Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons (Gluten-Free)

These vegan cake bites are inspired by the Australian lamington and the British Victoria sponge: a vanilla sandwich cake spread with jam and buttercream coated in chocolate and coconut. These are naturally vegan and make a delicious afternoon tea bake.

Earlier this year, I knew I wanted to make Vegan Lamingtons, but weeks came and went without me making them – I even had a hypothetical recipe ready to be tested. As the weeks went on, I thought about how I could make them slightly different and given all the frosting I’ve been making recently, I thought why not sandwich these classic Aussie bites with jam AND buttercream to make a Lamington-Victoria Sponge hybrid. So, the Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons came about – after a few tears, trials and errors.

The key to a good Lamington bite, I’ve discovered is a sponge cake that is study enough and that won’t crumble too much. I added a bit more flour than I usually would for a vanilla sponge, but it worked really well and these Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons retain their shape when coating them in chocolate but are still light and airy.

What makes these Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons special?

• Two layers of vegan vanilla sponge: a simple recipe that comes together in 20 minutes and is fail-proof. It is a great base sponge for other bakes, too.
• Raspberry jam: or other jam, once that isn’t too thick or too runny is best for this bake. A smoother jam is also better for easier slicing.
• Vegan vanilla buttercream: I actually re-purposed some buttercream I had leftover which was perfect and meant I didn’t waste anything! It’s a simple vegan butter, icing sugar, vanilla and milk frosting and have included the measurements below.
• Chocolate: rather than a chocolate ganache, I’ve made these Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons simpler by just coating them in chocolate. I went for a dark one, but milk would also do.
• Coconut: the classic Lamington is evenly dusted with desiccated coconut and this is what I aimed for, too.

These Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons are a real treat to make and once you get going, you’ll learn how you prefer to make them as there are a few different ways.

• Make smaller bites: slice the cake in half widthways to make the cake bites smaller and neater. This is my preferred method.
• Make larger bites: the cake is already fairly thin, so you can just sandwich this cake together as it is for larger, heartier bites.

The dipping, dunking and drizzling of the chocolate and coconut for the Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons takes a bit of time to get used to. Like most baking ventures, the first one is the most challenging and the least neat of the bunch, so keep going and make sure the chocolate covers all the sides (you can skip the bottom, and no-one will know) and then cover with coconut. Don’t try to be too neat, just go for it!

These Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons are a real new favourite, and I can’t believe I hadn’t made them before. The base sponge is the simplest cake recipe I’ve made and only requires very basic ingredients that work their magic. It is light and fluffy, packed with vanilla flavour and sweet goodness. Sandwiches together with some sweet berry jam, luscious buttercream all coated with a chocolate and coconut shell, each mouthful is a delight!

Here are a few swaps and ideas:

• Sugar: I like coconut sugar but you could use caster sugar, too.
• Plant-based milk: any milk will do from a carton (not tinned coconut milk).
• Lemon juice: you could also use apple cider vinegar (both help the milk to curdle which is essential).
• Jam: any flavour jam will work! Make sure it’s fairly smooth and not too runny.
• Chocolate: any chocolate will work.
• Flour: for a gluten-free cake, I recommend using a 1:1 recommended GF flour blend that you usually use for baking with xantham gum in.

For other cakes and bakes, how about my:

• Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2
• Vegan Chocolate Cake Balls
• Banana Chocolate Chip Blondies
• Vegan Triple Chocolate Cupcakes
• Snickers Banana Bread

Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons (Gluten-Free)

• Servings: 10-16
• Time: 40 minutes plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

These vegan cake bites are inspired by the Australian lamington and the British Victoria sponge: a vanilla sandwich cake spread with jam and buttercream coated in chocolate and coconut. These are naturally vegan and make a delicious afternoon tea bake.

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 150ml plant-based milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 60ml sunflower oil
• 60g coconut sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 200g self-raising flour or GF self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
For the filling and coating:
• 50-100g raspberry jam
• 40g vegan butter
• 120-150g icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp plant-based milk
• 350-400g dairy-free chocolate
• 100g desiccated coconut

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line an 8-inch square tin with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the milk and lemon juice and leave for 5 minutes to curdle. Whisk in the sunflower oil, coconut sugar and vanilla essence.
3. Pour in the flour and baking powder and whisk to a smooth batter.
4. Pour into the tin, smooth over the top, tap on the surface a couple of times to remove any air bubbles and bake for 14-15 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes then remove and cool fully on a wire rack. Place the cake in the fridge before slicing it to make the cuts neater. Meanwhile, make the buttercream by beating the butter until fluffy and add in the icing sugar and plant-based milk ubtil fluff but firm.
6. Either slice the cake in half down the middle and spread one half with the jam and pipe on the buttercream before topping with the second half. Or, after the cake has been sliced in half, cut in half again to make 4 squares. Slice each square in half widthways to make two thin layers. Spread each bottom piece with jam and pipe on the buttercream and then sandwich back together.
7. Whichever method you have followed, now slice the cake into small squares. Place in the fridge on a tray.
8. Melt the chocolate and place the desiccated coconut in a shallow bowl.
9. Working carefully and quickly (it gets messy), coat each cake square in chocolate (place a piece on a fork over the chocolate and spoon over the melted chocolate, allowing the excess to drip off). Now cover each square in coconut.
10. Place onto a lined tray and set in the fridge for 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

I cannot wait to hear what you think of this Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons so please let me know in the comments below and tag me in your bakes. I love seeing what you make! I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With lamington love x