Classic Kiwi Lamingtons: Sponge, Chocolate and Coconut
Light sponge cut into cubes, dipped in a thin chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut. A tea-table and bake-sale staple made the way most New Zealand kitchens make it.
How this was made: Recipes are developed and kitchen-tested by our editorial team. We use AI tools to assist with drafting, structuring and proof-reading; a human editor reviews and tests every recipe before publication. No fictional author is used.
Lamingtons turn up at school galas, church fairs and morning teas right across the country, and they are one of those bakes where the method matters more than the ingredient list. A plain sponge, a thin chocolate icing and a tray of coconut are all you need, but the order you do things in is what gives you neat cubes with an even coat instead of a crumbly, patchy mess.
The trick most home cooks learn the hard way is to bake the sponge a day ahead. A fresh, warm cake tears as soon as the wet icing touches it, while a cake that has firmed up overnight cuts into clean cubes and holds its shape through the dipping. If you have made our classic pavlova, you already know how forgiving a make-ahead bake can be; lamingtons reward the same patience.
Ingredients
Sponge
- 125 g butter, softened
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 1/4 cup milk
Chocolate icing
- 3 cups icing sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 25 g butter
- 1/2 cup boiling water, plus a little extra
To coat
- 2 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
Method
- Heat the oven and line the tin. Set the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C). Grease and line a 20×20 cm square tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang so you can lift the sponge out cleanly.
- Make the sponge batter. Beat the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each, then the vanilla. Fold in the sifted self-raising flour alternately with the milk until you have a smooth, soft batter.
- Bake the sponge. Spread the batter into the tin and level the top. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until risen, golden and springy, and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool fully.
- Rest, then cut. Wrap the cooled sponge and leave it overnight, or chill it for a few hours, so it firms up. Trim the edges, then cut into 16 even cubes. For the cleanest dip, freeze the cubes for 15 to 20 minutes first.
- Mix the icing. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Stir in the butter and boiling water and mix to a smooth, pourable icing. It should coat the back of a spoon but still run off; loosen with a little more boiling water if it thickens as you work.
- Dip and coat. Spread the coconut on a tray. Drop a cube into the icing, turn it with two forks or a skewer to coat all sides, lift and let the excess drip off, then roll it in the coconut until covered. Set each one on a rack.
- Set before serving. Leave the lamingtons to set for at least an hour so the icing firms and the coconut sticks. Store in an airtight container, and serve them as they are or split and filled with whipped cream.
- Keep the icing thin and warm. If it cools and thickens it grabs the sponge unevenly; a splash of boiling water brings it back.
- Work with one hand for dipping and one for rolling, or use two forks, so you do not end up with chocolate-coated fingers and clumped coconut.
- For a pink Kiwi version, swap the chocolate icing for a raspberry or strawberry jelly icing made with hot water and icing sugar, then roll in coconut as usual.
- To fill them, split each set lamington through the middle and sandwich with a little whipped cream and a dab of jam just before serving.
- Unfilled lamingtons keep airtight for two to three days. Cream-filled ones need to go in the fridge and are best eaten the same day.
If you like a bake that leans on coconut and a soft, sweet finish, our Louise slice uses a coconut meringue over jam and shortbread, and works on the same make-ahead principle. For more on how we test and write these recipes, see our editorial and AI policy, or browse the rest of the collection on the home page.
Sources & references
Background reading used while developing and verifying this recipe. Quantities and timings were confirmed by our own kitchen testing.
- Chelsea Sugar, raspberry and chocolate lamington recipes, for traditional New Zealand sponge, icing and coconut proportions.
- Cuisine Magazine, lamington guidance, for notes on baking the sponge ahead and keeping the icing pourable.
- RecipeTin Eats, classic lamingtons, for the two-fork dipping method and freezing the cubes before coating.
- New Zealand food-safety guidance on home storage of cream-filled and egg-based bakes.
