This month, we made a treat from Down Under: lamingtons. Made of yellow sponge cake cubes rolled around in a chocolate sauce and then desiccated coconut, they’re both simple and really delicious. I made them for a recent brunch and they were a hit among both adults and children.

A couple of our guests avoid gluten and dairy products, so I also made a variant using Pamela’s gluten-free all-purpose flour and Earth Balance buttery sticks (instead of the conventional AP flour and butter in the normal lamingtons I made). They tasted excellent. The gluten-free cake was considerably more fragile than the conventional cake, but still very delicious. It just made the dipping in chocolate sauce and rolling in coconut a more tentative affair.

For the May challenge Marcellina from Marcellina in Cucina dared us to make Lamingtons, an Australian delicacy that is as tasty as it is elegant.

Would I make them again? In a heartbeat.

Photos after the jump.

The conventional cake held together much better – I guess that’s why gluten is called that.

Conventional to the left, gluten- and dairy-free to the right

A close-up of the crumb.

The kids were ready! And they loved them as much as the adults.