Lamington Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream

Lamington Cupcakes are those traditional little Aussie cakes turned into a cupcake. A soft, fluffy vanilla cupcake, filled with jam and covered with an easy chocolate glaze and coconut.

The Lamington. Who could let Australia Day come and go without at some point devouring a lamington? Certainly not me. So these Lamington Cupcakes are my take on a Lamington in the form of a cupcake. You know, those perfect little cakes already portioned out ….. oh no, here she goes again.  I do love a good cupcake.

Ok, so you have to love a dessert that has it’s very own website and an appreciation society. No, seriously, the good old Aussie Lamington has an appreciated society. The Australian Lamington Appreciation Society alleges that, back in 1901, Lord Lamingtons’ maid accidently dropped a sponge cake in some melted chocolate and rather than throw it away, very kindly covered it in coconut and served it up anyway. So thank you Lord Lamingtons maid. We love you 🙂

The humble aussie Lamington is now a mainstay at every bakery, picnic and Australia Day party. Here’s why.

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Somewhere along the way, someone started cutting them in half and spreading on some jam and often cream, and while some believe this is a travesty and a violation of the true identity of this culinary delight, I quite like it. I like Lamingtons both ways, with or without jam, meh. I’ve even ventured into different flavours like my Mojito Lamingtons and the sublime Rose Strawberry Lamingtons. Just bring on the Lamingtons, I say!!!!

Why are these cupcakes so good?

The mention of that jam is very important as the centre of each of these gorgeous little cakes is filled with it. These Lamington Cupcakes are a combination of amazing flavours.

• Soft, fluffy vanilla cupcakes – my tried and true and totally simple vanilla cupcake recipe
• A centre of strawberry or raspberry jam
• Coated in a simple chocolate glaze and coconut – as is a traditional lamington
• And THAT whipped vanilla buttercream frosting. Seriously ah-maaaaaazing!

An easy cupcake recipe

One of the things I love about these cupcakes is they’re so easy to make. There is no need to wait for butter to come to room temperature and then cream it together with sugar. The butter in this recipe is melted. That not only makes it quicker but also keeps the cupcakes very moist.

Mix the flour and beaten eggs together, then add the other wet ingredients. Stir this all together until it is JUST combined. Don’t overmix the batter or your cupcakes will come out dense.

Then it’s just a matter of portioning out the batter (I use a medium ice cream scoop for this job) into greased muffin tins (I use these silicone muffin trays as I love the shape they give my cupcakes plus they’re flexible, making it easy to take the cupcakes out.

Some tips for preparing the muffin tins

• Good non-stick muffin tins –  you’ll get away with just greasing the tins before dropping in the batter
• If the non-stick is not so good – either grease and then flour the muffin holes or use cupcake papers that you can then peel off after baking
• If you’re not using the cupcake papers, like I haven’t here, make sure to let the cupcakes almost completely cool in the tins before removing, then run a knife around the edge just to make sure they are free to pop out.

Lamingtons are small cakes that are coated in a chocolate glaze and coconut – so delicious. Now you see why the cupcake papers are not required. Dip the cupcakes into your chocolate glaze, then roll them in the coconut.

GREAT TIP! Only use half of the coconut at a time as the chocolate glaze will begin to darken it over time. Add half the coconut to the dish, coat your first 6 cupcakes, then use the remaining coconut to coat the second batch of 6.

I use a cupcake corer to cut a hole in the centre of my cupcakes and it is super easy, but you can use a sharp knife too. Then fill the holes with some strawberry or raspberry jam (jelly) and put a little bit of the lid back on.

The buttercream requires a little time beating but you can see why in this photo. It super creamy and light. Yum

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I stepped away from my favoured ermine frosting on this occasion to make a Whipped Vanilla Buttercream and this stuff is oh so seriously delicious. All light and fluffy and that vanilla almost makes you feel as though you’re eating a (slightly sweeter) Chantilly cream.

I will very soon be updating the photos for this post – these photos were done when I was still very much a beginner photographer and just don’t capture the true beauty of these little cakes. I’ll add in some process photos as well to show how simple all the steps are including the simple chocolate glaze recipe. For now, trust me when I say you need these Lamington Cupcakes in your life.

