Happy Australia Day!

So it's Australia Day back at home and being in Canada we don't get to celebrate like we usually would - with a lot of drinks, sausage sizzle, trip to the beach or a creek and our friends and family close. We both also have to work so no huge celebrations are on the cards for us.

I thought it would be nice to share some of our Aussie favourites with our new Canadian friends so made some Lamingtons to take to work. I've put the recipe below these are the tits!

The lamingtons I made, took so damn long!

AUSSIE LAMINGTONS

Cake
125g butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk

Icing

3 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups desiccated coconut

Step 1

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a square cake pan.Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (mixture may curdle).

Step 2

Sift half the flour over butter mixture. Stir to combine. Add half the milk. Stir to combine. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Spoon into prepared pan. Smooth top. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack. Cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside overnight.

Step 3

Make icing: Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Add butter and boiling water. Stir until smooth.

Step 4

Cut cake into 15 pieces. Place coconut in a dish. Using a fork, dip 1 piece of cake in icing. Shake off excess. Toss in coconut. Place on a wire rack over a baking tray. Repeat with remaining cake, icing and coconut. Stand for 2 hours to set.

We also managed to find a bottle of Bundaberg Rum at the local liquor store for less than what you pay at Dan Murphys in Australia.

We were soooo excited when we found this - D wanted Aussie beer but this was better!

What Australia Day would be complete without the foreign owned Kraft Vegemite on sandwiches?? I've been eating this stuff (like most Aussies) since I can remember. Theres home video of me sitting in a highchair with barely any teeth munging down on this stuff on toast - I LOVE it! So, I also made some to take to work and surprisingly, the Canadians didn't hate it - but I don't think they're gonna go out and buy a jar for themselves either...

The iconic Vegemite

I didn't expect to miss Australia so much or so soon, but as every day passes me by I am grateful to be here in Canada, living out the dream that D & I had for for so long. I think tonight we will watch one of our favourite Australian movies, The Castle - it always has us in stitches :)