Gingerbread lamingtons
These cake squares originate from Australia traditionally – they are usually made of sponge cake but they have a gingerbread twist here.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250g/9oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 100g/3½oz black treacle
- 250g/9oz muscovado sugar
- 375g/13oz plain flour
- 6 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 balls stem ginger, chopped
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 300ml/10fl oz full-fat milk
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the filling and coating
- 80g/2¾oz unsalted butter, melted
- 250ml/9fl oz full-fat milk
- 60²µ/2¼´Ç³ú cocoa powder
- 400g/14oz icing sugar
- 200g/7oz apricot jam
- 200g/7oz desiccated coconut
Method
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and grease and line a 30cm/12in x 20cm/9in loaf tin.
Melt the butter, treacle and muscovado sugar together in a saucepan and then leave to cool.
Mix the flour, ground ginger and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour in the treacle mixture, stem ginger and eggs and mix.
Warm the milk in a small saucepan and add the bicarbonate of soda. Tip the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir well together. Tip into the loaf tin, level the surface and bake for 40 minutes–1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool at room temperature.
To make the chocolate icing, whisk the butter and milk together in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the cocoa powder and icing sugar. Whisk until it forms a smooth icing. Set aside in a wide, shallow bowl.
To assemble, cut the cake into neat squares. Cut the squares across the middle horizontally and spread some apricot jam on the cut sides of each square. Sandwich the squares back together.
Place the coconut into a bowl. Dip the cake squares into the chocolate icing and then into the coconut. Transfer to a wire rack and chill for 1 hour.