Raspberry lamingtons or jelly lamingtons are a fun and colourful twist on an Australian classic treat. These small squares of light and fluffy vanilla butter cake are dunked in a raspberry jelly glaze and coated in coconut making them the perfect bite sized cakes for morning or afternoon tea.
One of my favourite Australian treats to bake has to be classic lamingtons. I absolutely love my dairy free version with its soft and light butter cake but this year, I wanted to try something a bit different and change the flavour of the coating.
Raspberry lamingtons are commonly sold alongside chocolate and I have to say, are much prettier with their pink and white exterior. This recipe uses the same simple and delicious cake recipe as my traditional lamingtons but then swaps the chocolate coating for a raspberry jelly.
There are many versions of lamingtons and there is often debate around whether they should contain jam in the centre or not. For this raspberry version, I think they are delicious sandwiched after dunking with a little raspberry jam and some whipped cream (much like scones), but you could also cut the cake pieces in half and add the jam in the centre before dunking them in the coating.
With how simple the raspberry jelly coating is to make, this does open up a world of possibilities for flavour (and therefore colour) combinations based on the flavour jelly you choose!
Key Ingredients
You’ll need a few of the usual pantry staple ingredients to make the cake for these raspberry lamingtons plus a couple of extras for the coating.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Dairy free butter – for best results in cake texture and flavour, you want a good quality butter alternative. I always use Nuttelex Buttery which is an Australian product but I believe the closest US alternative is Earth Balance.
- Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar, this is going to help give the cake the light, buttery soft texture. If you don’t have it, you can pulse regular sugar in a bullet blender a few times to make it.
- Vanilla – for the best flavour use vanilla extract not imitation vanilla.
- Eggs – gives the cake stability and that spongy, light texture we’re looking for.
- Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour in the US.
- Baking powder – helps our cake rise and have a light rather than dense texture.
- Dairy free milk – I like to use oat milk in my baking but you can use any dairy free milk you prefer such as almond milk or soy milk.
- Raspberry jelly crystals – you’ll need one packet of jelly crystals such as Aeroplane Jelly. You can also use any flavour you prefer.
- Desiccated coconut – for the coating. I don’t recommend substituting with shredded coconut as it isn’t as dry or fine as desiccated coconut so you won’t get the same texture and coverage to your cakes.
Step-By-Step Instructions
There are two parts to making raspberry lamingtons, the butter cake and the jelly and coconut coating.
We start by making the butter cake. For this you’ll need either a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer to make the cake batter and a 30cm x 20cm lamington tin that has been greased and lined with cooking spray and baking paper.
In your mixing bowl, beat together the dairy-free butter and caster sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy and starting to get pale in colour. Add in the vanilla and continue to beat. Gradually add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture completely after each addition.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture a little at a time to the wet ingredients, alternating with the dairy-free milk mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Once everything is combined, stop mixing as overmixing can lead to a dense cake.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is cooked through and springs back when lightly touched. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling it’s time to prepare the jelly for the coating. In a large bowl mix together the jelly crystals with one cup of boiling water. Add another cup of cold water and mix ensuring that all the jelly crystals have dissolved.
Place the jelly in the refrigerator for approximately 1 ½ hours or until the jelly has slightly set and resembles the texture and consistency of egg whites.
Once the cake is cool, and your jelly is just set enough, cut the cake into squares or rectangles depending on the size you want your lamingtons to be and dunk each cake square into the raspberry jelly using a fork until completely coated, followed by the coconut. Set aside on the plate and repeat with all cake squares.
Let the raspberry lamingtons set in the fridge for at least an hour before serving which will allow the jelly flavour to absorb into the cake and the outside to be firm to touch.
From here you can choose how to serve the raspberry lamingtons, just as they are is perfect, but for something a bit extra you can cut them in half and sandwich with raspberry jam and whipped cream. I use a dairy free whipped cream which is a little lighter and has less structure than regular whipped cream but is delicious in these lamingtons.
Recipe FAQs
The cake is usually a vanilla sponge or butter cake. This recipe leans more to the side of a butter cake as it uses whole eggs rather than egg whites, but the true characteristic of the lamington cake is that it’s light and fluffy.
The best thing about lamingtons is that the coating prevents the cake from going as stale and dry as it usually would, meaning these cakes will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Lamingtons also freeze well for up to 3 months. Defrost them either in the fridge or on the kitchen counter overnight.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More Australian classics for morning tea:
Homemade Tim Tams (Vegan)
ANZAC Biscuits
Melting Moments
Vegan Caramel Slice
Raspberry Lamingtons
Ingredients
Vanilla butter cake:
- 160 grams dairy free butter
- ¾ cup caster sugar/superfine sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups plain flour/all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup dairy free milk
Raspberry jelly coating:
- 85 gram packet raspberry jelly crystals
- 1 ½ – 2 cups desiccated coconut
Optional to serve:
- Raspberry jam
- Whipped cream regular or dairy free
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 30cm x 20cm lamington tin with cooking spray and baking paper.
- Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer, cream together the dairy-free butter and caster sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy and starting to get pale in colour. Add in the vanilla and continue to beat. Gradually add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture completely after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Slowly add the flour mixture a little at a time, to the wet ingredients, alternating with the dairy-free milk mixing until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the lined cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is cooked through and springs back when lightly touched. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, in a large bowl mix together the jelly crystals with one cup of boiling water. Add another cup of cold water and mix ensuring that all the jelly crystals have dissolved. Place in the refrigerator for approximately 1 ½ hours or until the jelly has slightly set and resembles the texture and consistency of egg whites.
- Once the cake is cool, cut it into squares or rectangles depending on the size you want your lamingtons to be.
- Dunk each cake square into the raspberry jelly using a fork until completely coated, followed by the coconut. Set aside on the plate and repeat with all cake squares. Let the raspberry lamingtons set in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
- Serve the raspberry lamingtons as is or cut in half and sandwich with raspberry jam and whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
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