… my kitchen has exploded with desiccated coconut and icing sugar… it’s an utter mess…!
… so I made a promise to myself and The Viking that I would not bake a loaf or a cake before the end if January… both our middle age spreads are spreading and we have reputations to uphold… it’s not easy looking this fabulous at 40 you know!
… but there are bloggers challenges to be made and deadlines to meet so I’m afraid a promise is about to be broken…
… with Mr P. pushing his re-invented Lamingtons plus Chele and Choclette and their left-over January challenge I have a lot to do … so in an effort to achieve and partake I am combining 2 challenges in one.
I present to you dear reader the ‘we should cocoa re-inventing the Lamington’ double whammy, dont eat it, give it to the neighbours, 2 in 1 challenge… phew!
Giant Carrot Cake Chocolate Lamingtons
the plan this Christmas was to make Delia’s Ultimate Carrot Cake instead of Christmas Cake but with me winning Kavey’s lovely Forman and Field Christmas Pud and our friends bringing a home made Christmas Cake as a gift I didnt realy need to make it, even though the ingredients were bought…
… so the carrot cake ingredients fall perfectly into the ‘we should cocoa’ challenge for using left-over or unused ingredients…
… and if I turn them into Lamingtons I have a genius combination!
… so first you make your cake
recipe
200g grated carrots
175g dark soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
5 fl oz sunflower oil
175g wholemeal self raising flour
3 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon bicarb
grated zest of 1 orange
110g sultanas
50g desiccated coconut
25g pecan nuts
50g ground almonds
2 heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder (this is optional to bring it in-line with the ‘we should cocoa’ challenge… and a damn fine addition it is too!)
for the syrup glaze
juice of 1 small orange
1 table lemon juice
3 oz dark brown soft sugar
tablespoon orange liquor (optional)
for the icing and coating
450g full fat cream cheese
115g butter
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
250g icing sugar
5ml vanilla extract
50g desiccated coconut
… as far as I can tell, the Lamington is a square layered sponge cake covered in some kind of icing which in turn is covered in desiccated coconut… the cake can be any cake which you make as a cake first and then cut into cubes… the idea is to be creative…
– first place the chopped pecans onto a baking tray and bake in a medium oven for 8 mins till nice and toasty
– whisk the sugar, eggs and oil together in a bowl with an electric hand whisk for about 2-3 minutes, check there’s no sugar left un-disolved.
– sift the flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder, bicarb and mixed spice into the bowl and gently stir it all together, followed by the rest of the cake ingredients
– divide the mixture evenly into 2 prepared 8inch x 4cm deep sponge tins and bake for 30 mins on 170 till risen and dark gold.
– when the cakes come out of the oven, prick them all over and drizzle them with the syrup glaze which you have simply mixed together into a jug, let the syrup soak through the cakes and once cool remove them from the tins and set aside.
– make the classic cream-cheese icing by beating it all together with an electric whisk ( I made one with cocoa powder added and one plain)
…and now comes the messy part
– build the cake by placing 1/3 of the icing onto the top of one half of the cake, smooth it out and place the other cake on top
– cut the cake into small cubes ( i think I may have made mine rather larger than they should be!)
– smother each cube in the icing, then roll each covered cube in coconut… totally messy but TOTALLY glorious!
eat and of course, enjoy!
and just to keep you all gagging for more… coming soon: belleau kitchen’s first bloggers challenge, ‘random recipes’… i’ll reveal all next week…
See, two challenges done with one mess is like almost not breaking your promise, right? Now you have all of next week left to clean, easy.
Carrot cake is one of my favorite. The squares would make great “Finger food” for a dessert bar. Great idea!
Thanks MKitR… they are rather large for finger food, about the size of a large apple and not tricky to pick up!… you're up early aren't you?
Well done. I got into trouble last week for making more cakes than all my boys could eat – just because I was trying to get some challenges done so I really need to take a leaf out of your book!
ooooh you old tempter you… I love lamingtons -although I make mine with vanilla sponge then strawberry jam then coconut…Speaking of Vikings by the way see the blog tomorrow!
Hmmm! Round cake……cubic lamingtons. Is there something you're not admitting to? Who ate the leftovers? 😉 Not that I'd blame you – the lamingtons look delicious!
what's this? a blogger recipe challenge? count me in, my friend
wow – za….that cake looks fab.
and YES !!! i did keep my pet…it is in the fridge…i like what you said about the bread just getting better
how often do you feed yours?
thanks for visiting and the kind words…always happy to see you
teddy says HI
kary and teddy
mmmmm this looks so delicious!
I like your style Dom … not only have you managed to kill two challenges in one recipe but in the run up to Australia Day you have also recreated an Aussie classic. That scores you extra brownie points in my book ;0)
Well, sometimes promises are made for breaking, whatever that means, and this looks like a particularly delicious way to break your promise! Nice one for combining the two challenges, they look utterly delicious!
