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The first settlers liked to cook large slabs of cake to feed their large families but the lack of refrigeration and adequate preservatives meant these cakes quickly went stale. Rather than waste the stale cake it was cut into cubes with a jam filling in the centre and coated in chocolate and then rolled in grated coconut. So the original Lamington cake was actually made to disguise stale cake.
Recipes for the Lamington started appearing in cook books in the early 20th century and it soon became one of Australia’s most popular cakes. So popular that people started to make them especially using fresh sponge cake.
The meaning of the word lamington actually means “layers of beaten gold” and some believe this is where it got its name.
The cakes name has also been attributed to the maid of Baron Lamington who was a Governor of Queensland from 1895-1901 who apparently accidentally dropped some sponge cake into Chocolate. The story goes that the Baron then suggested the coconut to avoid messy fingers.
How the Lamington got its name is not really important, the important thing is it is eaten and enjoyed by all Australians.
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