Lamingtons are said to be the creation of Armand Galland, French-born chef to Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland, Australia, at the end of the 19th century. Faced with unexpected guests, Armand is storied to have cut up day-old vanilla sponge cake and dipped the slices in chocolate and coconut. A resounding hit!
To make this a vegan trifle:
To make the trifle vegan: in the jelly, replace the 4 x 2g gelatine leaves with 8g agar agar; in the Lamingtons, replace the 2 large eggs with 55g chickpea flour mixed with 90ml water.
For the mousse, replace the whipped cream with coconut whipping cream. Make sure all dark chocolate used is vegan.
Chocolate lamington and cherry trifle
Ingredients
CHERRY JELLY
- 500g fresh/frozen cherries, pitted
- 200g white sugar
- 375ml (1½ cups) water
- 2 tbsp Amaretto liqueur (optional)
- juice of ½ lemon
- 4 x 2g gelatine leaves, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes
LAMINGTON SPONGE
- 500ml (2 cups) water
- 250g brown sugar
- 100g good-quality 70% dark chocolate, chopped
- 120ml vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 60g cocoa powder, sifted
- 170g (1 cup) cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200g desiccated coconut, to coat
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
- 250g good-quality 70% dark chocolate, melted and cooled
- 500ml (2 cups) cream + extra, to garnish
- fresh cherries, to garnish
Instructions
For the jelly, in a saucepan placed over low heat, gently simmer the pitted cherries, 200g white sugar, 375ml (1½ cups) water, Amaretto, if using, and lemon juice for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, place the mixture in a blender and blitz until smooth. Strain back into the pot. Squeeze the excess water from the soaked gelatine leaves and add to the mixture. Allow to dissolve, then pour into a 22cm wide x 22cm deep trifle dish. Refrigerate until set, 4 – 6 hours.
For the Lamingtons, preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 30 x 20cm baking tin with baking paper. Place a medium-sized pot on the stove with the 500ml (2 cups) water and 250g brown sugar. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved then, in a heatproof bowl pour over the chopped chocolate. Add the oil and stir until smooth.
Whisk the eggs lightly. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Combine the dry ingredients, except the coconut, and fold into the egg and chocolate mixture. Allow to stand in a cool place, covered, for 1 hour.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Slice the cake into 5 x 5cm blocks. Roll in the coconut to coat. Arrange the Lamington blocks on top of the set jelly, reserving a few for the garnish.
For the mousse, make sure the melted chocolate is cooled to room temperature. In a stand mixer, whip the cream to soft-peak stage. Gently fold into the chocolate. Immediately pour the mousse onto the Lamington layer. Top with extra whipped cream, the remaining Lamingtons and fresh cherries to garnish.
ALSO SEE: Milk tart éclair trifle with pinotage jelly and naartjie syrup
Milk tart éclair trifle with pinotage jelly and naartjie syrup
Recipe, styling and photographs by Katelyn Allegra
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
