Lamington Cupcakes

These lamington cupcakes are such a fun way to jazz up Australia’s favourite treat, made with vanilla coconut cupcakes coated in a chocolate icing and desiccated coconut, topped with a creamy swirl of coconut buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Australian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Servings cupcakes

Calories 567kcal

Author Sally

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 ¾ cups plain flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup coconut oil melted and cooled to room temperature
¾ cup white sugar
1 cup coconut milk

For the chocolate icing:

3 cups icing sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
4-6 tablespoons boiling water
½ teaspoon dairy-free butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup desiccated coconut

For the coconut buttercream frosting:

3-4 cups icing sugar
125 grams dairy-free butter
1-2 tablespoons coconut milk
Pinch salt to taste

Instructions

Start by making the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a cupcake tray with paper cases.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, coconut oil and vanilla extract until combined. Add in the coconut milk and mix together. Add in the dry ingredients and gently mix until a batter forms. Once together, stop mixing as you don’t want to overwork the batter.
Place the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan using a large spoon or cookie scoop. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden and the tops spring back when lightly touched. Set aside to cool completely.
Once the cupcakes are cool, make the chocolate icing. Sift together the icing sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add the boiling water, dairy-free butter and vanilla and stir until smooth and shiny. You want the icing to be quite thin to be able to coat the cupcakes, so adjust the water as needed to maintain the correct consistency.
Spread some desiccated coconut on a large plate. Remove the cupcakes from the paper cases and using two forks, dip each cupcake into the chocolate icing to coat completely. Allow any excess icing to drip off before rolling it on the coconut. Use a small amount of coconut on the plate at a time and replace as needed throughout the process as it can get clumpy with drips of chocolate.
Set the cupcakes aside on a plate or wire rack to set and continue this process with all 12 cupcakes.
Make the buttercream frosting. Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, beat dairy-free butter until creamy. Add in 3 cups of icing sugar and beat on medium until combined. As mixture thickens, add in the coconut milk a little at a time until the mixture is smooth and creamy but still thick enough to stand up on its own. If it’s a bit thin, add the additional cup of icing sugar until the desired consistency is reached. Finally, add in the salt to taste if it's tasting a bit too sweet and mix through.
Add the frosting to a piping bag with your favourite piping tip attached and pipe swirls of frosting on each cupcake. Finish by grating over some dark chocolate or a sprinkle of extra coconut.

Notes

I use Nuttelex to replace butter in most of my recipes as it is vegan and gives a ‘buttery’ flavour without being greasy. As this is an Australian product, the closest US alternative I believe is Earth Balance. Otherwise any dairy-free spread will work.

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