For weeks leading up to this weekend in Cairns, I'd been asked by countless locals whether or not I was planning on attending The Amateurs. Word had it that it was a great weekend of sport, local celebrity, fashion and food ... "And it's a great excuse to get fancied up and drink outdoors."
Well ... ok ... if I must.
So, I joined my Cairns friends Mark and Mat about 20 or so of their Aussie co-workers for an afternoon of champagne wishes and caviar dreams ... or, at least, Cairns' best rendition of the same.
Aside from the racing / betting component to the afternoon's processions, one of the other spectacles were the dress-up women prancing around in architecturally-impressive head gear. Below is Rebecca, in her "Nuclear Power Plant Silo" hat .. but she does look elegant sipping her champagne and strawberries, no?
And, what highly-attended sporting event would be complete without a marriage proposal going out to a wife-to-be?? (Apparently, North America isn't the only place where this is considered to be a romantic gesture on the part of the groom-to-be ...)
Sun-stroked and champagne-bloated, most of us (present party included) headed home after the event. A few days later, I got together again with Mark to return his borrowed hat to him (I do think I looked sharp in his hat though ... Indiana Jones definitely had a stunt double that day) and enjoy the most racing-inspired food we could think of: high tea.
It came complete with all the expected treats: dainty salmon and cucumber sandwiches, frilly pastries, warm pots of tea ... and, for what seemed to be the australian component to our sweet offering, little mini Lamington cakes. Lamingtons, typically plain sponge cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut, are a popular Aussie dessert, thought to have been named after Baron Lamington (a popular governor of Queensland at the end of the 19th century). Whilst the origin of the name for the lamington cake cannot be accurately established, there are several theories. One of these theories is that it was originally the slang term for the homburg hat, worn by Baron Lamington, and these cakes were named for him. Another theory is that they were named after Lady Lamington, the wife of the Governor.
Though the history seems a little complicated, these cakes are not. Easy to make, easy to enjoy ...
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
3 eggs
1/2 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cornflour
15g (1/2oz) butter
3 tablespoons hot water
Chocolate Icing
3 cups desiccated coconut
500g (1lb) icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
(extra cocoa can be added, according to taste)
15g (1/2oz) butter
1/2 cup milk
Method:
1 - Beat eggs until thick and creamy. Gradually add sugar. Continue beating until sugar completely dissolved.
2 - Fold in sifted SR flour and cornflour, then combined water and butter.
3 - Pour mixture into prepared lamington tins 18cm x 28cm (7in x 11in).
4 - Bake in 350 F oven approximately 30 mins.
5 - Let cake stand in pan for 5 min before turning out onto wire rack.
6 - Sift icing sugar and cocoa into heatproof bowl. Stir in butter and milk. Stir over a pan of hot water until icing is smooth and glossy.
7 - Trim brown top and sides from cake. Cut into 16 even pieces.
8 - Holding each piece on a fork, dip each cake into icing.
9 - Hold over bowl a few minutes to drain off excess chocolate.
10 - Toss in coconut or sprinkle to coat. Place on oven tray to set.
Note: Cake is easier to handle if made the day before. Sponge cake or butter cake may be used. May be filled with jam and cream.)
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