Mark and I got married in November 2003. The ceremony took place in the Philippines though the marriage registration itself was held in England. This enabled my family to attend the wedding. Since we were already in the Philippines, for our honeymoon we toured around the Asia Pacific region before we made our way to the USA where hubby was set to study. One of our chosen destinations, the one where we spent bulk of our time travelling, was Australia. It was a great choice as I had relatives in Sydney and we wanted to visit them, too.

Here's me with a super-cute Koala. Honestly, the real ones look better than their cuddly toy counterparts. They are asleep more times (about as much as 20 hours!) than they are awake so am glad this one managed to open his eyes (though he looks like he wants to sleep again!).

We visited Sydney in New South Wales and the Gold Coast in Queensland. It was summer time (December) in down under so we celebrated Christmas by the beach! That was wonderful! Here's Bondi Beach in Sydney looking gloriously sunny and hot in December.

One of the highlights of our trip was watching the fireworks on New Year's Eve at the Sydney Harbour overlooking the famous Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. That was spectacular and to this day, I haven't seen anything yet that could equal the grandeur of that show. The best part - it was a warm evening so it wasn't difficult to stay up late and wait for the show. Of course, time flew so fast as I had great company - my relatives from Sydney who accompanied us in watching the fireworks.

It was worth being there as early as 4:00 pm to get the best available view and we landed the perfect spot!

Naturally, we enjoyed a lot of Australian food cooked on the barbie courtesy of my Filipino family. One of the desserts I tried was this famous Australian dessert called Lamingtons which are blocks of sponge cake dipped in chocolate sauce and then rolled over in shredded coconut.Talk about delicious, these little square cakes were heavenly!

Last weekend I made a batch of this yummy little cakes for a fellowship dinner at our church and one of the ladies who tried it gave it a two-thumbs up. Even my little Sophie who normally do not like anything with coconut really loved this and had a few slices herself. I was just nostalgic when I made these as I remembered the happy times we had in Aussie land....I think it's time to go back soon!

Hope you try this moist, yummy and chocolaty cake. Enjoy it with your coffee or tea!

Lamingtons

By: Manila Spoon
April 23, 2015



Lamingtons - delicious sponge cake dipped in chocolate sauce and then covered all over with shredded coconut, what's not to love?

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons/ 4 oz) unsalted Butter, softened
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 large Eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup whole Milk
• A little extra flour for dusting and butter for greasing

For the Topping 


• 1 2/3 cups Confectioners' (icing) Sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 cup whole Milk
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted Butter
• 2 cups unsweetened shredded Coconut

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C. Grease an 8 x 11 glass baking dish with butter and dust it with flour. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a bowl of a mixer, place the softened butter and sugar and beat until light and creamy. Adjust the setting to low and then add the eggs one at a time adding the vanilla extract at the end.
3. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk and stir gently to combine. The batter will be thick.
4. Spread the batter evenly over the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours but preferably overnight.
6. Slice the cake into squares, more or less about 20.
7. Make the chocolate sauce. Place the confectioners' sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder in a bowl. Place the milk and butter in a saucepan and heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is fully warmed up. Pour the liquid into the cocoa mixture and stir until well blended. It will thicken slightly but will still be runny.
8. Dip the squares into the chocolate sauce making sure they're coated completely. Using tongs or a fork, grab each slice and then place them in a wire rack set atop a parchment paper to catch the drippings.
9. Place the shredded coconut in a plate and then roll the squares one at a time to fully coat them with the coconut. Enjoy immediately or you can store and chill it in the fridge. May be enjoyed chilled or at room temperature. The cakes keep for several days (assuming it won't be eaten sooner!) in an airtight container. Perfect to serve in any special gathering.

Yield: 20 Squares
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 35 Minutes
Total Time: 55 Minutes plus chilling time

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