We might be far from home, and I might be a kiwi, but we still call Australia home.
We miss it every day. There are so many things in Australia we take for granted. Beaches, fresh air, the ability to drive more than 45 minutes and not be stopped by an international border, one stop supermarket shopping, a back yard … It really is a blessed country. So, in lieu of being back home and in honour of Australia Day I decided to make some chocolate lamington cupcakes.
They were actually quite simple. The only dilemma I had involved the weather being so cold that the chocolate icing kept getting too cool too quickly to do all the dipping.
What are these little morsels? A basic vanilla cupcake recipe with a chocolate icing and shredded coconut (also known as desiccated coconut) topping. The original lamington is normally made from a butter cake or vanilla cake cut into large cubes, dipped totally in chocolate and then covered in coconut. This is just a cupcakey twist.
Would I have done anything differently? Next time (for indeed there will be a next time) I am going to try and fill them with fresh whipped cream. Lamingtons might be an Australian creation (unlike the pavlova) but in New Zealand they are normally filled with whipped cream and jam and the idea of a surprise cream filling really appeals to me. It might also offset the sweetness factor a little bit.
Will post the recipe in a few days time if anyone is interested.
For those of you back in Oz, have a great day off – enjoy it for us!
Life... with Sprogs... 