Nadiya Sarguroh's pretty-looking Tricolour Cake is an Indianisation, for the occasion of Independence Day, of the classic Lamington Cake.

The Aussie Lamington Cake is individual squares of cake, iced on the exterior with a rich chocolate sauce, that gets absorbed by the cake, and then each piece is rolled in a bed of grated desiccated coconut.

These cakes, it is believed, were served by Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, Lord Lamington, the 19th century governor of the Australian province of Queensland to his guests. He went on to become the governor of Bombay.

Nadiya, who maintains a foodie blog, says it is dedicated to people who enjoy their food but need quick, easy but tasty recipes.

Tricolour Lamington Cake

Servings: 16

Ingredients

For the cake

• 185 gm maida or all-purpose flour
• 175 gm unsalted butter
• 165 gm castor sugar (a kind of finer sugar manufactured by top baking brands)
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1½ tsp vanilla essence
• 3 tbsp milk
• Orange or green colour, optional
• 200 gm desiccated coconut, grated

For the icing

• 3 cups icing sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• ½ cup boiling water

Method

For the sponge cake

• Preheat the oven to 170°C, fan-forced setting (at this setting a fan distributes the heat within).
• In a large bowl, sift together the maida, castor sugar, baking soda.
  Add the butter, eggs and mix well.
  Use a hand-mixer to cream the mixture.
  Add the milk, vanilla essence.
  Mix well.
• Divide the batter into three equal parts and pour into three different bowls.
  Add a few drops of orange food colour into one part and whisk until the colour combines.
  Add a few drops of green food colour into the second part and whisk until the colour combines.
  Leave the third part as is.
• Grease and line a square cake pan with parchment paper.
  Add the green coloured batter first, then the white, uncoloured batter next, followed by the orange batter.
  Make sure to layer each batter evenly in the cake pan.
  Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool completely and then freeze it for 15-30 minutes.

For the chocolate icing

• In a large bowl, sift the icing sugar.
  Add the cocoa powder, melted butter.
  Add the boiling water to the mixture and whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved.
  The mixture should be smooth and lump-free.

For the assembly

• Spread the desiccated coconut on a plate.
• Slice the cake into 16 equal squares.
  Dip the pieces into the chocolate icing, and then roll it in the desiccated coconut.
  Allow it to cool to room temperature for 15 minutes.
  Enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate or chai.

Nadiya Sarguroh lives in Mumbai and publishes the food blog HautePot.

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