My Nana on Dida's side famously won a baking contest for her beautiful sponge cake. Those were the days before electric beaters and stand mixers and Dida (my Dad, Croatian for Grandad) still swears a classic sponge is tops. When I was formulating Caker's Delight in my mind, hand mixing and Nana's light and airy sponge cake was top of mind.
The goal of Caker's Delight was to create a deliciously simple staple, a classic Nana-style keto sponge that anyone of any ability could whip up in a minute with minimal input. The great thing about a good sponge is the versatility - and lamingtons were calling this weekend! I am still on the fence over which recipe I prefer most: Raspberry Lamingtons or Chocolate Lamiingtons so I'll share both with you and let you decide which you like best for yourself!
For the Lamington Sponge:
1. Prepare the Vanilla Bean Cake recipe on the back of Caker's Delight.
2. Pour batter into a square tin (like you get free with Sweet Treats Bundle)
3. When cake is cool, trim off the browned sides and tops ( save for cake pops!)
4. Cut each large square, into 9 smaller squares and set aside. **
For the Raspberry Sauce:
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
1 sachet sugarfree raspberry jelly (I used Airplane)
1 cup of boiling water
1 tsp pink food colouring (optional)
You will also need:
1 cup of cream, whipped (I added 1 tsp of Sweetest Ding)
Dessicated coconut or coconut thread to decorate
Method:
1. Pass the raspberries through a seive to remove seeds. Keep seeds for later.
2. Dissolve the raspberry jelly in the boiling water.
3. Combine jelly liquid with raspberry puree. Place in the fridge to set a little.
4. When raspberry sauce is the texture of egg white, dip sponge squares in the sauce. Take care to allow any excess to run off, or use your fingers to scrape off as this will make the lamington easier to manage in the coconut.
5. Cover the lamington in your choice of dessciate coconut or coconut thread and leave on a plate to set at room temperature
(you can pop in the fridge but it will make the cake much firmer under tooth)
6. When all the squares are covered in coconut, assemble lamingtons with a dollop of whipped cream and a small spoon of the reserved raspberry seeds in the centre, before laying a second pink square on top.
7. Place remaining raspberry sauce in the fridge for later use! Melt to use as a coulis on pancakes or use set as a keto jam alternative in sandwiches!
For the Chocolate Ganache: (use any choc you like, this is my fave combo!)
1 block Lindt 95%
1 block milk Well Naturally
1/2c Healtheries Dark Baking Bits
1/2 hot, not boiling cream
Method:
1. Microwave cream to hot but not boiling 30sec-1minute
2. Break up all the pieces of chocolate and add to the bowl of hot cream.
3. Leave the chocolate to soften and melt for 5 minutes
4. Stir with a spoon to combine ganache. If it needs further melting, microwave in 30 second increments.
5. When chocolate ganache is at a cool enough temperature, dip squares of sponge in the chocolate.
6. Use your finger or a knife to scrape off any excess or the lamington will be difficult to manoeuvre in the coconut.
7. Cover chocolate lamingtons in desiccated coconut or coconut thread and set aside to set at room temperature.
(you can pop in the fridge but it will make the cake much firmer under tooth)
8. When all the squares are covered in coconut, assemble lamingtons with a dollop of whipped cream and a small spoon of the set raspberry sauce in the centre, before laying a second brown square on top.
We absolutely loved making these lamingtons, it was messy and so much fun! I already know these will be a birthday party request for future! You cannot tell these are keto, I swear these taste just like the real deal. If you make them please let me know by tagging @ketohappyco in your posts! I love seeing your keto creations online. Can't wait to see you baking up a storm this week. See you on social, Katy xx
** If you have arthritis, carpal tunnel, RSI, poor fine motor or struggle to grip the cake, I recommend freezing the squares to make them more robust to handle. Alternatively, you can leave the cakes out on the bench for a day or two to help dry them out a bit.