Check out the
Dinner then Dessert Cookbook Now

Lamington Loaf Cake

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on February 23, 2022

0 Comments

Servings

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Refrigerate 10

Total Time 1 10

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Lamington Loaf Cake is a popular Australian dessert with moist yellow sponge, chocolate glaze, strawberry jam filling, and coconut topping.

This popular Australian Cake Recipe is the perfect decadent dessert. A classic Yellow Cake is covered in rich chocolate and gets a sweet Strawberry Jam center for beautiful layers full of flavor in each slice.

Lamington Loaf Cake sliced open on cutting board

You may have never tried Lamington Cakes, but they’re a well loved Australian classic dessert. The beautiful cake was first created in Queensland Australia, and can now be found all over the continent. It’s a chocolate-covered sponge cake with an optional sweet strawberry filling, and a crispy coconut to finish.

Baking the iconic dessert as a loaf cake recipe is an easy way to make this traditional cake quickly. Simply combine the sponge cake ingredients and bake them in a loaf pan. Give it a bit of time to cool before you spread the strawberry filling, coat in chocolate, and finish the cake with coconut. It’s an indulgent, delicate cake with amazing chocolate, vanilla, and fruit flavors all rolled into each bite.

Lamington Loaf Cake baking steps collage

You can always experiment with different kinds of fillings for your Lamington Loaf Cake. To experiment with the fruit flavor try using Blueberry Jam, raspberry jam, or any of your other favorites. Finish with a drizzle of Caramel Sauce or dollop of Whipped Cream to add more flavors to the topping.

Lamington Loaf Cake split in half lengthwise

Classic Cake Recipes

Key Ingredients

Sponge Cake: As far as the cake base, this recipe has a pretty common ingredient list. Pantry ingredients like sugar, flour, salt, milk, and eggs, are easily combined into the cake batter. One key difference is that this cake uses less flour than a typical loaf cake would. Having less flour and more eggs is what gives sponge cakes their delicate, airy texture. The other difference is that shredded coconut is added to the dry ingredients to give it a sweet coconut flavor.
Strawberry Filling: To keep the filling super simple, just use your favorite strawberry jam. It’s the perfect flavor for Lamington Cake filling.
Chocolate Glaze: The chocolate glaze is also super simple. All you need is butter and dark chocolate chips. Then melt them into a creamy glaze. The deep chocolate flavor contrasts wonderfully with the vanilla sponge cake.

Lamington Loaf Cake assembly collage

How To Make

Prep Time: Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Lamington Cake Batter: Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and coconut to a large bowl. Then whisk to combine the dry ingredients. Add the butter, white sugar, and vanilla to your electric mixer bowl. Mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. This should take about 1-2 minutes. Change the mixer to low speed, and add each egg individually, mixing until creamy. Pour in a small amount of flour mixture from the separate bowl. Then pour in a little bit of the milk. Continue alternating until you’ve added all the milk and all the flour. Mix at the lowest speed as you go so it all combines into the wet ingredients.
Cooking Time: Pour the fluffy cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. You can use a rubber spatula to make sure you get all of the batter. Pop the dish in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. To test if the baked cake is done, stick a toothpick in the top. When it comes out clean the cake recipe is ready to go. Let the cake cool completely before adding the filling or toppings.
Chocolate Glaze: Add the chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments until the chocolate icing is smooth and creamy.
Assemble: Transfer the cake to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Once it’s entirely cooled, cut the cake horizontally with a sharp serrated knife down the middle. Spread strawberry jam over the bottom layer of sponge cake. Add the top cake layer and press down lightly. Use a pastry brush to add the chocolate glaze over the entire Lamington Loaf Cake. Coat with coconut flakes while the chocolate is still wet. Place the finished dish in the fridge to set before serving.

Lamington Loaf Cake slice on a plate

Variations

Chocolate Cake: For chocolate loaf cake, its more than just adding cocoa powder to the dry ingredients in the cake batter. To make the chocolate cake batter, you’ll need to change most of the ingredient ratios. Use 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 large eggs, ½ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon espresso powder, 1 ¾ cups flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bake the chocolate cake, add the strawberry filling, and coat in a chocolate layer and coconut according to the original recipe.
Matcha Glaze: Instead of a classic chocolate glaze, you can make your Lamington with a delicious matcha glaze. To make the glaze add ⅓ cup white chocolate chips, ¼ cup milk, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 tablespoon Matcha powder, 2 tablespoons icing sugar, and 1 ½ cups desiccated (shredded) coconut to a heatproof bowl. Then heat all the ingredients in 30-second intervals in the microwave until combined. Once it’s all blended into one mixture, pour the Matcha glaze over the loaf cake.
Nuts: Nuts make chocolate and coconut that much better! Add chopped nuts to your filling or mix with the coconut before covering the loaf cake. Try roasted nuts like pecans, macadamia nuts, or walnuts.

Lamington Loaf Cake frosted and topped on cutting board

More Classic Loaf Cakes

HOW TO STORE

Serve: Make sure you give this cake recipe at least 10 minutes before slicing it into cake pieces and serving. If you have leftovers, you can cover them in plastic wrap to keep them moist at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Store: Lamington Loaf Cake can also be covered and stored in the fridge for about a week. Line your container with paper towels to absorb excess moisture and keep cake from getting soggy.
Freeze: To freeze this cake, wrap the whole loaf in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Or, if you only have a few slices left, put them in a freezer bag or airtight container with baking paper to separate each piece. The cake will stay good in the freezer for 4-6 months.

Lamington Loaf Cake sliced open on cutting board collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.