Caramel Lamington Map of Australia
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
For cake
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200g unsalted butter, softened
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1 cup caster sugar
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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3 eggs at room temperature
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2 1/3 cups self-raising flour, sifted
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1 cup milk soured with a squeeze of lemon juice in it
For coating
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200g dulce de leche (or caramel top and fill)
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1 cup (250ml) thickened cream
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1 leaf titanium strength gelatine
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1 cup whipped cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional if you are filling the cake in the centre with cream)
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2 cups desiccated coconut
You will also need to print out a map of Australia. I found one here which was set in the right orientation for printing and didn't need any adjustments.
**Buyer's tip: You can buy dulce de leche at South American grocery stores **
Step 1 - Line a 20x20cm (8x8 inch) square of round tin with baking parchment. Preheat oven to 170C/340F. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes pale. Sift the flour into a separate bowl.
Step 2 - Place soured milk in a jug and add eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. While the beater is mixing at the lowest speed, in three alternating lots add the eggy milk and then the flour and mix until combined. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 1 hour until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Don't worry about any cracks, it will sink down a little and besides which we're going to flip it over so that the surface is totally smooth!
Step 3 - In a heavy based saucepan heat the cream and the dulce de leche or caramel top 'n fill until the caramel is melted and the mixture is smooth. Strain through a sieve. In a small bowl soak the gelatine leaf in cold water for 5 minutes and squeeze it dry and then add it to the caramel mixture while it is still warm. Stir well.
Step 4 - Take the print out of the map of Australia and trim it around the edges-I didn't do all the nooks and crannies because I didn't think that I would able to cut it out. Place the trimmed map on top of the cake. I found that I could trace it with about 5mm more space (I wanted to use up as much cake as possible) so I trimmed it with a slight border. Also don't forget to cut out Tasmania!
Step 5 - If you want to, you can split the cake in half horizontally and fill it with whipped vanilla cream (1 cup cream whipped with 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste).
Step 6 - Place the cake on a cooling rack on top of a tray to catch any drips. With an angled palette knife, spread the caramel sauce on top of the cake and down the side using the palette knife to spread it along the side of the cake. There should be more than enough caramel sauce to do this and you should have about 1/2 cup leftover (chef's treat-go on!).
Step 7 - Sprinkle with the desiccated coconut and press some against the sides of the cake.