Happy Australia Day with Tobie Puttocks' salted caramel lamingtons
Are you geared up for today? #AustraliaDay has been flooding in my newsfeed the whole weekend as we have a competition over in social media land, which ends tomorrow. We would love to see your Australia On Show pictures and see what Australia Day means to you. For more info head to my giveaways page.
Fitness
We love walking down to our local park area and Botanical Gardens in Buninyong, so the kids go on their bikes and Adrian and I get a chance to walk and jog along side them. I then bust some push ups at the park, sprints, squats and lunges to get my heart rate up and then we go back home (uphill) for my cool down session. Consistency is key when it comes to keeping fit and being in shape. I try and fit it in wherever I can. As soon as you miss one, two or three days you easily can get distracted and before you know it, those days turn into weeks and you are back where you started. Outta shape!
Don't get me wrong, the beauty of muscle memory is amazing, I have been there. Lost my mojo but get back into shape pretty quickly when I reset my brain. That's where it's at. That switch in your brain, you gotta just keep it on and remember this is part of your daily routine, not a 12 week "quick fix" program. Movement should be a part of our every day life.
Food
Here's an awesome lamington recipe by the wonderful Tobie Puttock with a modern twist! You all remember Tobie as he took part in my ALS challenge, what a champion and talented chef too!
Salted caramel lamingtons
Preparation time: Approx 1 hour (excluding cooking and resting)
Difficulty: easy/medium
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
For the lamingtons
125g butter
200g caster sugar
½ teaspoon of organic vanilla extract
3 eggs (best quality)
220g self-raising flour (can be interchanged for GF self-raising flour)
120ml full cream milk
180g desiccated coconut
For the salted caramel
100g caster sugar
30ml water
80ml pouring cream
25g unsalted butter
Pinch of sea salt
Icing for lamingtons
400g icing sugar
20g coca powder
15g butter
130ml boiling water
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
Grease a lamington tin of approx 20cm X 30cm X 3cm deep and then line with baking paper.
Bring the butter, sugar and the vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale, light and fluffy and then add the eggs one at a time mixing in between each addition. Sift half the self-raising flour over the mixture, mix, add half the milk, mix and then repeat for the remainder of the milk and the flour. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer or small knife pulls clean when inserted into the centre.
Once the sponge is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow to cool before transferring to a wire rack. Once completely cooled allow to sit overnight covered with Clingfilm.
To make the salted caramel bring together the sugar and the water in a heavy based pot over a medium/high heat. Once the sugar has dissolved reduce the heat to medium and refrain from stirring the mixture with a spoon. The mixture will turn from clear to golden to amber, once amber you can remove from the heat. Very carefully whisk in the cream followed by the butter. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before seasoning to taste with salt. Set aside.
To make the icing for the lamingtons sift the icing sugar and the cocoa powder together into a mixing bowl along with the butter, now pour over the boiling water and stir to combine making sure all the butter has melted.
To assemble slice the sponge in half so you create a top and a bottom or a base and a lid. Spoon the salted caramel over the base of the sponge and then place the top bit on giving it a very gentle push. Allow to set for a few minutes before cutting into the size you are after.
Pop the desiccated coconut in a large mixing bowl.
Use a fork to lower one lamington at a time into the icing making sure all sides of the lamington are covered, pop the coated lamington into the bowl of desiccated coconut right away and carefully toss the lamington in the coconut so the entire surface area is covered. Repeat for remaining lamingtons.
Once coated transfer the lamingtons to a wire rack or a plate for a couple of hours before transferring to an airtight container where you can keep them for a couple of days if they last that long.
Watch all the action here!
http://youtu.be/dYtyik6VF0A
Thank you so much Tobie for making an iconic dessert taste even more amazing! For more awesome recipes check out Tobie's Instagram and Youtube page.
Have an amazing Australia Day! And check out what we are up on Instagram today.
XxDani