What I'd like to know Dom – is this the neighbours letting you know it's totally glorious? 😉
I'm impressed you managed to keep the non baking resolution for as long as you did. And really how could you possibly resist these (err excellent) challenges? These look like a truly fabulous creation.
what a beautiful cake! i just love coconut.
I could stuff the whole piece in my mouth without blinking and never look back. YUMMY!! What I love about blogging is seeing all these amazing food and desserts from everyone. It has really elevated my cooking style. Nice job Dom and very generous sharing it with the neighbors.
Amazing work Dom. Making carrot cake to go in a lamington is what Victoria Beckham would call 'major'. Love it.
I love anything remotely 'carrot cake', the fact that it's covered in coconut is just a bonus.
Lamingtons? Lamingtons?!? WTF?!? I have never heard of them until today and my brain is on overload, thinking on all the ways that one could dress up a good-sized cube of cake, quick bread, or sponge! This is an epiphany!
BUT … excuse me. What is dessicated coconut? It sounds positively sad …
Oh-oh, reinventing lamingtons? And calling them Australian? Boy, are you going to be in trouble when the International Lamington Tribunal gets wind of this…
These look so good. I've never had a lamington before, but coconut covered cake just can't be anything but delicious. I have a new linky on my blog called “Sweets for a Saturday” and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link this up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/01/sweets-for-saturday-1_21.html
Very impressed:
1. Chocolate carrot cake – how great an idea is that!
2. Not baking for 22 days!!!!
3. Two challenges in one, and both wonderfully executed.
4. You gave them away!!!!!
You're the man!
wow, thank you all for the lovely words… they were exceptional… i'm not ashamed to say that The Viking and I did eat one before we gave them away… we're human after all!… which is why I know they're totally glorious… i'm not THAT arrogant!
@ suelle… I did nibble at the cut-offs but they went into the freezer.
@MFK… i feed my pet once a week now, check out some of my old posts on sourdough… not always a success!
@Mr P Thanks… although i can't imagine VB eating anything!
@Susan… I'd never heard of Lamingtons either until I read Mr P's amazing blog… you must go and read it… as far as desiccated coconut goes, you live in the States not Mars for goodness sake… I guess the Americans probably called it shredded coconut or shaved coconut or something equally obvious!
@Kitchen Maid… if they're not Australian then where are they from?… Wikipedia says they were invented by Lord Lamington who was govenor of Queensland…. anyway you can blame Mr P for any issues with the international Lamington tribunal… he's been my source!
and finally @ BVG… yes… I am the man!
Gotta love the Lamingtons! Great job 🙂
Chocolate carrot lamingtons, inspired! They look great.
carrot cake lamingtons! now thats something you dont see everyday, this looks and sounds delicious!
Oh Yum! So hard to keep those “not going to bake for x number of weeks.months” after holidays promises…these look lovely!! xx 🙂
Just saw at Mr P's that you were posting these so I've come to have a look. I know what you mean about January and deadlines and resolutions, this baking lark is a nightmare for trying to eat healthily. (Have offloaded cake to two sets of neighbours this weekend).
I love carrot cake and can see it working really well in lamington form. Great idea!
It's a sweet broken promise, so I guess that's forgiv-able? Am I making up words? LOL Your cake just looks delicious and wonderful!
I'm having the very first GIVEAWAY on my blog. Please stop by to submit an entry. Good Luck.
http://utry.it/2011/01/happy-birthday-to-meand-very-first.html
I think it must be the weekend for broken promises as we buckled here as well! I just dont think we can live without baking Dom,were going to have to start marathon running or something!
The carrot cake looks fab by the way…
OMG they look good, and what a mistake reading this with a grumbling stomach. lol.
Did I mention they look fantastic?
Another recipe to add to the “to try” list..
Thanks so much for linking this up with Sweets for a Saturday. I truly appreciate your support. Hope to see you again next week. By then, I'll have a button that you can grab and add to your post.
Delicious! What a beautiful remake. 😉
Thank you SO much for visiting my blog! I was thrilled to visit yours and see your beautiful kitchen. The description of where you live sounds amazing! I look forward to visiting often and hearing more!
Susan http://www.ugogrrl.com
Gracias por abrirme las puertas de tu encantadora cocina y compartir tus recetas.
Bieeeennnn!!! de vez en cuando podré ir de excursión a la campiña inglesa para disfutar de tus deliciosas receta.
This looks great! Love carrot cake… and with chocolate and coconut? yum. I still yet to make my first lamington (hang in there Mr.P!)
In reading this post, the immortal words of Mr. Roger's “…can't you be, won't you be….my neighbor” keep running through my head!! Delicious!
Best,
Bonnie
This cake looks delicious! When I want the calories out of the house I send it somewhere! My mantra is “once on the lips, forever on the hips” – if you saw my hips you'd know what I meant! LOL!!! This recipe is a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
Also: You broke a promise for cake. Love that.
I wish I was your neighbour – not that I need baked goods in my life either but I would love to taste these – in the name of curiosity – they look delicious