Do you know what a lamington is? I didn’t until a few years ago. I was introduced to them by Mr. P from Delicious, Delicious, Delicious. If you like sweets, his blog is the place for you. Mr. P bakes up a storm and takes lovely photos and writes witty posts and is all around charming. The site is not gluten-free, but does it really matter with all the aforementioned attributes? (No.)
Lamingtons are a popular Australian treat. Traditionally they are squares of sponge cake, coated in chocolate, then rolled in dessicated coconut. Sometimes there’s a cream or jam filling. Apparently Mr. P visited Australia a few years ago, and he was not exactly wowed by this treat. He started an event called Re-Inventing the Lamington. For the ten days leading up to Australia Day, he creates a different take on the lamington. He also has a contest for people to submit their own lamington inventions. The event was so popular that it’s been repeated in the intervening two years.
The entries are always pretty amazing. You know, from people who should probably be running their own bakery or competing in some Food Network show. While I thought it might be fun to participate, I also was scared. I figured there was no way I would stack up. But on Friday I finally said, screw it, I’m going to try anyway.
Update: Here’s the roundup if you want to see all of this year’s entries.
I felt a bit odd re-inventing a dessert I’d never heard of before, especially since this version is really nothing like what a lamington is supposed to be, but I figure Mr. P can take the flack for that. I’m only following orders. Mike and I started talking about flavor ideas. I settled on a deconstructed white chocolate macadamia nut brownie, which of course is then re-constructed in a much more complicated and time-consuming way. No one said this was an exercise in logic.
For the brownie part, I worked off of Mr. P’s chocolate ginger brownie recipe. Mine didn’t quite get the rise that his had, but they were nice and fudgy, which was what I wanted. In addition to the named ginger, his recipe includes nutmeg and cloves, which I omitted here. Upon further consideration, the spices would probably go well with the white chocolate and macadamia nuts, but I didn’t want to get too crazy with the flavors. If you have another brownie recipe that bakes in a 8×8 pan, feel free to use that instead.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 3 ounces (75 grams) dark chocolate, broken into squares
- 1 cup (200 grams) superfine sugar
- 1/3 cup (42 grams) sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup (42 grams) potato starch
- 4 teaspoons (9 grams) almond meal
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 cup (30 grams) cocoa
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, then grease the paper and sides.
- Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Once melted, allow to cool slightly.
- Mix the sorghum flour, potato starch, almond meal, and xanthan gum in a bowl. Add the flour mixture, plus the other remaining ingredients to the chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth.
- Pour into the greased baking pan. Bake until set, about 30 minutes. Remove and cool.
(I actually ended up with the brownies to the right of the double boiler, and the parchment paper just to the left of the nuts, but I wanted to give you an idea of what the work station looked like.)
Gluten-Free White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Brownie Lamingtons
- 1 batch of brownies (from above), completely cooled
- 14 ounces (400 grams) white chocolate chunks
- 12 ounces (350 grams) macadamia nuts, finely chopped
- Trim the edges of the brownie so that it has straight, even sides. Cut into 16 squares.
- Fill a medium pot about halfway with water and place over high heat. Once simmering reduce to low. Place a double boiler insert (or a metal bowl that fits snugly) over the pot. Add the white chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted. Turn off heat.
- Place the macadamia nuts in a wide shallow bowl, near the white chocolate. Lay out a large sheet of wax or parchment paper to set the lamingtons on.
- Dip a brownie square into the melted chocolate, until fully coated. Roll the chocolate-dipped brownie in the chopped nuts. Place on the paper to firm up. Repeat with remaining brownie squares.
Makes 16 squares
Do you really need to trim the brownie edges? Depends on how particular you are about the details. I am entering a contest after all. Might as well be persnickety. (Plus you get to eat all the best parts of the brownie.)
I found that you really wanted the white chocolate to only be a thin layer. I’d then set it in the nuts and pat the nuts in from all sides. Basically, avoid touching the white chocolate itself as much as you can. It just gets messy.
I’m also sharing this recipe in the Hearth and Soul Hop, Gluten Free Wednesdays, These Chicks Cooked, Full Plate Thursday, and Food Friday.
