03 Magazine: October 02, 2023

40 Magazine | Recipe
PASSIONFRUIT LAMINGTONS
I do love a fresh cream-filled lamington. They are such a distinctive sweet baking treat.
Lamingtons take a bit of effort, but if made as part of a big afternoon tea spread they will inevitably
be the first empty plate to be removed. Personally, I’ve always been a pink lamington guy over
the chocolate variety. You’ll love this slightly modern idea of using passionfruit,
which creates a striking yellow and particularly delicious lamington.
If you’re short on passionfruit juice, use half orange juice.
Makes 10–12
SPONGE
4 eggs, at room temperature, separated
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
¾ cup plain flour
1 cup cornflour
2 teaspoons baking powder
PASSIONFRUIT SYRUP
2 gelatine leaves
1 cup passionfruit juice
1 cup sugar
TO ASSEMBLE
2 cups coarse desiccated coconut
1 cup cream
¼ cup icing sugar
6 passionfruit (optional), to serve
Extracted from Eat Up New
Zealand: The Bach Edition
by Al Brown, photography
by Josh Griggs, published by
Allen & Unwin NZ.
RRP$49.99.
Preheat your oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 30 x 24 x 5cm
rectangular cake tin with butter or oil.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using
a handheld electric whisk, beat the egg whites with the
cream of tartar until stiff, then slowly incorporate the sugar,
beating until the granules are dissolved. Now add the egg
yolks, beating in one at a time.
Pour the batter into a large bowl, then, as lightly as possible,
sift and fold in the flour, cornflour and baking powder.
Pour the sponge batter into the prepared cake tin. Place in
the centre of the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until
lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the
sponge comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let the sponge cool completely in
the tin.
For the passionfruit syrup, bloom the gelatine leaves in a
small bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, until soft and pliable.
In a small saucepan, combine the passionfruit juice and
sugar. Place over medium-low heat and stir until the sugar
has dissolved. Remove and let cool slightly.
While the passionfruit syrup is still hot, drain and squeeze
dry the gelatine leaves, and stir into the syrup. Set aside.
Take a serrated knife and carefully trim and slice a couple of
millimetres from the outer layer of the sponge, then cut into
lamington squares.
To finish, dip the edges of the sponge squares into the
passionfruit syrup, then press into the coconut. Repeat until
complete, then refrigerate.
Split the lamingtons in half and place on a clean tray.
Whip the cream and sugar together to form semi-soft peaks.
Top one inner side of a lamington half with cream then top
with the other half. Refrigerate until required.
Serve on a small plate with a fork, add extra cream if you
like and, if you have fresh passionfruit, I like to serve a little
fresh pulp on the side.