Vegan Gluten-Free Lamingtons

We dedicate these vegan and gluten-free lamingtons to all our readers in Australia! Whether you're already a big fan of these sweet bakes, or it's your first time making them, we're sure you'll love our recipe. We'll help you prepare healthier lamingtons with the same delicious flavour but a fraction of the calories.

Lamingtons are a famous Aussie treat consisting of cubes of sponge cake coated in chocolate frosting and rolled in desiccated coconut. It's a simple yet delightful dessert, often filled with a layer of cream and strawberry jam. People usually enjoy these cute squares with a hot cup of tea as an afternoon treat.

Preparing lamingtons is very easy, but not many recipes show you how to make them without eggs, butter, or sugar. So, we decided to round up a no sugar, allergen-free recipe suitable for those on a vegan diet or with egg and milk allergies. Each cube has half the calories, 80% fewer sugars, and half the fats than the classic ones.

How did we do it? With a few simple tweaks on the classic lamington recipe. We swapped butter cake with a gluten-free sponge made with rice flour and almond meal; then, we substituted eggs and butter with flaxseeds and olive oil; finally, we used mashed ripe bananas instead of refined sugar.

The result is a moist and soft cake with a slightly nutty flavour. After slicing it into squares, we coated the lamingtons with a simple frosting of melted chocolate and oat milk. Using dark chocolate instead of the classic butter and icing sugar means our glaze is lower in fats and sugars.

All is left to do is roll the lamington squares in coconut flakes and wait for the coating to harden. We were so impatient we gulped them down while they were still warm and gooey! If you fancy, finish them off with our sugar-free cherry jam spread between two lamington halves — you'll love them!

Step 1

Add the flaxseeds to a bowl and cover them with oat milk (1).

Let them soak for 10 minutes while you prepare the other cake ingredients.

Then, blitz ripe bananas or mash them with a fork until smooth and creamy (2).

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Step 2

Combine rice flour, almond flour, sifted starch, baking powder, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl (1).

Then, add the olive oil, vanilla, banana mash, and flaxseed mixture (2).

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Step 3

Work the ingredients with an electric mixer or a spoon until they come together into a smooth and creamy cake batter.

Step 4

Now, take a 20 cm (8 inches) square baking tin and grease it with oil.

Then, pour in the cake batter, levelling it with a spatula.

Bake it for 25 minutes at 200°C (390°F) in static mode or 180°C (355°F) in fan mode.

The cake is ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, with only a few crumbs attached.

Step 5

Transfer the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool down for at least 20 minutes.

Now, if the cake top is not flat, you can level it with a cake cutting wire or a knife.

Then, trim off the edges to make perfect corners and cut the cake into 4 cm (1 1/2 inches) cubes.

Step 6

For the chocolate frosting, add the oat milk to a heat-proof bowl and set it on a pot of water.

Bring the water to a boil and keep it to a simmer.

Once the milk is warm, add chopped dark chocolate, and let it melt, stirring occasionally (1).

Remove the bowl from the heat and dip each cake cube into the chocolate.

Use two forks to roll the lamington in the frosting until it's completely coated (2).

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Step 7

Gently scrape excess chocolate with the side of the fork and then transfer the cube into a bowl with desiccated coconut. (1)

Roll it until it's well coated, and then set it on a wire rack to harden (2).

Repeat the coating process with the remaining cake squares and then store the lamingtons in the fridge.

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Tips

• You can swap rice and almond flour with any store-bought gluten-free cake blend.

• Make sure the bananas are very ripe, or the sponge cake won't taste as sweet.