Chocolate Lamingtons with Tamarillo & Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

Cake:

125gm Westgold butter, soft

3/4c caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2c milk

1t vanilla bean essence

1 1/4c flour

1 ½ t baking powder

1/2c cornflour

Jam:

175gm strawberry jam

2 tamarillo, peeled & diced

Ganache:

250gm dark chocolate, chopped

200ml cream

2T milk

Thread coconut

To serve:

1c cream, whipped 

Method:

Cake: 

Heat oven to 160deg.  In an electric mixer, cream the Westgold butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the beaten eggs a little at a time.  Continue beating & add the vanilla and slowly pour in half the milk.  Turn off the beater, add the sifted flours and baking powder and mix in with the rest of the milk until just combined, being careful not to overmix the cake.  Spoon into a 20cm x 22cm paper lined tin and spread out evenly.  Bake 25-30 mins until cooked in the middle.  Set aside to cool.

Jam:

Place tamarillo into a saucepan, cover and cook on a low heat until soft and all the juice has reduced.  Add jam and boil 5 mins.  Pour into a jar & leave to cool.

Ganache:

Gently heat the cream and milk until almost boiling.  Add the chocolate and leave for a few minutes to melt.  Whisk until smooth and glossy.  Set aside to cool and thicken. 

To assemble:

Trim all the crusts off the cake and slice in half vertically.  Spread with a generous layer of jam on the bottom cake and place top back on.  Press gently and place in the freezer for 30mins to firm up.  Cut into your desired square sizes (ours were about 5cm).  Tip the thread coconut into a tray with sides.  With a knife, spread the ganache into all four sides and top of the squares and place the ganache side down, onto the coconut.  Spread the bottom with ganache and sprinkle the coconut all over the ganache.  Try not to touch the cake with your fingers as it leaves indents, so use a spatula to move the cake out of the coconut into a tray to set. When all the squares are coated in ganache & coconut, leave in a cool place to set.  Place on a serving plate with a bowl of whipped cream and spare jam.