Larah and Fleur from the 12WBT team show off their 12WBT lamingtons.We’ve got quite a few keen cooks within the 12WBT team, so for Australia Day, we thought we’d get into the spirit of things by baking a batch of 12WBT low-cal lamingtons in the office. As you do!
It was for work purposes, of course – we were about to post our 12WBT lamington recipe yesterday, and the dish needed to be tested before it went live. Being the diligent employees that they are, Fleur and Larah from the 12WBT marketing team agreed to hit the kitchen to take the cooking method for a test drive.
Chocolate was melted, arm muscles were tested through vigorous hand whisking, and colleagues were impressed. These ladies know how to make a MEAN lamington!
Since Fleur and Larah are now chocolate sponge specialists, they thought they’d share some tips and tidbits to help your lamingtons be as successful as theirs.
Larah: First up, you
need to beat the eggs, vanilla and sugar mixture until it is four times its original size. This ensures that your sponge will be light and fluffy. Unfortunately, we didn’t have electric beaters in the office, so Fleur and I had to take turns using a whisk. We got the job done, but, wow, our arms got a damn-good workout!
Fleur: It is really important that you gently fold the flour into the egg mixture. If you’re too enthusiastic, you’ll let loose all the air that you just beat into it.
Larah: We used supermarket cocoa powder in the icing, but weren’t very happy with it. It didn’t taste that chocolatey. We’d recommend using dutch (sometimes called dutch-process) cocoa powder instead of the natural cocoa powder that we used. Dutch cocoa is made from cocoa beans that have been washed with a potassium solution to neutralise their acidity. The powder ends up darker, and has a smoother flavour. Adding quality dark chocolate would have also helped, but you’d have to be mindful of the extra calories.
Fleur: When you get to the icing stage, you’re supposed to skewer each individual square of cake with a fork, then hold it over the bowl of chocolate while you spoon the mixture over it. We found a fork was a bit big, and some of the sponge pieces were splintering. SO we decided to do something a little different… we used chopsticks to pick up and dip the sponge. Genius!
Larah: I think this picture says it all. Despite our best efforts, things got a bit messy. You may want to put down a drop sheet. Or if you’re making them with kids, put them in aprons or maybe even raincoats! Otherwise, be prepared for sticky, chocolatey fingers, faces and maybe even toes.
Fleur & Larah: Ta-da! The finished product. Our 12WBT CEO Tim Philips, below, was just one of our many office fans.
Good luck with your lamingtons, and happy Australia Day!