These look delicious! I’m visiting the land of macadamias soon and will bring some home just to try this recipe. Yum!
Thanks Johnna, it means a lot coming from you.
I am a sucker for anything with macadamias! These sound delicious.
Also, my friends used to run a gluten and dairy free bakery. They made brownies that weren’t especially tall, but had the most fudgy, chewy texture ever. I actually think they were better than regular wheat flour brownies. Basically, I can just imagine how scrumptious these were.
A final word: welcome to the world of lamington fingers. It’s horrendous, but only once a year!
I’ve never really been a fan of cakey brownies, probably because I’ve never really been a fan of cake. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat it, but it definitely appears after ice cream, brownies, cookies, and pie in the rankings of desserts I like.
Those look amazing, Kalinda!!! Boy, do I want one! Best of luck in the contest … I’d choose this recipe for sure and I haven’t even tasted it yet. Sometimes you just know. ;-)
Shirley
Aww, well thanks for your vote of confidence. Like I said, I think I’ll be facing some stiff competition.
Ha Ha! Lamingtons weren’t my favorite when I lived down under. Probably because most baked good I had in Australia were dry and overcooked by American standards. I remember the first time I made a chocolate cake and tea for my neighbors. They were shocked how moist it could be! I never brewed tea strong enough for them even when it was bitterly astringent to me. I did teach them about iced tea (sweet tea as they say in the south) with mint or lemon grass. We lived in the tropicsand I don’t know how they drank hot tea in the swealtering humidity. It was like a new invention to them. Of course I wasn’t gluten-free at the time but my GF almond and coconut flour cakes are moist and flavorful too. I remember making a turkey and celebrating Thanksgiving. They’d never had moist roast bird either!
Yay, someone who knows what a lamington is! I won’t knock Australians as I’ve never been there to try their desserts. Perhaps someday you can share a re-invented version.
Oh my goodness, these look delicious!! Trying these!!
Let me know how they work out.
I’ve never had Lamingtons, but I really, really want to try your recipe. Oh my, they look amazing! Thank you for sharing this post with the Hearth and Soul hop.
Well, I still don’t think I’ve had lamingtons either. But these are pretty tasty.
Wow these sounds so yummy!!!!
:)
These look great and easy to do. Sticking a lollipop stick in the brownie before coating in chocolate would make less messy and easier to eat. I would cut off the edges just to eat them alone – yum.
Yes, maybe if I do this again next year lamington pops are in order.
Those look over the top decadent! Awesome.
It’s a good thing this event only happens once a year.
Wow, these look amazing!
Love this idea, never heard of these before but I’ll definitely be trying to make some. Chocolate brownies covered in more chocolate? oh yeah, I’ll be making some soon!
You can’t really go wrong with chocolate and chocolate. If I did these again, I might even use dark chocolate on the outside.
Wow – these look absolutely divine!!!
Good Morning Kalinda,
It was so sweet of you to make that lovely plate of Lamingtons to go with my morning coffee, just delicious! Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
oh wow…that looks like something my family and i will love! haven’t heard of lamingtons before, but you’ve got me interested! :)
thank you so much for sharing over at Food Friday!
Wow what a great recipe. I will be sure to try this next time I bake.
Thanks for sharing :)
Sara
Really really loving this awesome idea – currently in the middle of making them myself and can’t wait to taste the results.
Ps I’m an Aussie and not a big fan of the traditional lamington. Just too dry most of the time, chocolate is yucky and to much and the coconut is a messy job. Mess job in general…
Thank you so much for sharing this. Going out to a friends dinner get together and we got chosen to do desserts
( which I love doing more then anything) so these will go off. It’s also a themed dinner party and the theme is Aussie. So we are also doing small pavs, mainly for the kids. I know technically pav isn’t Aussie but we have kind of made it our own. And i came across this randomly via Pinterest. And thought what an amazing idea. I hate doing to same old thing that everyone’s had a million times… Thanks again for sharing. Jay…
Well now I don’t feel so bad knowing that an Australian appreciates the idea. Hope you enjoyed them as me as we did.