Lamingtons are even cuter in fairy bread form. These fairy bread lamingtons are cute little morsels of deliciously soft and fluffy sponge cake coated in crunchy sprinkles. Two iconic Australian treats in one dessert.
- Fun to make
- The most delicious lamington sponge
- The kids will love these
- Loaded with 100’s and 1000’s (sprinkles)
You’ll love this vanilla tray bake too.
Table of contents
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What is fairy bread?
Fairy bread is a popular childhood treat in Australia and New Zealand consisting of a slice of white bread, spread with butter or margarine then covered with 100’s and 1000’s (a type of candy sprinkle very common in both countries). The resulting fairy bread is soft yet crunchy and sweet and kids love it.
For these fairy bread lamingtons, I chose to combine both this favourite Aussie kids snack with a classic Australian lamington – a soft sponge, normally coated in a chocolate glaze and coconut. You can see my traditional lamington recipe here.
Ingredients you’ll need
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter.
- Milk: Use whole milk (full cream milk) for best flavour and texture.
- Vanilla: Always use pure vanilla extract, not vanilla essence. The latter is a synthetic flavouring.
- Eggs: I use large free-range eggs. Make sure they’re at room temperature.
- Flour: You’ll need two types of flour. The first is plain flour (aka all purpose flour) and the second is cornflour (aka cornstarch). Cornflour helps with a softer texture. You can use cake flour in place of both flours, but not one or the other.
- Baking powder: Make sure to use baking powder and not baking soda. They work differently.
- Salt: Always a pinch of salt, even in sweet recipes.
- Sugar: There are two types of sugar here. I use caster sugar or white granulated sugar in the sponge and icing sugar (aka powdered sugar) in the glaze.
- Cream: Use fluid whipping cream or a thickened cream or heavy cream with at least 35% milk fat.
- Jam: Raspberry jam or strawberry jam are perfect for spreading inside.
- 100’s and 1000’s: 100’s and 1000’s are a popular type of sprinkle in Australia and NZ. Just about any small sprinkles or jimmies will work if you can’t get 100’s and 1000’s.
How to make fairy bread lamingtons (step-by-step)
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
Make the sponge: In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs until they hit ribbon stage (photo 2) then slowly add sugar (photo 3). Fold in the dry ingredients (photo 4) followed by the wet ingredients (photos 1&5), then pour it into a prepared baking pan (photo 6) and bake.
Fill the sponge: Once the cake has cooled, slice it in half. Spread jam on the bottom half, followed by whipped cream (photo 7), then place the other piece back on top (photo 8). Chill, in the freezer if possible, for 15 minutes. Now cut it into 20 even cubes (photo 9). Filling the sponge is optional.
Make the glaze: The glaze is a simple mixture of icing sugar (powdered sugar), butter and boiling water. Just mix it all together until smooth.
Assembling the fairy bread lamingtons: Here’s where things get messy. Now dip each square into the glaze, using forks to gently turn and coat it all over (photo 10), then letting the excess drip off. Coat the squares in 100’s and 1000’s (photo 11) then chill them in the fridge to set.
Tips and tricks
- Ribbon stage: Beating eggs to ribbon stage means to beat them with an electric beater or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until they are thick, fluffy and pale. When you lift the whisk out, you can use the dripping batter to draw an 8 on the surface of the batter without it sinking away.
- Chilling the cake: It’s easiest to work with this cake when it’s cold. I chill it before cutting it into squares, then chill the squares a little bit more before coating them.
- Reducing the mess factor: No doubt, making lamingtons can get messy so my tips for reducing mess is to use 2 forks to turn them gently in the glaze. Place the glazed cakes on a wire rack over the top of a large baking tray to catch drips. Once you have 3-4 done, use 2 new forks to gently turn them in the sprinkles then place them onto a clean tray.
Yield and storage
This recipe yields 20 lamingtons.
Once made, the lamingtons can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
The cake can be frozen but is best frozen without the glaze and sprinkles. If you’d prefer a smaller batch, you could just make 10-12 lamingtons and freeze the remainder of the cake for another time. Make sure it’s well wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container.
More recipes you’ll love
- Classic Australian lamingtons
- Rose and strawberry lamingtons
- Lamington cupcakes
- Homemade 100’s and 1000’s biscuits
- Confetti cupcakes
Did you try this fairy bread lamingtons recipe?
