I ❤️Lamingtons! These delightful Raspberry Lamingtons are addictive and I guarantee you will be reaching for a second helping. The small soft sponge cake squares are drenched in a luscious raspberry glaze and coated in coconut. Yes, please, I will have another one!

close up of a serving of raspberry lamington on a plate with fork

Of course, these delightful individual lamington cakes are totally calorie-free. ? I wish!

What are lamingtons?

Lamingtons are Australia’s iconic dessert and the traditional flavor is chocolate. The Aussie classic lamington is a small sponge cake dipped in a chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut.

Another version of these small cakes is to slice them in half, spread one half with jam, add whipped cream and sandwich them together. The little cake-sandwiches are then dipped into a sweet sauce or glaze and rolled in dried desiccated coconut. YUM!

Although chocolate is the traditional lamington other flavors abound creating individual tea-cakes to serve as a dessert or snack. These delightful raspberry-flavored lamingtons are one of many flavor possibilities.

A stack of lamingtons and two servings — Sweet little cakes coated with raspberry glaze and coconut

What kind of cake is best for Lamingtons?

You can choose the traditional sponge cake or a butter cake. I am using our recipe for a hot-milk sponge cake which is light and tender and has a springy texture.

Sponge cakes typically have very little fat and can be a bit on the dry side but our hot milk sponge cake is tender and moist. Sponge cakes are able to hold a hefty dose of simple syrup without getting soggy. This sponge cake is perfect for our raspberry lamingtons as the glaze soaks into the edges of the cake evenly.

I baked our sponge cake in two 8-inch square pans, trimmed off the edges, cut the cake into 2-inch squares and trimmed the golden top and bottom from each square. Trimming the cake squares exposes the spongy cake for the square to be glazed evenly. Whatever size you decide to cut the squares they will be a bit larger when glazed and coated with coconut.

collage of photos showing the steps for making raspberry lamingtons.

Ingredients needed to make these raspberry lamingtons:

Here’s what you need to make these raspberry lamingtons. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the entire recipe:

Eggs
Milk
Butter
Sugar
Cake flour
Baking powder
Salt
Vanilla
Gelatin
Raspberries
Confectioners’ sugar
Water
Desiccated coconut.
Red food color drops

That last ingredient of red food color is optional. For some reason after adding the confectioners’ sugar to the raspberry sauce the color changes to a purplish color. The red food color restores the glaze to a pretty raspberry-red color.

Desiccated coconut is dried shredded coconut. It is a little drier and shredded a bit finer than standard shredded coconut. Either one will work but the desiccated coconut will cover the Lamingtons better.

Tips to Make Raspberry Lamingtons:

When making the cake, whip the eggs to a thick ribbon-like consistency. If using an electric stand mixer be sure to use the whip attachment and not the paddle attachment.
For baking level cakes without rounded dome tops, use oven-proof cake baking wraps. Simply moisten with water and wrap around the pan before filling with the cake batter.
Cut the cakes into any size that you like. For an 8-inch square cake you should have about nine 2-inch squares after trimming the cake edges.
Also, trim off the golden top and bottom surface of each square of cake to allow the glaze to soak into the entire cake square.
Placing the cut cake squares into the freezer for 20 minutes will firm up the cakes and they will be easier to coat.
When making the raspberry glaze you can use either fresh or thawed frozen raspberries.
Be sure to strain the berry mixture to remove the seeds to achieve a smooth glaze, then stir in the heated gelatin while the glaze is still hot.
Chilling the glaze for 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator will thicken the glaze enough that it doesn’t saturate into the entire cake square.
There is no need for the glazing and coconut process to be messy. Simply hold the cake with a fork while spooning the sauce over each side of the cake. Set the coated cake square on a wire cooling rack for a couple of minutes for the excess glaze to drip off.
After coating three or four cakes with the glaze, hold them one at a time with the fork over the coconut dish and spoon coconut on each side.
Place all the glazed and coconut coated cakes in the refrigerator to set before serving.

How Long Will Lamingtons Keep?

I think you will be delighted with these raspberry lamingtons. Save time by making them in advance. They will keep for one or two days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.

Serve these raspberry lamingtons for dessert at your next dinner event and watch the happy faces! Lamingtons can be made in a multitude of different flavors.

