Re-Invent the Lamington Contest Entries—Alfajore Lamingtons and Sacher Lamingtons

I just looked at my calendar.

January 26...

Hmm... Do I have something going on today that I can't remember? It sure seems like I do. But what?

Aaaaah! It's the deadline for the Re-Inventing the Lamingtons Contest! I wanted to enter the contest last year, but never got around to it. When I saw that Mr. P was holding the contest again, I decided I was not going to procrastinate and submit an entry. Now, it's the last day, and with the time difference, I probably only have a little bit of time to get this entry posted.

I'll let you read through Mr. P's entertaining blog for the history and background of the contest. But basically, a lamington is an Australian dessert consisting of squares of cake with a jam filling covered in chocolate and shredded coconut. For this contest, you just have to get creative.

So, I would like to submit two entries.

First, I give you the Argentine inspired Alfore Lamingtons. I actually created it last year after the first Re-Inventing the Lamington Contest had already ended, so click on the link to read all about them. These are sooo incredibly good. I have made them several times, and they always receive rave reviews. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with Dulce de Leche.

Seriously YUM, YUM YUM!

And now for my second entry—the Austrian inspired Sacher Lamington.

Vienna is possibly my favorite city in the world, and it's famous for the Sachertorte. In 2009, I was fortunate enough to celebrate my birthday at the Sacher Hotel and enjoy a slice of heaven. The Sachertorte is a chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle and covered in a dark chocolate ganache.

I decided to create a Lamington based on this cake. For the cake, I wanted something dense that could easily be dipped in chocolate. I chose to make two loaves of Rose Levy Beranbaum's Chocolate Bread. For the filling, I used my wife's marvelous homemade apricot jam. After cutting the cake into squares and spreading on the jam, I covered the Lamingtons in semi-sweet chocolate. Since the original Lamington is covered in shredded coconut, I wanted to add one more ingredient. However, coconut did not seem to fit well with the Sachertorte theme. I looked around the grocery store for inspiration and basically came up with nothing until I hit the candy aisle. I decided to sprinkle shavings of the best and darkest European chocolate I could find, which happened to be Lindt's Excellence 99% Cocoa Bar.

Here is the result.

Wunderbar!

To be really authentic, serve your Sacher Lamington with a big dollop of whipped cream.

I brought these to a dinner party recently, where they were a huge hit. I definitely plan to make them again.

Well, there you have them, my two entries in this year's Re-Invent the Lamington Contest. I've already begun thinking of other countries to inspire more Lamington recipes. Hopefully, Mr. P will sponsor the contest again next year, and hopefully, I will be a little more on the ball.


Wish me luck!


Sacher Lamingtons

Chocolate Pound Cake
(based on Rose Levy Beranbaum's Chocolate Bread in The Cake Bible)

Ingredients:

• 7 Tbsps. Dutch-processed cocoa
  
• 6 Tbsps. boiling water
  
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
  
• 6 large eggs
  
• 2 ½ sifted cake flour
  
• 1 ½ cups + 4 Tbsps. Sugar
  
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
  
• ½ tsp. salt
  
• 1 ½ cups + 2 Tbsps. butter, softened
  

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 8-in. by 4-in. loaf pans. Line the bottom of each loaf pan with parchment paper, and then grease again and flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa and water until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature and lightly whisk in the vanilla and eggs.

In a large mixing bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add ½ the chocolate mixture and the butter. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and beet for 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining chocolate mixture in 2 batches, beating until ingredients are incorporated.


Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. After 25 minutes of baking, tent the cakes loosely with buttered tin foil to prevent overbrowning.

Let the cakes cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides and remove from pans to cool completely.

Apricot Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups apricot preserves
  
• 2 Tbsps. Water
  

Preparation:

Bring the preserves and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Cook stirring often, until the last drops that cling to the spoon are very sticky and reluctant to leave the spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Use warm.

Chocolate Glaze

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 2 Tbsps. Shortening
  

Preparation:

Melt together in a pan over a low heat.

Sacher Lamington Assembly

It works best if you freeze the cake. After the cake is frozen, cut into 1" squares that are a ½" thick. Sandwich two pieces of cake with the apricot jam. Dip and cover with chocolate glaze. Sprinkle dark chocolate shavings on top. I used Lindt's Excellence 99% Cocoa Bar.