History
Who really invented the lamington is Brisbane’s sweetest mystery to date
CHRIS CURRIE heads to State Library of Queensland’s collections to serve up a deliciously surprising answer to a question that has puzzled historians for decades.
Few treats are as quintessentially Queensland as the lamington. The first published recipe for ‘Lamington Cakes’ appears in Queensland Country Life on December 17, 1900, predating popular claims on the lamington from Ipswich (a nervous maid at the opening of Ipswich Technical College) and Cloncurry (sponge cake dropped in gravy and coconut!).
While many countries around the world have contemporary and similar recipes, the name most associated with lamington is 2nd Baron Lamington Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, better known as Lord Lamington, who served as the eighth governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901.
The connections to Queensland’s governor range from the plausible (they were invented for one of his many official engagements) to the ridiculous (they were inspired by the image of the governor’s dandruff on his brown homburg hat).
The most widely-held theory is that lamingtons were invented by accident or by necessity in Lord and Lady Hamilton’s kitchen. But which kitchen and by whose hands?
French-born chef Armand Galland worked for Lord and Lady Lamington as their chef de cuisine and is often credited with the invention of the sweet.
Some historians are certain that he improvised the recipe when unexpected guests arrived at the governor’s official residence in Brisbane, now known as Old Government House.
Another theory involves another kitchen ad-lib – this time from a temporary chef at Harlaxton House, the Lamingtons’ grand Toowoomba residence. There is no conclusive evidence, however, that either of these theories are correct.
But what of Annabella Mary Elizabeth Haughton Hozier, better known as Lady Lamington?
In her diaries, held at State Library of Queensland, Lady Lamington attended cooking classes at Brisbane Technical College, under the tutelage of head teacher Amy Schauer.
Schauer would go on to become one of the state’s most influential cooks, with her oft-reprinted The Schauer Australian Cookery Book becoming the culinary bible for generations of Queenslanders (many editions are held at State Library).
Notably, Schauer’s name is the first to appear in print against a recipe for lamingtons, in The Queenslander on November 26, 1904.
An earlier recipe, from the same paper in 1902, attributes the recipe for lamington cake to “a subscriber”.
While there is no direct evidence, it is possible that Lady Lamington passed the recipe onto culinary icon Amy Schauer. Interestingly enough, Galland later acted as an examiner at the same college.
As to who invented it? Well, you’ll have to listen to State Library’s Cake: the podcast (slq.qld.gov.au/discover/podcasts/cake) to find out.
We could all learn that lesson.
Cake the podcast goes on a delicious journey through Queensland’s connection to sweet treats. Find it on the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.
