by contributor Sarah Coates of The Sugar Hit
It’s Australia day on Tuesday! That’s right, it’s the day of the Land Down Under, and although I personally feel that the date should be changed, to show respect to the indigenous peoples of Australia (as the current date does not). Until that date changes, I will still eat the foods of the land I love, and celebrate all that is positive about modern day Australia.
One thing that’s important to know about truly ‘Australian’ food is that it doesn’t really exist. Of course we have native fruits and vegetables, but for the most part, our cuisine is a lot of flavours borrowed from all over the world. We love Laksa, and Pad Thai, and Butter Chicken as much as we love Spaghetti Bolognese, Meat Pies and Barbecue. Australian Barbecues are kind of a thing unto themselves, although we never ‘throw a shrimp on’ – we actually call them prawns here, and we only bbq them occasionally.
Anyway, I’ve gotten sidetracked! The thing is, a Lamington is one food that is categorically Australian. It was invented here, and it’s pretty damn delicious. Lamingtons are small spongecakes, dipped in a light chocolate glaze, and then rolled in coconut. They sometimes have a jam filling, and sometimes a cream filling, or both. They are served at morning and afternoon tea, or just for a snack. And this, my Lamington Float, is the 2016 take on them!
It’s got all the flavours – coconut, chocolate, raspberry, vanilla – of a classic Lamington, but in an ice-cold, foaming, frothy float! I love making these whenever I have friends over for dinner. There’s nothing more fun than eating such a quintessential kid’s dessert at a table full of adults. The key is to make each element as sophisticated as it can be. This iteration has quality vanilla ice cream, a coconut-chocolate fudge sauce, fresh raspberries and a splash of coconut water, all topped off with plain soda water. Delicious!
Lamington Ice Cream Float
Serves 2
- 4 scoops quality vanilla ice cream
- 1 punnet raspberries
- 2 shots coconut water
- 1 cup soda water (or more, depending on your glasses)
- For the sauce:
- 4oz bittersweet chocolate
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 2 tbsp corn syrup (optional)
First, make the sauce. Place the chocolate, coconut cream and corn syrup into a small saucepan and melt over a low heat until smooth and combined. The corn syrup gives the sauce a little fudgy texture, but it’s fine to leave it out.
To serve, place two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream into two serving glasses. Scatter the raspberries evenly between the glasses, reserving a few. Pour as much warm sauce into each glass as you like, followed by a shot of the coconut water, and finally top off with soda water. Place the remaining raspberries on top, and serve with a spoon and a straw.
