Line the base of a deep, 24cm square cake tin with non-stick paper and heat the oven to 170C. Put the sugar and cocoa in a bowl, add a big pinch of salt and beat in the milk. Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan, and add to the sugar mix along with the oil. Beat in the eggs until smooth, stir in the yogurt and vanilla, and mix in the flour and baking powder. Pour the batter into the tin, cover with a slightly domed sheet of foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Lift off the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the cake is done. Check with a toothpick after about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the tin. You might want to refrigerate the cake at this point for a few hours or even leave the cake overnight in an airtight container because a slightly less fresh cake will be less fragile and so much easier to dip in the chocolate icing.

When you are ready, cut the cake into even, bite-sized pieces about 4 cm. You might want to discard the edge pieces, as they won’t be completely square. They are perfect for a little single-serving trifle :-)

Cut each cube in half horizontally and spread about 1 tsp of sour cherry jam in the middle. Sandwich the two halves together.

In a food processor, grind the pistachios roughly and mix with 1 cup of desiccated coconut.

When you are ready to dip the cakes, prepare bowls for the chocolate icing, the coconut, the pistachio coconut mix and also a large tray topped with parchment paper and a cooling rack.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and the cocoa powder into two different bowls. In a large saucepan, melt the butter, then mix in the milk and brandy. Next, using a whisk to stir, start to add the cocoa powder. Once the cocoa powder is completely dissolved, add the icing sugar about a cup at a time, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. When all the icing sugar is fully combined, pour the chocolate mix into two separate bowls – that way you can switch to the next bowl once the first one is full of crumbs.

Using a fork, dip the chocolate cake cubes into the chocolate glaze and roll them around with the tines of the fork to completely coat. Drain any excess mixture off the cakes then drop them in the desiccated coconut or the pistachios and roll them around lightly to coat evenly. Set the cake cubes on the cooling rack placed over parchment paper to drain. To help set the icing, you can refrigerate the lamingtons. Just make sure to bring them to room temperature before serving.