This lamington melting moments recipe draws inspiration from the Australian Women’s Weekly ‘100 delicious Biscuits and Slices‘ cookbook published in 1972. You will find classic melting moments under the section titled Old Fashioned Favourites’.
My melting moments have a bit of a twist. The chocolate biscuits are rolled in desiccated coconut before being baked. Then they are sandwiched with vanilla buttercream and a dollop of sharp raspberry jam. This biscuit is a vintage classic, times two! Two very classic recipes brought together as one.
The coconut, once baked, is toasty and fragrant. The biscuit itself is short, buttery and chocolately. The buttercream adds a nice creamy element, and the raspberry jam helps to cut through the richness.
What does ‘short’ mean in baking? Well, it is just a fancy way of describing a baked good that is very rich, crumbly, and tender. Often it has a high proportion of butter, and a low proportion of gluten. In this biscuit, the gluten level is reduced by adding cornflour and cocoa.
This is only one of a range of vintage recipes on my website – many based on Women’s Weekly vintage biscuit recipes. Check out the full range of recipes here!
Makes 17 (34 individual biscuits)
Ingredients
Chocolate melting moments
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup (80g) pure icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cup (225g) plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup (45g) cornflour, sifted
1/3 cup (30g) cocoa, sifted
1 pinch flaky salt
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
Vanilla buttercream
80 gram butter
2/3 cup (110g) pure icing sugar sifted
1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract or paste
1/4 cup raspberry jam
Method
- To make the melting moments, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornflour and cocoa. In a large bowl, beat butter, essence and icing sugar with a handheld electric mixer until pale, light and fluffy. Using a spatula, stir in flour mix in two batches, do not overmix. Place in fridge for 5-minutes.
- Measure out 18g portions of mixture (a small tablespoon) and roll into balls. Roll in coconut to thoroughly coat.
- Use a fork to flatten balls slightly and imprint. Return to fridge to completely chill for 3 hours or overnight. Biscuits can be frozen in a single layer, to be baked from frozen within 3 months.
- Once thoroughly chilled, preheat oven to 160°C. Space biscuit balls 3cm apart on baking-paper-lined oven trays (they will spread slightly).
- Bake for 15 minutes (you will not be able to judge biscuits by colour). Biscuits are ready when they can be gently nudged without sticking or cracking, and the surface no longer appears ‘wet’. Stand 5 minutes on tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Ensure completely cool before icing.
- For the buttercream, beat butter, salt and vanilla in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed to combine, then increase speed and beat until pale, light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a piping bag. (This is optional. Filling can be spooned on for a more rustic finish.)
- Pipe a ring of buttercream on the base of one biscuit. Fill in the centre with a small amount of jam. Do not overfill or filling will spill out sides when eaten. Sandwich with a second biscuit. Store at room temperature to avoid biscuits going hard.
