Vegan Lamington Tart
This vegan lamington tart is a reinvention of a classic Aussie treat. It has a coconut oil shortcrust, layer of chocolate ganache, layer of coconut bounty and jelly studded with raspberries!
What is a lamington?
Lamingtons are a classic Australian bakery delight where a vanilla sponge is covered in chocolate and dipped in coconut. Sometimes there is a layer of jam or cream in the sponge cake.
Lamingtons are often enjoyed near Australia Day. Although I don’t celebrate this public holiday, I love lamingtons and variations of it. I’ve also veganised other Australian desserts including the custard tart and Anzac biscuits.
Turning the classic lamington into a lamington tart
I took my favourite flavours of the lamington and put them in a tart which you can serve at the dinner table. This is how I transformed the classic lamington:
- The vanilla sponge became a crispy shortcrust pastry
- The chocolate icing became a layer of chocolate ganache
- The coconut exterior became a layer of bounty
- Some lamingtons have a layer of jam. I made this ultra fun and fancy by including a layer of jelly with whole raspberries!
This tart is easy to make but just a little time consuming with having to make and set each layer.
If you’re after a quicker recipe, I’ve listed some easier lamington-inspired recipes towards the end of this blog post.
Coconut oil shortcrust
I normally avoid using coconut oil in my treats as I used a lot of it during my cake business. However, having coconut in a lamington dessert is an essential no-brainer.
The coconut oil is mixed with the flour, a little sweetener and water and moulded into a tart tin. Firm coconut oil is easier to work with than liquid oil. In pastry, it’s similar to working with butter.
I crimped the pastry for a bit of fun and so there aren’t ‘thick’ bits of pastry against the fluted edges. However, it is time-consuming and completely optional!
Chocolate ganache layer for the lamington tart
The ganache is silky, smooth and will just melt in your mouth… and it only has two ingredients!
It took a few trials to get the ratio of chocolate to coconut cream right. Too much chocolate and you can barely cut through the tart. Too much cream and the whole tart will collapse.
I used a canned coconut cream which has around 28% fat. This creates a chocolate which will hold its shape yet will complement the crunchy shortcrust and coconut bounty layer.
Coconut Bounty Layer
This layer is fresh, oozing with coconut cream and adds a lovely textural contrast against the smooth chocolate and crunchy shortcrust.
It has the texture of a bounty but with more moisture! The coconut bounty layer is probably the softest of all the layers and will just melt in your mouth.
More vegan desserts inspired by Australian classics
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Vegan Lamington Tart
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups (190g) all-purpose plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- ½ cup (120g) coconut oil, chilled so its scoopable, or use vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons (30g) water, cold and as needed
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar, or coconut sugar (which will make your crust darker)
Chocolate Ganache Layer
- 1 cup (170g) roughly chopped vegan chocolate or chocolate chips, (note 1)
- ⅔ (160g) thick scoopable canned coconut cream
Coconut layer
- 1 ¼ cups (100g) desiccated coconut / fine shredded coconut
- ¼ cup (85g) any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60g) thick scoopable canned coconut cream
Raspberry Jelly layer
- ½ cup (60g) fresh raspberries
- 1 cup (125g) fresh or frozen raspberries
- ⅓ cup (80g) water
- 3 tablespoons (65g) any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons agar powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Line or grease a 20 cm (8 inch) wide, 4 cm (1.5 inch) deep loose bottom tart pan.
To make the crust:
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl or food processor and mix until evenly combined and it forms a dough. The dough should be soft but pliable and can be pinched between two fingers without breaking.
- Dust a clean surface with flour. Use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry to about 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick. Carefully use a rolling pin to transfer the dough to the tin. Press the dough against the bottom and sides of the tin to form a crust. Crimp the edges if desired.
- Bake the crust for 15 minutes or until the surface is evenly golden brown. Set aside to cool.
To make the chocolate ganache layer:
- Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan over low heat. Melt until the mixture is very smooth then pour it into the tart tin. Set the tin in the freezer for 1 hour or until the chocolate is set.
To make the coconut layer:
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. When the chocolate layer is firm enough (so it cannot easily be indented with a finger), add the coconut mixture to the tart. Firmly press down the mixture to create a smooth and even surface. Set aside the tin in the freezer for 1 hour or until the coconut is set. (note 2)
To make the jelly layer:
- Slice 1/2 cup (50g) of fresh raspberries in half. Add the remaining raspberries and water to blender and blend. Use a sieve to remove the seeds from the raspberry liquid (reserve the seeds for smoothies later). Add the raspberry water, sweetener and agar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot liquid into the tart and quickly arrange the berries on top. Set aside in the fridge for 1 hour or until the whole tart is set.
