Did you know the lamington was invented in New Zealand not Australia?! They first appeared in art in New Zealander J R Smythe's still life 'Summer Pantry' in 1888, featuring inside a cottage with a view of Wellington Harbour. They were known as Wellingtons - soft sponge covered in chocolate and coconut to resemble the snow-capped mountains of NZ.
However, Australians have claimed the cake as their own, named after Lord Lamington, governor of Queensland, who visited NZ in 1895, and was served said Wellingtons at an afternoon tea provided by bakers A R Levin. He rather liked them, stole the idea and took it back to Oz.
Now, while you're here, pavlovas were also invented in NZ, not Australia. The meringue was named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who visited both countries in the 1920s. Pavlova recipes appear in NZ publications in 1927, '28 and '29, well before an Australian chef started using a recipe around 1935. So there.

These mini lamington bites of joy were quite hard work! But worth the effort. I adapted a recipe from the Pana Chocolate recipe book (Hardie Grant Books, 2017). Instead of making their chia jam I used sugar free St Dalfour strawberry, and instead of melting one of their raw chocolate bars I made my own.

Ganache:
1 1/2 c fresh or frozen berries (I used strawberry to match my jam)
1 c cashews, soaked and drained
90ml sweetener (I used rice syrup)
4 tbsp cacao powder
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and beans scraped, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
60ml coconut oil, melted

2 tbsp berry jam
1 c desiccated coconut

Chocolate:
1 c cacao butter
1 c cacao powder
1/2 c liquid sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt

Line a small tin or container with baking paper. Mine was 16 x 12 cm. You need a small container so the ganache reaches about 2.5 cm up the side, so you can cut square bites.

Blend the berries in the blender until smooth and pureed. Strain to remove any large seeds, especially if you are using raspberries. Set aside.

Blend the cashews in a food processor or blender, scraping down the sides regularly, for about 10-15 min, until the oils are released and cashew butter is formed. 

Add in the berry puree and rest of ingredients except coconut oil, and blend until smooth. Then pour in the coconut oil and mix well.

Pour into your tin and freeze until firm. Once set cut into 2.5cm square pieces. Using a chopstick, make a hole in the top of each piece but don't go through the bottom.

Put the jam in a little plastic bag, snip the corner and squeeze a little jam in each hole. Place all ganache squares back in the freezer while you make the chocolate.

Melt the cacao butter over a bain marie. Take off the heat and stir in cacao powder, sweetener, vanilla and salt.

Put the desiccated coconut in a bowl with a small spoon.

Take the squares out of the freezer. Using 2 forks, dip a square into the chocolate, then roll in coconut and set on a tray lined with baking paper. You need to do each square separately as the chocolate hardens quickly and the coconut will not stick on it. Repeat until all squares are covered, then return to the fridge or freezer until you want to consume.

These lamingtons/wellingtons are not unlike the raw raspberry bounty bars I make, although the ganache here does not contain any coconut. Whatever you call them, they are a real treat!