fantastical Three Sisters rock formation, and the best mango smoothies we had ever had. We watched flocks of pink and grey Galahs squawking over sleepy outback towns outside of Canberra and found a giant statue of a Merino sheep (just one of the many giant statues of things in Australia). We saw a few echidnas and got quintessentially sunburned beyond belief after falling asleep on the beach in Sydney. After stuffing bags full of Tim Tams for friends back home, it was hard for so many reasons to leave the people and the country and head back up to the northern hemisphere.

So, in contrary spirit to all of our other more comedic posts, we offer our sincerest efforts to craft the best gluten free lamingtons we can in honor of Australia Day and Australians, both human and otherwise. A quick note on lamingtons – they’re a traditional Aussie dessert that apparently were first served for Lord Lamington (the governor of Queensland from 1896-1901), who sprung a bunch of unexpected guests on his French chef, Armand Galland, who, despite his undoubted frustration at the lack of prep time, managed to toss together bits of leftover French vanilla sponge cake coated in chocolate and coconut that more than impressed his audience. And here we are, more than a century later, still making the darned things. There are lots of much more exciting flavor combos out there (raspberry and cream, passionfruit, rose, buttered rum, white chocolate and lime), and we’ll definitely come up with some exciting and delicious variations, but for our first attempt (not counting a few attempts back in college) at gluten free lamingtons, here is the closest to the classic. If these Australian treats are up your alley, try these equally incredible millionaire shortbread bars (also thanks to the Australians). Do what tastes good!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Lamingtons for Australia Day

Source: Sisters Sans Gluten

Prep Time2 hours hrs

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Resting Time6 hours hrs

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Australian

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: australia, browned butter, cake, chocolate, coconut, toasted coconut

Servings: 20 lamingtons

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• 9×13 inch pan
• Plastic wrap
• Cooling rack

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 Cup gluten free flour 1-1 mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum)
• 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
• 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 Cup packed blanched almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 Cup white sugar
• 3/4 Cup browned butter room temperature instructions below, melted but cooled
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 Cup sour cream
• 3/4 Cup milk

For the assembly:

• 2/3 Cup cherry, strawberry, or raspberry jam I use a mix
• 3 Cups toasted desiccated coconut (unsweetened) instructions below on how to toast

For the glaze:

• 3/4 Cup chopped good quality dark chocolate or a mix of milk + dark
• 1/4 Cup salted good quality butter
• 1/2 Cup milk
• 1/4 Cup heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 Cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp Dutch cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp black cocoa powder

Instructions

• First, brown the butter. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt all of the butter and stir constantly until melted and simmering. Continue to simmer, on medium heat, for at least a few minutes, until the popping and hissing sounds have completely subsided (this is the water in the butter burning off – you’ll know once it’s silent). Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the butter reaches a deep amber color and smells nutty or caramelly. Once it reaches that color, immediately take off the burner and let sit until cool. Once cool, make the cake.
• Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch pan and line with parchment paper, grease the paper and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the room temp brown butter with the sugar sugar until lighter and fluffy, then add the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and milk and beat until smooth. Finally, add in the flours, starches, baking powder and soda, and salt and whisk until fully combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a butter knife inserted in to the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack, and then wrap entire cake in plastic wrap and plate a few large books on top to carefully press the cake (so that your lamingtons are perfect cubes). Leave the cake to press for 6+ hours (or overnight).
• Once the cake is pressed, unwrap and slice into 24 cubes about 2×2 inches. I like to trim each one to create a perfect cube, but if you're not picky, just leave as is! Once your cubes are cubed, get the jam in the middle (totally optional, lamingtons are great without them middle layer of jam too!). Slice them in half as if you were slicing bread for a sandwich, then spread about a teaspoon of jam on one half and then make your lamington sandwich. Place all jammed lamingtons into a tray and freeze for 1 hour to set the jam/cake before dipping in the glaze.
• While the lamingtons are freezing, make the toasted coconut and chocolate glaze. First, preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and then pour the three cups of desiccated coconut evenly on the tray. Bake for a few minutes only, stirring/moving the coconut around frequently to avoid burning. Once it’s toasted to your liking, remove and let cool, then put into a bowl for dunking. Then make the glaze.
• Put an inch of water into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Place a metal bowl on top of the pan so that the bowl is not touching the water. Stir the chocolate, butter, salt, milk and cream together in the bowl as it melts. Once completely melted and combined, take the bowl off of the pan (turn off heat) and whisk in the powdered sugar and cocoa powders.
• Remove lamingtons from freezer and use forks or a skewer to dunk them in the warm chocolate glaze until completely coated. I let them drip on a wire rack for a few seconds before dunking the cube in the toasted coconut. Dunk all lamingtons in glaze then coconut and place back on a wire rack then freeze lamingtons again for about 30-40 minutes just to set the chocolate. Then eat! I love them still chilled, but you can bring them completely to room temp before serving too.

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your lamingtons!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber