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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Iced VoVo Cake

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January 26th is Australia Day, and here is the easiest, yummiest and very Australian cake for you to make. The Arnott's Iced VoVo biscuit has been around for a long time in Australia, a pretty little plain biscuit topped with pink fondant, a strip of jam down the middle and dessicated coconut. You can read more about its history here. I've always thought it was one of the prettiest biscuits around, although personally I always go for the Tim Tams instead. I was sitting around thinking about what to bake for Australia Day, and the idea for an Iced VoVo cake came to me. A giant, cake version of this iconic biscuit? So simple, yet all those flavours were certain to work well on a cake. And I had all the ingredients in my house.
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Sorry these aren't the best photos I've ever taken, it was 7 in the morning before work and a very awkward size and shape for me to shoot! It doesn't really do the cake justice. The cake took me about an hour to make, which is freakin awesome by my standards. And it tastes just like an iced vovo biscuit according to my trusty taste-testers. I still can't get over how easy it was, and the fact that I never thought about making this before! Though I did squirm a bit when I realised that this is something like the fourth pink recipe that I've posted in a row. That's just way too much pink for me.
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The cake is a super simple butter cake which requires you to dump everything in a mixing bowl and beat it together until it's smooth then bake it until it's a beautiful, buttery cake. The pink icing was something I improvised with a little, since I didn't think a plain butter icing was close enough to the icing you get on the real biscuits. So I added some melted marshmallows which made the icing a little stiffer and slightly lighter. A stream of jam down the middle and topped off with a ton of coconut. I kinda love the result. Perfect for an Australia Day picnic or barbeque, or for any occasion. The kids will love it. And the adults will too...unless they have issues with coconut...or jam. How can you not love jam??
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Iced VoVo Cake
(cake adapted from a simple butter cake recipe, serves 10)
Melted butter, to grease
1 1/2 cups (275g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
150g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
2/3 cup (155ml) milk
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

For the topping:
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
125g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups white or pink marshmallows
Pink food colouring
1/2 cup raspberry or strawberry jam, whisked until smooth
1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Preheat oven to 140°C (285°F). Position a rack on the second lowest shelf of the oven. Brush a 17x27cm rectangular slice/brownie tin with the melted butter to lightly grease. Line base and sides with non-stick baking paper.

Place the self-raising flour, plain flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla essence in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to beat on low speed for 30 seconds or until just combined. Increase the speed to high and beat for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is thick and all the butter is incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack for 30 minutes or until completely cool.
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To prepare the icing, remove butter from the fridge 30 mins before starting (i.e. while you are waiting for the cake to cool). Place butter and sifted icing sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add pink food colouring to lightly tint pink. Place marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute, enough to cause it to expand and melt the whole way through. (This can also be done in a pan over low heat) Using a spatula, transfer melted marshmallows to the mixing bowl and beat until smooth.

Spread the mixture over the top of the cooled cake in two large strips, leaving a gap in the middle for the jam. Smooth surface of icing with a spatula. Carefully dollop jam along the middle strip of the cake, taking care not to let it overflow down the sides. Sprinkle dessicated coconut over the icing and jam. Can be served immediately or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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Have a Happy Australia Day everyone!

47 comments:

  1. Yum! Looks just like the biscuit

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  2. Wow, that looks just like an Iced Vovo, only BIGGER! Happy Australia Day, Steph.

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  3. Oh lol, a gargantuan VOVO! Love it! And dear Steph, there's no such thing as too much shiny happy pink baking :)

    So... will there be a giant tim tam coming anytime soon... ?

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  4. OMG!!! VOVO's are the best! And to transform it into cake form.. All hail Queen Steph!

    +1 for the giant Tim Tam.. OMG! Giant TIM TAM SLAMS!! Pwoahh... :)

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  5. soooo awesome. I bet it tasted delicious!

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  6. I love this!!! You're such a genius! I want some! And I approve of all the pinkness happening around here ;)

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  7. That looks AMAZING. I used the eat the icing off then nibble on the biscuit...before it went soggy then i threw it away.

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  8. It's like a princess cake and I love how the lace in the doilies and the cake slicer goes well with the dessicated coconut! Happy Australia Day!

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  9. Hahaha! I love this, a giant iced vovo cake! I used to love iced vovo....your cake reminds me I haven't had one in years.

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  10. Wow!!!

    So going to make that,creative indeed!


    Love Ms Stef...

