raspberry lamingtons

raspberry lamingtons

• 23 Jan 2023

When I went to Melbourne recently, I wanted to visit Beatrix Bakes cake shop only to discover it had recently shut its doors. The owner, Natalie Paull, still sells cakes via her Instagram page and when I saw a photo of a raspberry and rhubarb lamington on there, I knew I had to try and make a batch.

I was able to track down the Beatrix Bakes brown butter sponge recipe and cobbled together the rest. I made some raspberry jelly for the dip and a batch of rhubarb and raspberry jam for the filling. I've included a recipe for the jelly and the jam for you, but of course you could just buy some good quality jam and a packet of raspberry jelly crystals.

This recipe is a fiddle with loads of steps and it's best to make the cake the day before dipping to prevent it from crumbling. It's quite warm in Sydney at the moment, and the jelly dip started to melt in the heat, so I dipped 3 lamingtons at a time; then put the jelly back in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm a little and repeated the process until all were done. 

Here's the recipe for you, which makes 12 lamingtons. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Raspberry Lamington Recipe – makes 12

Brown butter sponge
160g (1 cup + 1 tbs) plain flour
½ tsp salt
4 room temperature eggs
150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
85g (3 oz) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Raspberry jelly

75g (2/3 cup) frozen raspberries

2 tsp gelatine powder
330mls (1 and 1/3 cup) cranberry drink
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar or to taste

Topping and filling
1 cup each shredded coconut and desiccated coconut
½ cup raspberry or rhubarb jam
250 mls (1 cup) cream, softly whipped with ½ tsp vanilla bean paste

Sponge
Line an 8” square tin with baking paper, using canola spray to stick the sides down (but don’t spray on top of the paper). Preheat the oven to 170°C, conventional.

Sift the flour with the salt onto a piece of baking paper and set to one side. Over a pot of barely simmering water, heat the sugar and the eggs in the mixer bowl until they are hot to the touch. Pop the mixer bowl onto the stand mixer or use an electric hand whisk and whisk for 8 minutes on a medium/high speed until the egg mix is pale, fluffy and can hold a peak. While this is whisking, brown the butter. Either heat the butter in a saucepan over a low heat until the butter starts to turn a toasty brown or do this step in a covered bowl in the microwave. It usually takes about 5 minutes on high in the microwave but check every minute or so. You should have about 75g of browned butter. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and set aside.

Gently scrape the egg mix into a wide, large-ish mixing bowl. Sift over half the flour/salt mix and gently fold in with a whisk, turning the mix over while spinning the bowl slowly. Fold in the remaining sifted flour until it has been fully incorporated. Slowly pour in the warm melted butter mix and fold in. Scrape the mix into the prepared tin and smooth the top a little. Place on the centre rack of the preheated 170°C oven and bake until lightly bouncy in the centre and golden brown (about 35 minutes). Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate overnight in a sealed tin.

Raspberry jelly – you’ll need to start this process an hour or two before dipping. If it's a hot day you may need to use an extra 1/2 tsp gelatine powder to speed up the setting process.

Puree the frozen raspberries in a food processor or use a stick blender. Press through a coarse sieve to extract the raspberry seeds. Set aside.

Place the gelatine and 30 mls of the cranberry drink in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine has been absorbed. Place the remaining juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the gelatine mixture and stir to combine then add the raspberry puree and mix well. Leave the jelly to cool for 20 minutes then cover and place in the fridge until the jelly begins to thicken. It should be the consistency of raw egg white.

Assembly
Cut the cake into 12 equal pieces then put the cake into the freezer for about 30 minutes before dipping. Once that’s done, set up a dunking station with your sponge rectangles, bowl of jelly, a wire rack, a small bowl of cold water (this has great non-stick properties), a tray of mixed coconut, and a resting tray for the completed lamingtons.

Dip each lamington into the raspberry mixture, place on a wire rack over the jelly bowl to drain off any excess jelly. Dip your fingers in the cold water and pick up the lamington and place in the coconut and then roll the lamington in the coconut. Refresh the coconut as needed. 

Place the lamingtons on the resting tray then refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until the lamingtons have set. When dry, cut the cakes in half horizontally. Spread one half with jam (1-2 tsp each) then pipe the whipped cream on top then sandwich together. Repeat with remaining cakes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

Rhubarb raspberry jam - makes about 600mls 

Ingredients
300g thinly sliced, washed and trimmed rhubarb
300g raspberries fresh or frozen
350g caster sugar
60mls fresh orange 
1 tbs finely grated orange rind

Method

Place all the ingredients into a bowl, cover and stand overnight.

The next day transfer the ingredients into a heavy-based saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the mixture jells when tested on a cold saucer. Stand the jam for 10 minutes to settle before pouring into hot sterilised jars. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months. Once opened, keep the jam in the fridge and use within 1 month.

Yes, they were a fiddle and the kitchen floor was covered with coconut, but I'm pleased to report that the lamingtons tasted as good as they looked. 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian