Lamington reborn: Chefs’ creative twists on the classic dessert

Is the lamington an Australian-invented icon?

Queensland makes a case for the affirmative, naming its Federation-era governor, Baron Lamington as its eponym.

And while New Zealand also stakes a claim on its origins, it’s largely believed the Baron’s chef de cuisine Armand Galland was responsible for its creation in 1900 when he dipped leftover sponge in chocolate and coconut to feed a surplus of guests at Brisbane’s Government House. On that day, an afternoon tea icon was born.

But…