Another sacrilegious Lamington interpretation (purists, put down the torches and pitchforks. Variation on a classic theme can be a fun) and another recipe attempt from Rose's Heavenly Cakes.
Rose, I love you. I want to have your cake babies... whatever that means. Regardless, I'm fully committed. Your beautiful new cookbook is probably one of the most prized books in my library. I've never gotten such consistently good results from a collection of cake recipes, ever.
I bought this book with the intention of reviewing it, but doing so now after so many tests and blog posts seems almost gratuitous. The results are right there on the blog, plain to see.
Om nom nom
This red velvet cake cast some sort of spell on me. I actually started eating it during the photo shoot today! I never do that. Ever.
Anyway, today's Lamington is for you coconut haters out there. Cubes of red velvet cake coated in a cream cheese frosting sweetened only with white chocolate and decked out with white sprinkles (aka fake coconut).
I made these Lamingtons over-sized, a little over 3 inches square and they are perfect to share (think: Valentines day).
Of course, you don't have to.
Rose's Heavenly Red Velvet:
from Rose's Heavenly Cakes
yields 4 large lamingtons serving 8
3 large egg whites
1 oz red food coloring (I didn't use gel, just standard food coloring)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200 grams cake flour
200 grams superfine sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour a 9" square pan, place a square of parchment in the bottom and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, vanilla and red food coloring. Lightly mix these together, working carefully as it can quickly make you look like a victim from a low budget slasher film.
In a second medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and oil for one minute on medium speed. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and mix on low speed to bring the ingredients together. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Reduce the speed to low again and carefully add 1/2 the red egg mixture, increase the speed to medium and mix for 30 seconds until it is incorporated. Reduce the speed and add the remaining egg mixture, and mix on medium speed for another 30 seconds until well blended.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula.
Bake for 25-35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean or the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then release the cake from the sides of the pan with a quick go-round with a small offset spatula and then unmold onto a wire rack.
Allow to cool completely and then cut into thirds and then each strip into thirds creating 9 square chunks of cake.
Now you're ready for the frosting...
Rose's Heavenly White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes
11.5 oz good quality white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
1/2 cup butter, softened but still cool
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
In the microwave heat the white chocolate stirring every 15 seconds until almost completely melted, being careful not to overheat the chocolate.
Remove from the microwave and stir until completely melted. Set aside to cool until no longer warm to the touch.
In your food processor, combine the cream cheese, unsalted butter and sour cream and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides often. Add the cooled chocolate and blend until it is incorporated and then pulse in the extract.
Pour the frosting into the bowl. For firmer frosting place in the refrigerator for roughly 30 minutes.
To assemble the Lamingtons, crumb coat eight pieces of cake with a little of the cream cheese frosting. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes. Remove and quickly apply a thick coat of frosting and sandwich them together. Return to the refrigerator to cool again for 15 minutes and then apply the sprinkles. I find that holding a piece of wax paper in my hand close to the cake and then pouring sprinkles into the space between the cake and the paper is a fairly easy way to coat the sides.
It will take roughly 1/2-1lb of white sprinkles to coat all four Lamingtons. If you don't have that many or don't want to use sprinkles try using red velvet cake crumbs.
Rose's Heavenly White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes
11.5 oz good quality white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
1/2 cup butter, softened but still cool
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
In the microwave heat the white chocolate stirring every 15 seconds until almost completely melted, being careful not to overheat the chocolate.
Remove from the microwave and stir until completely melted. Set aside to cool until no longer warm to the touch.
In your food processor, combine the cream cheese, unsalted butter and sour cream and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides often. Add the cooled chocolate and blend until it is incorporated and then pulse in the extract.
Pour the frosting into the bowl. For firmer frosting place in the refrigerator for roughly 30 minutes.
To assemble the Lamingtons, crumb coat eight pieces of cake with a little of the cream cheese frosting. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes. Remove and quickly apply a thick coat of frosting and sandwich them together. Return to the refrigerator to cool again for 15 minutes and then apply the sprinkles. I find that holding a piece of wax paper in my hand close to the cake and then pouring sprinkles into the space between the cake and the paper is a fairly easy way to coat the sides.
It will take roughly 1/2-1lb of white sprinkles to coat all four Lamingtons. If you don't have that many or don't want to use sprinkles try using red velvet cake crumbs.
Take one remaining unfrosted piece of cake and reduce it to crumbs in your food processor. Use the scarlet crumbs to coat the sides of your cake.
For the folks looking for "My Bloody Poofy Chocolate Woolly Biscuit Lamington" I've decided to save that one for tomorrow. I ran out of good light for taking photos today fairly early. It has been one dark, wet day in Seattle.
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