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

No-Bake Cheesecake with Surprise Inside: These delightful, individual cheesecakes have a sweet surprise inside them. Serve them to guests and watch their faces when they slice into the center to find a chocolate-covered strawberry. A strawberry covered with a thick, soft, chocolate ganache that is easy to slice with a fork.
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes : Decadent molten chocolate lava cakes filled with a warm fudgy sauce.
Tiramisu: A light, creamy, coffee-flavored Italian dessert that is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of sugar, cream, mascarpone cheese and garnished with beautiful chocolate curls and sprigs of mint.

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A raspberry lamington on a dessert plate with a fork.

Raspberry Lamingtons

These small, 2-inch cubes of soft sponge cake squares are drenched in a luscious raspberry glaze and coated in coconut.

4.41 from 20 votes

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Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 1 10

Servings: Lamingtons

Calories: 259kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the Hot Milk Sponge Cake:

5 eggs
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons butter
2 cups sugar 400 grams
2 cups cake flour 220 grams
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Raspberry Glaze

2 teaspoons gelatin powder
1 cup 200g sugar
1¼ cup water divided
10 oz. frozen raspberries thawed
2 cups 250g confectioners sugar
¼ teaspoon red food coloring (optional
2 cups desiccated coconut

Instructions

For the Hot Milk Sponge Cake:

Place the eggs (while still in the shell) in a bowl of warm water. This will warm them up and help them whip to a higher volume. Let them sit while you prep the cake pans and the ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Grease and flour two 8-inch square cake pans and place some parchment paper in the bottom of the pans.
Place the milk and butter in a saucepan and warm it over low heat until the butter melts. Keep the pan on the lowest heat setting to stay warm while you beat the eggs.
Crack the eggs in a large mixing bowl and add the sugar. Beat on high speed for about 8 to 15 minutes. The eggs should triple in volume and become pale yellow in color. (see notes)
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt over the egg mixture and fold in with a spatula until it is just barely combined, you will still see some flour streaks.
Add the vanilla to the warm milk mixture and pour the milk in the batter. Stir the mixture by hand. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula to make sure all the flour is incorporated.
Divide the batter into the cake pans.
Bake for 30-34 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Begin checking at 30 minutes.
When the cakes have finished baking, set the pans on a wire rack and let them cool in the pans.

For the Raspberry Glaze and Coconut Coating:

In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the top of 1/4 cup of water and allow to soften for 5 minutes
Set a small saucepan over medium-high and heat the remaining 1 cup of water and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the raspberries and cook for 5-8 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl and strain the mixture, pressing down to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard the residue in the strainer.
Place the gelatin in the microwave and heat until syrupy…about 10 seconds. Whisk the gelatin into the raspberry mixture.
Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl, pour the raspberry syrup over the sugar and whisk together until smooth. Whisk in the red food coloring if using. Transfer to the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes until it is slightly thickened.

To assemble:

Set a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
Using a sharp knife, trim the edges off the sponge cake and cut into 2-inch squares or any size you want. Place the cut squares on a plate and transfer to the freezer for 30 minutes.
Set up a 2-bowl dredging system, with the raspberry mixture in one bowl and the coconut in the other bowl.
Remove the cake squares from the freezer. Holding a cake square with a fork, spoon raspberry glaze over the cold cake, turning to cover it completely and letting the excess drip back into the bowl. With the fork still inserted in the glaze-covered cake, hold it over the coconut bowl and spoon coconut on all sides of the cake. Place the cake on the wire rack.
When all the cake squares have been coated with glaze and coconut, place the baking sheet into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to set.

Notes

When beating the eggs to the ribbon stage use the whisk attachment if using a stand mixer.
Warmer eggs will whip up to higher volumes than cold eggs. Place the eggs (while still in their shells) in warm water for about 5 minutes to get them slightly warmer than room temperature. If the eggs are not warm enough, you will not be able to whip as much volume into them. Alternatively, you can place the bowl over simmering water while you whip the eggs until they get lukewarm. When they get warm, take them off the heat and continue whipping them until they triple in volume.
Beat the eggs and sugar until they triple in volume. The mixture will become pale yellow and when you stop the mixer and raise the whisk, the mixture will fall back in a ribbon-like pattern. This process takes about 8 to 10 minutes in a stand mixer and about 15 minutes with a handheld electric mixer.
When confectioners’ sugar is whisked into the raspberry syrup the color changes to purple. The red food coloring is optional but it will restore the raspberry syrup to a red raspberry color.
The cakes can be cut into any size.
Freezing the soft cut cake squares for about 1 hour makes it easier to handle while coating with raspberry sauce and coconut.
Insert a fork into a cake square and spoon the raspberry and the coconut on all surfaces. This technique is less messy than dipping and rolling.