Lamingtons

Nov 3, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Baking Cakes cupcakes Vanilla: Extract Medium

Soft vanilla butter cake cut into squares, dunked in a thin cocoa icing and rolled in fine coconut. Making the cake a day ahead keeps the squares from crumbling in the icing. Makes 24 squares in about 2 hr 35 min.

Prep 35 min

Cook 60 min

Cooling 1 hr

Total 2 hr 35 min

Yield 24 squares

Ingredients

Adjust yield

squares

½ cup (125 g)unsalted butter, softened, for the cake
¾ cup (170 g)granulated sugar
3 (150 g)eggs, room temperature
1 ½ tsp (8 ml)vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups (225 g)all-purpose flour
2 ¼ tsp (9 g)baking powder
¼ tsp (2 g)salt
½ cup (120 ml)whole milk, for the cake
4 cups (480 g)powdered sugar, sifted
9 tbsp (50 g)unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 tbsp (30 g)unsalted butter, for the icing
½ cup (120 ml)whole milk, hot, for the icing
2 ⅓ cups (200 g)fine unsweetened shredded coconut

Fresh ingredient guides

CoconutHow to pick, season & nutrition · 496 kcal per 140 g

Baking tools for this recipe

Convert to grams Scale it Change the pan

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan and line it with parchment.
Beat the butter and sugar 3 to 4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold into the batter in three parts, alternating with the milk, just until smooth.
Spread in the pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, turn out, and cool completely.
Wrap the cooled cake and leave it overnight, or freeze 1 hour, so it firms up. Trim the edges and cut into 24 squares.
For the icing, sift the powdered sugar and cocoa into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir in the butter and hot milk until smooth and thin enough to coat a spoon.
Spread the coconut on a tray. Using two forks, dip each square into the warm icing, let the excess drip off, then roll in coconut.
Place on a rack and let the icing set about 1 hour.

Tips

Day-old cake handles far better than fresh.
Keep the icing warm over the water so it stays thin.
Use one hand for icing and one for coconut to keep your fingers clean.
Good with tea or coffee.

Made this?

Log it to keep your bakes, ratings and notes together in My Kitchen.

Be the first to share one.

Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make lamingtons?

Plan on 35 minutes of prep and 1 hour of cooking, plus 1 hour to chill. The recipe makes 24 squares.

How should I store lamingtons?

Keep airtight at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Can I make lamingtons ahead?

Yes. It needs time to chill and set, so it is a good one to make the day before you serve it.

Can I use a different form of vanilla?

Yes. This recipe uses 1.5 tsp vanilla extract (8 ml). Each teaspoon of pure vanilla extract can be swapped for 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, the seeds of half a vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder. Paste and seeds add the classic dark specks.

Serve it with tea or coffee.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 24 servings this recipe makes.

243 Calories / serving

6.4g Fat

46.0g Carbs

3.0g Protein

33.8g Sugar

Whole recipe (24 servings): ~5832 cal · 154g fat · 1104g carbs · 72g protein · 811g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.