Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Lamingtons
Squares of vanilla butter sponge dipped in thin chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut.
Australian · medium · serves 16
prep 40 min · cook 25 min
~526 cal · 5g protein · 80g carbs · 23g fat · 5g fiber · 64g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Lamingtons are one of Australia's best-loved bakes, small squares of light sponge dunked in chocolate icing and rolled all over in coconut. They are named for Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and have been turning up at school fetes, church stalls and Country Women's Association tables since the early 1900s, when the first printed recipes appeared.
The build is simple but the order matters. A plain vanilla sponge or butter cake is baked, cooled and cut into squares, then each square is dipped in a thin chocolate icing and immediately tossed in coconut so it sticks. Cooks chill or freeze the cut cake first, because a fresh, soft sponge just crumbles into the icing.
A Queensland variation splits each square and fills it with raspberry jam and cream before coating. Plain or filled, lamingtons keep well in a tin and travel well, which is exactly why they became the classic fundraiser cake.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 16
3 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups icing sugar, sifted (for icing)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (for icing)
1 tbsp butter (for icing)
2/3 cup boiling water (for icing)
3 cups coconut, for coating
Instructions
1
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a 20cm by 30cm slice tin. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
2
Fold in the flour and milk in alternating batches until just smooth. Spread into the tin and bake about 25 minutes, until the sponge springs back when pressed. Cool completely, then chill or briefly freeze the cake.
✎ Chef’s note
A day-old or briefly frozen sponge holds together when you dip it; a fresh, warm one crumbles into the icing.
3
Cut the cake into 16 even squares. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a heatproof bowl, stir in the icing butter and the boiling water to a smooth, pourable icing, and sit the bowl over a pan of hot water so it stays loose.
4
Spread the coconut in a wide shallow tray. Using two forks, dip each square in the icing to coat all over, let the excess drip off, then roll it in the coconut until covered.
5
Set the finished lamingtons on a wire rack and leave about 30 minutes, until the icing firms. Store in an airtight tin.
Australian fete and CWA baking tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Queensland. Queensland is Australia's tropical northeast, where the sunshine reaches the baking: pumpkin worked into scones, mangoes and macadamias in season, and barramundi and mud crab off the coast. Backyard barbecue is the default way to cook and eat.
🗺️
Australia. Australia's modern cuisine blends European roots, a huge Asian influence, and native 'bush tucker' ingredients. Barbecue, seafood, multicultural street food, and a serious coffee culture define its relaxed, sun-drenched eating.
🌍
Oceania. The twentieth century changed the Pacific plate faster than anything before it. White rice, tinned corned beef, mutton flaps, flour and sugar arrived by ship and are now entirely everyday, and the public health consequences are among the most closely studied anywhere. Alongside that, Australian and New Zealand kitchens have taken up Asian technique and Maori and Pasifika cooking in a way they had not before.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Mould or tin.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
Make it a Australia meal
Aussie Meat PieDinner
Lemon, Lime and BittersDrink
Similar dishes from around the world
Afghan BiscuitsNew Zealand
Panipopo (Samoan Coconut Buns)Samoa
Ghapama (Stuffed Pumpkin)Armenia
Pawpaw PokeCook Islands
Akwadu (Baked Bananas with Coconut)Equatorial Guinea
VakaloloFiji
Frequently asked questions
What is Lamingtons?
Squares of vanilla butter sponge dipped in thin chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut.
Where does Lamingtons come from?
Lamingtons is a Australian dish from Queensland, Australia.
Can Lamingtons be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Lamingtons recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Lamingtons safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Lamingtons take to make?
About 65 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 16.
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