How To: Pandan Swirl Lamingtons (Rubgy World Cup Special)

Hi Nibblers!

    Today I'm celebrating two loves of my life. Baking and Rugby. There's less than 12 hours until the Rugby World Cup. I'm screaming with excitement just thinking about it. It'll be the first time ever that Australia (Wallabies) and New Zealand (All Blacks) have versed each other in a World Cup Final.
     My love for Rugby Union has been steadily growing over the past 10 years. It was Richard who got me hooked. I put it down to wanting to fit in with Richard that made me stay but I've realised that the love is real. For the past month, Richard has been away in Europe. I still woke up at 3am, 2am etc. for the team even when I knew I had work the next day. There were some close games but The Wallabies powered through. So this recipe is dedicated to the boys in green and gold. An Aussie classic with a twist. Hope you enjoy!

How To: Pandan Swirl Lamingtons 
Makes approx. 35 lamingtons                                    Takes: 2 hours including cooling time

What you'll need:
Pandan / Vanilla Swirl component:
- 100g or 1/2 cup sugar
- 100g melted unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 200g or 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. pandan aromatherapy
- 1 tsp. vanilla essence
Chocolate Icing component:
- 65g or 1/2 cup cocoa
- 75g unsalted butter
- 200g icing sugar
- 250mL of milk
- 200g desiccated coconut

How To:

Green and Gold!

For Pandan Swirl Lamingtons
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius or 350 degrees Farenheit
2. Lightly spray a 20cm x 30cm tin then set aside
3. Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla essence and butter until well combined (for at least 3 minutes)
4. Fold in 1/2 baking powder and flour into the above mixture until well incorporated
5. Repeat step 4 until all flour is mixed in
6. Divide batter into two equal portions then set one bowl aside
7. Add pandan flavouring to one bowl and mix for approximately a minute
8. Alternatively spoon roughly even amounts of each colour batter into the tin going around the edges first before coming into the centre of the tin
9. Using a skewer or back of a spoon, swirl mixture in tin to create a marble effect
10. Pop into the oven and bake for approx. 20 minutes (checking at the end to see if skewer comes out clear)

Pandan Swirl

11. Leave in tin to cool for about 5 minutes before popping onto cooling rack and then place into the freezer for 15 minutes to cool (or leave to cool at room temperature for an hour)
For Chocolate Icing
1. In a saucepan, melt butter and then add milk until well combined
2. Slowly add sugar and cocoa and whisk until no visible lumps appear then set aside
Assemble
1. Cut Pandan Swirl sponge into equal bite size squares (about 4x5cm)
2. Dip Pandan Swirl squares into chocolate icing then let drip dry before transferring to bowl of desiccated coconut
3. Leave to set and dry for about 5 minutes before consuming!

       Hope you all loved the twist on this Aussie classic! Even if you aren't a Rugby Union fan, this recipe is still going to win you some brownie points. Leave a comment below if you give these beauties a try! They're so simple and still so perfect just like the Wallabies team ;)

   Thinking of you and wishing you all the best!

   GO THE WALLABIES!

Nibble Away,

           Jo

How to: Cake Pops with a twist [Mother's Day Special]

Hey Nibblers!
        Double post today because I'm feeling extra productive. But, as you all may know Mother's Day is just around the corner for us Aussies and if you're stuck on some ideas on what to get Mum, you've come to the right place.
        We passed the cake's section in our local supermarket the other day and mum said how much she loved 'lamingtons.'  Mum isn't very materialistic. It's hard finding thing to buy for her things so I love expanding my cooking skills when it's a special occasion. As soon as I heard this, I was like, 'Heck yes! I know what to get Mum for Mother's Day.' And so, my journey began.
         To make it a tad more interesting, I thought I put these babies on paddle pop sticks jsut for a different take on them and thus, my 'Lamington Cake Cake pops' are born.

Lamington sponge.
Here's what you need: [Just the Lamingtons component]

- 125g of butter (softened)

- 1/2 cup of caster sugar

- 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract

- 3 eggs

- 1 3/4 cups of self-raising flour

- 1/2 cup of milk

For the chocolate coating:

- 1-2 cups of desiccated coconut

- 350g Cadbury Melts in Dark Chocolate

          Typically, Lamingtons are made with chocolate icing but, I wanted a rich, creamier taste so I wanted to melt some chocolate. The chocolate also holds on a paddle stick much better. So I halved the sugar in the sponge component to balance the sweetness out. 

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven 160 degrees celsius (fan-forced) or 180 degrees celsius without the fan.

2. Line your tin. I used a square 4cm deep, 25x25cm tin. Any should work depending on how you want your lamingtons to turn out.

3. Mix softened butter, vanilla extract, vanilla and milk until well combined and fluffy using electrical beater

4. Add your eggs in one at a time and mix until well incorporated before adding the next egg.

Add eggs to wet mixture one at a time

5. Sift remaining flour into the mixture and fold with a spatula until well incorporated

Sifting the flour into mixture

6. Pour mixture into pre-lined tin.
     

My mixture hit about 1/4 of the tin

7. Pop mixture into oven for about 30 minutes, checking that the skewer comes out clean

8. Let it cool on a rack for 15minutes 

9. Leave in the fridge for an hour. This makes the slices cleaner, easier to coat and sticks better to the paddle pop sticks.

Should look like this after you take it out of the oven.

 Lamington Coating / Cake Pops .

What you need:

- Paddle pop sticks.
          Go to any arts & crafts store and you can grab 300 sticks for no more than $5. The lollipops are cuter but way too overpriced. 
- 350g Cadbury Dark Chocolate (as listed above for Lamington Coating)
- 1-2 cups of desiccated coconut (as listed above under Lamington Coating)
Any other topics you like. I chose:
- 1/2 cup of Granulated Peanuts
- 1/2 cup of 100 & 1000s sprinkles

Method:
1. Slice Lamington cake into desired size. I only used half the sponge because I knew we couldn't finish the whole thing so I left the other half in the freezer for next time.

Slice Lamington sponge into desired pieces

     To make it more interesting, I made a small batch of my Banana Bread and Carrot Loaf to put into my cake pop action. So I sliced those into the size I wanted.

 2. Spread some peanut butter between your banana bread slices if you do decide to make these as well. It adds another dimension

Peanut butter + banana = Match made in heaven

 3. Melt your chocolate bits on a double-boiler until it's liquid and silky.

Melt me.

Oh yeah.

4. Dip the paddle pop stick into the melted chocolate and stick them into your cake slices so it acts as a glue.

5. Alternatively, just dunk those cake pieces into the melted chocolate and quickly dip them into your topics. For lamingtons, coconut is the way to go

'I'm a Lamington'

6. Repeat process with all your other cake pops. For the 'Banana' peanuts are the best topic. I used the sprinkles for the 'Carrot' ones. Feel free to Mix n' match. 

7. Place them on a lined baking tray or plate to dry for a couple of minute before serving.

And voila! a bouquet of 'Cake Pops' for Mum! <3

Better than flowers.

Side view of these babies

An array of all the creations!

        This was so fun to do and I hope you all enjoyed this special 'Mother's Day' post. It's not only great for Mum but family gatherings as finger food sweets or even customise them for a friend's birthday.

         If you have any questions, feel feel to leave a comment below. 

Nibble away, 

              Jo x.