Wendy's homemade (with help from the supermarket) Raspberry Lamingtons

Made and consumed at Shelter Grove, New Plymouth
Price - approx $8 for 18

Consumption - 1pm

Score - 8.5/10

This is another classic kiwi lamington, made by me this time - and I have objectively assessed it - honest!

The sponge was moist, the jelly and coconut coverage was even, the cream was not necessary but compulsory and the jam was the icing on the cake.  I didn't give myself 10 out of 10 cos I didn't make the sponge, jelly or jam from scratch (half a point off for each), maybe next time.

(Sorry, no photo, the camera decided that the SD card was evil and not to be read!)

How to make a raspberry lamington - the Donna Hay-esc method. (no offence intended to DH, she is a legend, but she is also very good at making things from other things rather than making them from scratch all of the time, to save time etc)

Shopping list for the supermarket:

1 packet premade sponge cake;

1 packet raspberry jelly crystals;

1 packet fine desiccated coconut;

1 small bottle real cream (not thickened for the Aussies)

Method:

1. Melt/mix jelly crystals in 1 3/4 cup of boiling water, and leave to cool until as thick as pouring custard - you can pop it in the fridge if you are short of time, but stir it regularly to ensure even gelling.

2. Call your auntie and convince her she would like to come and see you and have lunch (with lamingtons).

3. Jump online and announce you are making lamingtons to the world.

4. Cut the sponge into even (or not) sized pieces, trimming the sides and top to remove the sponge skin.

5. Once the jelly is ready, sprinkle a plate with the coconut, dip the pieces of sponge cake into the jelly, then roll in the coconut and sit on a cake rack to dry a little.

6. Receive a phone call from your cousin wondering why she wasn't invited to the lamington consumption and wonder how she found out about it - duh!

7. Whip the cream and sweeten with a bit of icing sugar from the cupboard.

8. Cut the lamington on a diagonal not quite all the way through and pipe or dollop the whipped cream into the cut.

9. Find some red jam (raspberry is the best) and put a small dot on top of the cream.

10. Serve with a cup of tea or whatever.

This is a blog post I wrote last year - eek, where is the year going - anywho, I really need to write up all the delicious coconut coated cakes I've been eating over the last while - I will soon, I promise (not that anyone reads my ramblings but it is tough to keep a lamington lover quiet!)

Servery and Spoon Strawberry Lamington

Purchased at Servery and Spoon in Malvern East - consumed at home after a lovely pre-christmas brunch at Servery and Spoon - pig girl!
Price - $3.50
Consumption - 3pm

Score - 1/10

I will start this post by saying the food at Servery and Spoon is very tasty - I had the cauliflower fritters with a tasty salsa, and someone else had the breakfast burrito which smelt divine.  Additionally the coffee is the Coffee Supreme varietal and made very well - it is the cafe of choice open really early when in need of a coffee on the way to work.

After this glowing recommendation about the food, I will now say stay very clear of the strawberry lamington.  The serving size was small (that's ok tho), the flavour covering was very patchy, making for a slightly stale sponge inside.  There was a layer of jam in the middle, but this was surprisingly lacking in flavour.  The part that really got me and ensured this lamington was at the same level as the BGF lam, was the fatty, flavourless coating, that should have been strawberry (I think?) but was just fatty and flavourless.  A disappointing lamington indeed, given the deliciousness of the other food and baked goods in particular.  This said I will be back to S&S to sample their chocolate and almond lamington, just in case is fits into the legen.... wait for it.... dary category.

Here is a nice link to an article about Servery and Spoon:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/epicure/restaurant-review/servery-amp-spoon/2009/07/06/1246732281215.html

Baked Goods Friday Chocolate Lamington

Consumed at Work - Baked Goods Friday - probably from Coles or Woolworths

Price - Free

Consumption - 11am

Score - 1/10

Ok, so the idea of Baked Goods Friday (BGF) is that 4 people bring something they have baked/made and feed the second floor.  The key with BGF is the B part - people should bring something they have made - doesn't need to be fancy - in fact things like sausage rolls and cheerios (cocktail franks for the aussies) are always more popular than anything sweet.  One of the tastiest/most popular things I can remember someone bringing along was corn chips, melting cheese on the top and serving with sour cream and salsa.  The thing is the instigator/organiser has gone on maternity leave, so there is no-one to remind people of "the rules" - Erin, we miss you.