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  11. That's just brilliant! It certainly beats my recent efforts tinkering with Tim Tams... Delicious Delicious Delicious is doing a lamington reinvention - this would be great to submit for part of it... you can find it here

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  12. i freaked out when i saw this - i love vovos! this cake looks amazing :D

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  13. heh you can never have too much pink :P and ooh i like how added melted marshmallows in the icing that's brilliant!

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  14. Oh I miss Iced Vovo's sooo much, a true classic that every Australian can identify with! I think your post just bought a tear to my eye and it definitely made me think of home. HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

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  15. Weeee, giant iced Vo-Vo! And to think I didn't like these as a kid - I didn't discover any love for them until my early 20s =p

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  16. Fantastic, I know what I will be baking next Australia Day!

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  17. Wow that looks spot on like a giant iced vovo! Great idea for Australia day

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  18. Love it. Great interpretation on the biscuit.

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  19. Happy Australia Day! Looks like a great way to celebrate!

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  20. That is so cool. It looks exactly like the biscuit! Happy Australia Day!

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  21. It's so beautiful!!! Perfect for celebration!

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  22. Fantastic biscuit and to blow it up to giant size - awesome!

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  23. Awesome concept for a cake!

    Will there be a Tim Tam cake in the foreseeable future...? :)

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  24. Just amazing! It looks perfect.

    I want to try and make it :)

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  25. Just the other day my husband asked me to bake some Iced Vo-Vo's, I thought it was crazy but now I can do the cake! Thank you, Amber

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  26. This looks amazing! Love you blog here in Ireland. The Iced Vo Vo looks similar to a very popular biscuit we have here called the Kimberley Mikado........we all grew up with the tv ad jingle "someone you love,would love some Mum!" Happy Australia Day

    http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Jacobs-Kimberley-Mikado-Coconut-Creams-Biscuits/74340647606?v=wall

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  27. There's only one dilemma with a giant Iced Vo Vo cake, to eat a slice large enough to contain the jam or not! Congratulations on a winning idea! :D

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  28. That first photo is so deceiving... I was thinking "I could eat that all myself"

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  29. Steph you have just made a little kids dream come true. My nephew is sitting with me and he just went woahhh. ehehe. What an awesome cake. I will definately be making this at the next birthday party.. Awesome.

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  30. Genius :) I can't believe how perfectly proportioned you managed to get this. An awesome idea.

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  31. You have absolutely nailed the iced Vovo. It looks just like the biscuit. I had to look twice at the first picture to tell if it was a cake or bikky. What a great idea with the icing too.

    Well done!

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  32. Very clever idea indeed, Steph!! I wish I am eat the entire cake as munching a piece of ice vovo!! It looks seriously tempting.

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  33. Super freakin awesome! Such a good Australia Day recipe. I had issues trying to find someone to sell me a lamington on the big day (eventually found one the following day) so it's just as well I didn't see this earlier and try in vain to find someone to sell me one of these ;)

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  34. haha i actually thought you baked vovos when i saw the post, but then i realised its a giant cake vovo!!

    have a happy Chinese new year !! best wishes for you and your family to enjoy a prosperous year of happiness, health and wealth! :)

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  35. That's so cheeky and it looks utterly delicious... shouldn't be reading this post while I'm so hungry.

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  36. Awesome! I always thought the pink bits on the vovo were marshmallow....

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  37. Hello. I was looking for Australian recipes to include in our newsletter - and I came across yours. This looks delicious. I am including this in our newsletter. I hope you don't mind. Don't worry, all traffic will go to your site. :)
    Maybe you can check it out.

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  38. These are my favourite biscuits and what a fantastic idea to make it in cake form! I can't wait to try this.

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  39. I made this for Australia Day weekend 2013 and it is DELICIOUS. The cake is moist and tasty and the icing is fantastic. I went with the raspberry jam to cut some of the sweetness of the icing. Fantastic recipe, cooked up perfectly. I can highly recommend it!

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  40. I just fell in love with Iced Vovos recently, and now I think I'm destined to fall in love with this cake! It looks delicious--and perfectly resembles the original biscuit.

    If only the folks back home in the States knew what they're missing, when it comes to Arnott's biscuits. I moved to Adelaide from The U.S., a couple of years ago. As much as I miss some favourite foods from back home, now I'm a fan of many Aussie foods, as well.

    I just started following your blog. Looking forward to seeing many more delicious and beautiful goodies from your kitchen. :)

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  41. Made this for Australia day this year - it was so simple, delicious and looked amazing!

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  42. Love it. I had a sponge cake slab that I used and put your topping on. Looks fantastic and tasted great too. I have pics of finished products but don't know how to upload. Thanks for a grest idea.

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