- Store the tart leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. This tart cannot be frozen as it will change the structure of the jelly and fresh berries.
Notes
- I used chocolate which was already slightly sweetened.
- The coconut layer needs to be fully set otherwise the hot jelly water will slightly melt it.
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This sounds fabulous. Need to figure out a gluten free version. Also, what can be subbed for the agar agar?
Hi Sarat, sorry for the late reply! For the pastry, it’ll work with any flour that you’ve previously used in pastry. A combination of almond flour, all-purpose gf flour and tapioca starch usually works for me. With the agar agar, it depends where you’re based but some countries sell vegan-friendly jelly powders that could be used. I hope that helps!
I made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it. One person said “it’s as good as a real lammington” thanks for another perfect recipe from my favorite vegan baking expert!
Hi Julia! Oh that’s amazing news!! Thank you so much for your kind feedback and for your ongoing support – I appreciate it a lot! 🙂
Hi I want to make this for guests but some of the measurements are incorrect and I don’t want too much trial and error trying to decipher the measurements for a complicated recipe. For example a teaspoon in NZ is 5g. A tablespoon 15g. The spoon measures don’t match the gram measures you’ve given. US and AU use 20g tablespoons and that doesn’t make sense either. The cups don’t match the grams eiither. I can’t even guess what the right measurement would be. Please would you clarify?
Hi Michelle. In the US, 1 tablespoon is actually 15 grams, whereas it’s 20 grams in Australia. However, that only applies to water and not other ingredients such as sugar and the liquid sweetener. I understand it can be confusing but the volume of ingredients (tablespoons) isn’t the same as their weight. For the best results, I recommend using the grams measurement as I’ve tested all my recipes using them. I hope that helps!
Hi, This tart looks delicious!! Unfortunately for me, I can’t seem to get the correct texture for the pastry… it has a sand texture it falls apart just by touching it. Can you tell me what I did for the pastry to be like that? I used a balance the second time to have the exact measure but the result was the same.
Thanks in advance for your input!
Hi Maryam! It sounds like you just need to add a little more water to help everything come together. If you add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and mix the crust, it’ll eventually be less crumbly. I hope that helps!
Loved making this recipe! There’s a great balance and the different tastes en textures combine pretty good. I would maybe add some more raspberries the next time, but that’s personal. The tart was also pretty easy to make 🙂
So glad to hear and more raspberries sounds lovely! Thanks so much for your feedback xo
This tart is just perfect. It has beautiful layers of everything that I and my husband love. Raspberries, chocolate and coconut just compliment each other, they go perfectly together. I have made this, recipe is easy to follow and will be making it again for sure. ☆☆☆☆☆
Aw thanks so much for leaving such a lovely review! Glad that you enjoyed all the layers and that you both enjoyed it! x
Tart is fantastic, it has everything I like.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Anthea, could I use ground chia instead of agar for raspberry layer?
Hi Kate, yes you can but it’ll have a different texture and appearance (jammy rather then jelly like)!
I’m so happy you asked this Kate because that was my question too 😀
Hi Anetha,I love the combination of flavors and the look of your tart. I am however not used to bake vegan and was unfortunately not able to find coconut oil or cream in our local supermarket. Any chance that you have also a non-vegan version i.e. how can I replace the above two with butter/cream? Thank you 🙂
Hi Noemi, thank you! The coconut cream and oil are for the coconut flavour (a core part of the lamington) so with substitutions, it’ll taste different but you can still make it! For the crust, you should be able to substitute butter for the coconut oil. Just make sure the pastry is like a classic shortcrust (not too firm but pliable). For the ganache, you’ll be able to substitute cream. Make sure you use a cream which is 25% fat or higher otherwise your ganache won’t set. The same goes for the coconut layer. I hope that helps!
How deep is the tin?
4 cm or 1.5 inches
Yes you’re right! I’ve updated the recipe – thanks for letting me know!
Is this tart gluten free?
If you use Bob Red Mills 1:1 gf flour for the crust, it will be!
Your recipe calls for 2/3 and 1/3 can of coconut cream. The notes say to use the thick part of the cream that floats to the top. Are the measurements split between only the thick part and the rest is not used at all?
Thank you for this recipe. It’s going to show up at my ladies get together.
Jamie
Hi Jamie, yes that’s correct – the watery bit of the coconut cream is not used in this recipe (you can reserve this for curries or smoothies). Let me know if you have any other questions/issues with the recipe!