Anyway I digress.  This (as I suspected it would be) is the worst lamington I have reviewed.

It was dry, on the outside and inside.  I think it was actually a kitchen sponge coloured brown and covered in coconut.  Ah well, things can only get better from here!

Cooper and Milla's - The Monster Chocolate Lamington

Purchased at Cooper and Milla's in Armadale - it was the last one that day!

Price - $6!

Consumption - 3pm

Score - 7.5/10

The Cooper and Milla Lamington is the lamington that started all of this blogging nonsense.

The first time I had this lamington I was blown away.  The balance of sponge, jam in the middle, the chocolate ganache and shaved coconut were great! I also shared this with someone (Toby) because it was so big.

This time I ate it all myself - not the best idea - I felt a bit sick.  However, the strawberry jam, sponge, chocolate ganache and shaved coconut combo still works.  The sponge was a bit dry - this could be because it was the end of the day.

Moral of the story, don't be a pig girl when you know you should share it, otherwise you won't enjoy it as much as you could.

Yael's Chocolate Lamington

Purchased at Thomas Dux in Armadale

Price - $1.95

Consumption - 6pm, nothing like a pre-gym lamington snack

Score - 7.5/10

The first time I had a Yael's lamington (pre LL), I think it may have been sitting around for a bit, and it was not as fresh as it could have been - I felt like I needed to give them a second chance - such a sacrifice.

Anyway, I am very glad I did.  The sponge was lovely and moist and almost chewy, i think it might be more of a butter/maderia cake than a traditional sponge - excellent idea, i think i might have to try that!  The chocolate was like a ganache, not too sweet, but nice and thick, and as you can see the shredded coconut tops it off - delicious, and just the perfect size given the richness of the cake part.

I've looked Yael's up online and it would appear they make a name for themselves baking delicious looking things, including some "new" salted caramel mini tarts - I might have to find an excuse to try those sometime.

http://www.yael.com.au/

http://www.thomasdux.com.au/ 

Mr McQueen Raspberry Lamington

Purchased at Mr McQueen in Prahran/Armadale, Melbourne

Price - $2.40 (I think it

Consumption - 1pm

Score - 8/10

I haven't mentioned until now that raspberry lamingtons are my favourite - but they are, I think it has something to do with raspberry being sort of jamish, and I like jam quite alot (altho not plum jam as it is not real jam, it is just a way of preserving fruit in a mushed up sugary format - just one of my rackets, anywho...)

So back to the lamington at hand - a good example of how to differentiate your lamington - cut your sponge in half and stick it back together again with jam (yay!) before jellying and coconuting it.

The sponge was nice and light (and really tasty) and very fresh, the jam filling was strawberry (tick), there was a great covering of jelly, and the coconut as you can see is the shredded kind - yum!

The size was smaller than the average lamington, but just the right size to go with my afternoon cup of tea!

I have tried to find a web address to Mr McQueen, but since they've just opened, they might not have one, so if you feel like good lamington, good coffee, and breakfast (including toast with jam (yay!) made in house and served to you in the preserving jar it was made in) head to this (physical) address: 

Mr McQueen, 465 High St, Prahran (and they're closed on Mondays)

PS I would just like to reference the use of the oxford comma above as it was mentioned on Triple R breakfasters this week, and I'm with Jess McGuire that it should be used more :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma

FRC Raspberry Lamington with Cream

Purchased at Fonterra Research Centre Cafe in Palmy North

Price - $2

Consumption - 10am

Score - 5/10

This is your classic NZ raspberry jelly lamington - soft white sponge with a red jelly coating for the fine desiccated coconut to stick to.  Additionally this lamington was cut on the diagonal (as it should be:-)) and had a whooping amount of fresh whipped cream piped into it.  Sadly (and maybe because this was a raspberry variant they didn't feel like they needed it) there was no dot of red jam in the middle of the cream - when there is cream, there should always be jam (according to Lamington Ledger Law (LLL)).

A good example of the classic, although I think the plate may have been a bit warm which meant some of the bottom jelly was a bit runny, cue sticky fingers.