Memoirs of an Amateur Cook

Last Sunday was Father’s Day here in the UK.  As I had baked my Mom a cake for Mother’s Day earlier in the year, I thought I should do the same for my Dad and bake him something extra special.

I ummmed and ahhhed about what to bake for quite some time.  I came across some fabulous recipes for trifle cupcakes which I knew he would love (I will make you these another time Dad!  Promise!) and contemplated making him Anzac biscuits however, I remembered that a few weeks ago he said that he really fancied some lamingtons.

So lamingtons it was!  ‘But what exactly are lamingtons?’, I may hear you ask!  I was wondering exactly the same thing so took to the internet to do some research.  Lamingtons are basically sponge cake dipped in chocolate frosting and rolled in coconut and are an Australian favourite.  Surely I should have known this having spent some of my childhood years in Australia; maybe my sweet tooth hadn’t developed sufficiently by the age of five!!  There are disputes over the exact origin of the lamington, some say that they were named after Lord Lamington who was Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901; the cake is said to resemble to style of his hats.

I feel incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful father and recognise I am fortunate to have such a close relationship with him.  He is a kind, patient, supportive, intelligent and incredibly inspirational man.  It is for these reasons that I put up with the complete and utter faff of making lamingtons for him as, I can testify that it was extremely messy and somewhat frustrating!!!

I followed a recipe from the Joy of Baking however, if I have the patience to make lamingtons again, I think I would make a few adjustments.  I think my lamingtons would end up more like cake pops, I would roll the sponge into balls and put them on sticks before rolling in chocolate icing and coconut and pushing into a flower ring to set.  This way, I would hope that all my kitchen surfaces, washing machine, sink, fridge, kitchen and dining room floor would be saved from being covered in chocolate icing and desiccated coconut!!!  I swear I am still finding little dribbles of icing a few days later….

Dad seemed to enjoy them although he was honest and admitted that there wasn’t quite enough coconut on them!  I was also slightly annoyed with myself that the icing hadn’t fully set on most of them by the time I journeyed over to Mom and Dad’s.  Oh well, lessons learnt for next time and the most important thing is that my Dad enjoyed them, hopefully brining back happy memories of his time in Australia.

Happy Father’s Day to a wonderful Dad who is always worth the extra effort!  Love you Dad x