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Ingredients
FOR THE LAMINGTON SPONGE
- 57 g unsalted butter (¼ cup / ½ stick / 2oz)
- ¾ cup milk (180ml)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 whole large eggs
- 2 egg whites from large eggs
- 225 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (1 ¾ cups / 8oz)
- 35 g cornflour (¼ cup / 1.2oz)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 200 g white granulated sugar (1 cup / 7oz)
FOR THE FILLING
- ½ cup fluid whipping cream (125ml)
- ½ cup strawberry or raspberry jam, warmed slightly (150g / 5.3oz)
FOR THE GLAZE AND COATING
- 3 cups icing powdered sugar (390g / 13.8oz)
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened (28g / 1oz)
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon boiling water (100ml)
- 3 ½ cups 100’s and 1000’s
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Lamington tin or 9×13 baking pan with high sides
- Handheld electric beater or stand mixer with whisk attachment
- Wire racks x2
- Balloon whisk & spatula
Instructions
FOR THE LAMINGTON SPONGE
- Preheat your oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F and line a lamington tin (approx 22cm x 33cm / or 9×13 inch with high sides) with baking paper.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and milk and melt in 30 second increments, stirring well between each. Add the vanilla and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- In a new bowl, whisk together flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt until well combined.
- In a large bowl with an electric beater or the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat the eggs and egg whites, until very thick pale ribbony – around 8 minutes
- While beating on low slowly pour the sugar into the eggs, and beat a further 1 minute.
- Use a balloon whisk and a folding action to fold in half the flour mixture at a time until combined.
- Pour in the milk mixture and use folding action again with balloon whisk until lump free. Don’t over mix and don’t whisk – just fold but make sure there is no liquid still not mixed in. You can swap to a spatula if you prefer.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin then tap lightly on the bench top 3-4 times until any large bubbles have disappeared.
- Bake 20-23 minutes just until a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t check until at least 18 mins. Be careful not to overbake.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 – 15 minutes. Sit a large baking tray over the top and flip so the cake slab comes out. Repeat using a wire rack, so the cake is now right way up on a wire cooling rack.
- Let it cool completely before proceeding.
FOR THE FILLING
- Beat the cream in a small bowl using an electric beater to firm peaks.
- Slice the cake in half horizontally with a large serrated knife and very carefully lift the top off (you may need to slide your forearms under so that it doesn’t break). Spread the raspberry jam over evenly, then spread the whipped cream over the top.
- Place the top layer of cake back on top.
- Chill, in the freezer if possible, for 15 minutes then cut into 20 even sponge cubes roughly 5cm (2in). You can trim edges of cake if you like but it’s not necessary.
FOR THE GLAZE
- Place the icing sugar in a medium bowl and place the butter on top. Pour over the boiling water then whisk to melt and combine it all together. It should be a thin pouring consistency.
TO ASSEMBLE
- Place ⅓ of the sprinkles into a shallow bowl. Set two wire racks over baking paper lined trays.
- Using two forks, place one of the sponge pieces into the sugar glaze turning to coat well. Let it drain a little then transfer to one of the wire racks. Repeat with 2 more squares.
- Take the first square and use clean forks to roll it in the bowl of sprinkles then transfer to the second tray to set. Repeat 2 more times.
- Now repeat the process with the whole batch, replenishing the sprinkles as required.
- Chill the lamingtons for 20 minutes to set.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- All ovens vary – always test for doneness 1-2 minutes before the recipe suggests.
- Ribbon stage: Beating eggs to ribbon stage means to beat them with an electric beater or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until they are thick, fluffy and pale. When you lift the whisk out, you can use the dripping batter to draw an 8 on the surface of the batter without it sinking away.
- Chilling the cake: It’s easiest to work with this cake when it’s cold. I chill it before cutting it into squares, then chill the squares a little bit more before coating them.
- Reducing the mess factor: No doubt, making lamingtons can get messy so my tips for reducing mess is to use 2 forks to turn them gently in the glaze. Place the glazed cakes on a wire rack over the top of a large baking tray to catch drips. Once you have 3-4 done, use 2 new forks to gently turn them in the sprinkles then place them onto a clean tray.
- Lamingtons are not always, and traditionally, not filled. Feel free to leave out the jam and cream.
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2 Comments on “Fairy Bread Lamingtons”
So want to do this, but I have a question! You say cornflour is cornstarch but those are different products! Which one does this recipe need?
Hi Emily. Sadly this is one of those ingredients the world can’t agree on what to call 😂 What we call cornflour in Australia, is what is known as cornstarch in the US. It’s the fine powder often used for thickening sauces but also used for giving cakes a softer texture.