And if you’re a sucker for cupcakes like me, check out some of my other cupcake recipes Passionfruit Coconut Cupcakes, Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes and Cookies and Cream Cupcakes. Or just go here and check them all out

Lamington Cupcakes

Lamington Cupcakes are those traditional little aussie cakes turned into a cupcake. A soft, fluffy vanilla cupcake, filled with jam and covered with an easy chocolate glaze and coconut.

The ingredients list may look long but some ingredients are used more than once, I've just noted the correct amount in each section.

Print Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Snack, Sweets

Cuisine: Australian

Keyword: lamington cupcakes, lamingtons

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Calories: 569kcal

Author: Marie

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES

• 215 g (1 2/3 cups / 7.5oz) plain (all purp) flour
• 30 g (1/4 cup / 1oz) corn flour (cornstarch)
• 1 1/3 cup (267g / 9.5oz) granulated white sugar
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 135 g (5oz) unsalted butter, melted
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

FOR THE COATING

• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups (195g / 6.9oz) icing (powdered / confectioners) sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder - (notes)
• 1/3 cup light milk
• 15 g (1 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup raspberry jam

FOR THE WHIPPED VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• 226 g (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups 260g icing (powdered / confectioners) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons thickened cream - (notes)

Instructions

FOR THE CUPCAKES

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Spray a little oil into 12 holes of a muffin try and rub it around to coat (see notes for extra tips).
• In a large bowl, sift together the plain flour and corn flour. Add the sugar, baking powder and salt and stir well so everything is evenly distributed
• Beat the eggs well, until they become frothy (you can do this by hand, or with a hand beater or in a stand mixer). Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the butter, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, and fold to combine (a few very small lumps is fine).
• Fill the muffin holes to about 3⁄4 full, then bake for around 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Make sure to turn the tray halfway through cooking so they all cook evenly.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a wire rack.

FOR THE COATING

• Mix the two types of coconut together in a bowl (then set half of it aside - see notes). In a separate bowl, sift together the icing sugar and cocoa. To make the glaze, heat the milk and butter together in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and is mixed through. Pour the mixture into the icing sugar and cocoa and stir until smooth and glossy.
• One at a time, dunk the cupcakes into the chocolate glaze and turn to coat all over. Allow the excess to drip off, then roll the cupcake in the coconut (see notes), pressing firmly to help the coconut stick. Sit back on a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the cupcakes. Sit the cupcakes in the fridge to set for 1⁄2 hour.
• Cut a hole in the top of each cupcake. Fill with around a teaspoon of jam. Then replace a bit of the section of cupcake that was cut out back on top of the jam, like a seal. You will need to cut it down to fit.

FOR THE WHIPPED BUTTERCREAM

• In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on low-med for 6-7 minutes (seems a long time but we're after whipped butter here). Scrape down the sides half way through then continue beating.
• With the mixer on low, add the sugar 1 spoon at a time until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the salt, vanilla and cream and beat for 5 minutes at medium speed until it looks light, thick and whipped.

Notes

1. I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (= 4 teaspoons worldwide).
2. 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).
3. I love the silicone muffin trays not only for the shape of my cupcakes but also they are perfect for baking them this way with no liners as they are malleable and it’s easy to release the cupcakes from the moulds.
4. Make sure to oil the holes first
5. When the cupcakes are baked, leave them in the trays for about 10 minutes before trying to take them out. To release them, run a knife around the edge to make sure they aren’t sticking anywhere, then you can gently lever them out or tip the moulds over and gently shake free (with the silicone muffin trays, press gently on the bottoms to push them out)
6. If you don’t have these silicone muffin trays or are concerned your cupcakes won’t release easily, you can either grease and flour the holes first or use cupcake liners and peel them off before coating • As you are coating the cupcakes, you’ll notice the coconut starts to turn a bit brown from the glaze so it’s a great idea to only use half of it at a time. Coat 6 cupcakes, then add the fresh white coconut you set aside and coat the rest.

TOOLS USED IN THIS RECIPE

• I use these silicone muffin trays for all my cupcakes as I like the tall shape they give my cupcakes
• A medium ice cream scoop is perfect for portioning out the batter
• A cupcake corer makes cutting the hole easier but you could use a sharp knife too
• A stand mixer is great but a handheld beater will work too

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