Mango, white chocolate and lime lamingtons

I might have just found the perfect bribe reminder for Mother Nature to turn on a little sunshine for us tomorrow, as we gather around to wish our modern nation a happy birthday on Australia Day.

To help us celebrate the occasion, we made some mango, white chocolate and lime lamingtons. After all January is still summer! And summer means mangoes. Yep, I’d be excited too if I was her!

We used the trusty lamington sponge recipe from the NSW Agricultural Society’s Country Show Cookbook and made up our own mango dipping sauce. The combination of mango, coconut and white chocolate was so good, but since the sauce was a little on the sweet side, we added a generous squeeze of lime juice and zest to it. It made all the difference! We might make another batch to share around with the neighbours!

Happy Australia Day!

Makes 8 squares, or 32 bite-sized pieces

Mango, white chocolate and lime lamingtons

We used one fresh calypso mango, but feel free to use canned mango pulp if out of season. Real white chocolate or melts are best for this recipe.

For the sponge:

• 110g softened butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• pinch of salt

For the dipping sauce:

• 250ml mango pulp
• 75g white chocolate
• juice of 1 lime
• zest of 1 lime

To serve:

• 1.5 cups dessicated or shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180C (170C fan forced, 350F, gas mark 4). Line a square 20cm cake tin with baking paper and grease any uncovered sides.

To make the sponge: sift flours and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl. Add all remaining cake ingredients and beat using an electric mixer on medium high for about 5 minutes. The mixture will become pale and light. Transfer into the tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until just golden on the top and cooked through.

Allow cake to cool before placing it in the fridge for about 20 minutes and cutting into fingers or squares. I like to remove the side crusts too, it makes the lamingtons even more meltingly soft.

To make the dipping sauce: peel and puree mango, making sure the pulp is at room temperature. Pass through a sieve to remove any fibrous matter from the fruit. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until smooth.

To make the lamingtons: dip each square or bite-sized piece in the sauce to cover lightly. Then dip in dessicated coconut and roll around to make sure it’s covered completely. Store in the fridge until serving time.