I have such an exciting recipe to share with you today! I’m actually seriously craving them as I type this. These panna cotta lamingtons are so delicious, so moreish, so, almost, well, fudgy and just oh-so-good. I wish I still had one (or five) left in the fridge!
Basically, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m not really into cake. And I’m definitely not into sponge. And dry sponge filled with jam, coated in a sugary chocolate icing and rolled in coconut? No, no way, it’s just so wrong on so, so many levels.
But these are another level of amazing. Panna cotta lamingtons are the creation of the very talented Nadine Ingram, owner of Sydney bakery Flour and Stone. I’m a huge fan of her pastries and have shared my version of her Fine Apple Tart for you before.
Flour and Stone had a pop up in Melbourne recently, and I thought it was about time I tried one of her famous panna cotta lamingtons. I was curious about the panna cotta aspect, but didn’t have the highest expectations. It was still a lamington, after all. But I was absolutely blown away! It was my favourite of a huge selection of her pastries that I purchased, and I possibly enjoyed it even more than her fine apple tart. I resolved that since I wouldn’t be getting to Sydney to have another one any time soon, I was just going to have to make my own.
These lamingtons are made of a rich and buttery, moist vanilla cake. Jam is not my thing, so I studded my cake with raspberries. They’re fresher and more vibrant than jam, and they cut through the richness of this little piece of pastry heaven.
That raspberry cake then gets soaked, overnight, in a vanilla bean panna cotta. It makes the cake moist, but then the gelatin in the panna cotta sets, to make the cake kind of fudgy, like a rich baked bread and butter pudding. The texture is almost firm, but yielding, from the fridge, and super soft and moreish when eaten at room temperature.
Once the panna cotta lamingtons are set, they get cut up, dipped into a rich chocolate ganache, and rolled in shredded coconut. Half an hour or so in the fridge to set the ganache and they’re ready to be devoured.
Be warned: these morsels of deliciousness are dangerous to have in the house. You will keep going back to the fridge, for just a little more, until there are lamingtons no longer. I had to share mine to stop myself from eating them all, so I packed them up into boxes to give to my family, and think they make such a sweet gift!
Enjoy these. X
- FOR THE CAKE
- 150g unsalted butter, softened
- 150g caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 150g plain flour
- ⅔ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 75g buttermilk
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- FOR THE PANNA COTTA
- 500g heavy cream
- 100g caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or seeds of one vanilla bean
- 2 gelatin sheets, gold strength
- FOR THE GANACHE
- 250g heavy cream
- 50g milk
- 200g dark chocolate
- 500g shredded coconut
- FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and grease and line a deep 9"x13" tray with baking paper.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- On a low speed, mix in a third of the dry ingredients until just combined, then follow with half the buttermilk. Continue alternating the wet and dry ingredients until they are just combined, finishing with dry. Fold in the berries.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the cake is lightly golden and springs back when pressed in the centre. Set aside to cool.
- FOR THE PANNA COTTA
- When the cake has cooled down a little, but not completely, make the panna cotta.
- Bloom the gelatin by placing the sheets into a bowl of cold water and allowing to stand.
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream, sugar and vanilla, just until bubbles begin to appear around the edges.
- Remove the cream from the heat. Squeeze the water out of the gelatin sheets and stir them into the cream mixture.
- Pour the hot panna cotta straight over the sponge. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour, before transferring to the fridge to set overnight.
- GANACHE AND ASSEMBLY
- To make the ganache, heat the cream, chocolate and milk in a small saucepan over a low heat until melted, smooth and combined. Set aside.
- Cut the lamingtons into 20 even squares.
- Dip each lamington into the ganache, then roll in shredded coconut and place on a lined baking tray. Return the lamingtons to the fridge for half an hour to set the ganache.
- Keep the lamingtons refrigerated, but allow to come to room temperature to enjoy at their best, softest texture. Makes 20.
- Happy baking!
Adapted from Flour and Stone’s Nadine Ingram via Afar.