• Tokyo Lamington moves to former Black Star Pastry shop in Newtown

There's a test-lab sense of fun and adventure at Tokyo Lamington and the eatery is conducting the best kind of research: how many ways can you remix and remake the classic choc-dipped and coconut-flaked cake? Currently, the answer is 12.

There's The OG, an interpretation of the original version you've seen at school fetes, cake stalls or – if you're lucky – cooling on a nearby kitchen table.

Tokyo Lamington's creation is filled with raspberry jam and cream whipped with highly-awarded Heilala vanilla from Tonga. Coated in chocolate, then adorned with roasted coconut shreds, the lamington is like "something my grandmother would make", says co-owner Eddie Stewart.

Then there are more inventive ones your gran might not attempt, preferring to leave the meringue-blowtorching and popcorn buttercreams to the chefs here.

There's a charcoal pumpkin flavour, inspired by Halloween and covered in a goth shade of black; a fairy bread version dunked in a rainbow colour-blast of hundreds and thousands; a lemon lime and bitters lamington, fizzing with zesty ingredients and a bracing citrus cream; and a black sesame adaption worth taking home and zapping in the microwave for 15 seconds, so it oozes a rich lava flow of black sesame cream upon slicing.

Some desserts hint at Tokyo Lamington's Asian influences: the matcha cake coated with rice crisps evokes hot cups of genmaicha, the Japanese drink known as "popcorn tea", while the white chocolate lamington has a Thai milk tea filling and shell.

Don't expect the strong, tannic hit of heavy brews, though – these are much milder interpretations.

Two of Tokyo Lamington's best flavours pay tribute to the owners' past lives: the rose and strawberry pastry riffs on the famous strawberry and watermelon cake at Black Star Pastry (where Stewart worked for five years).

It's even decorated with fragrant rose petals from the Middle East – just like Black Star Pastry's original. The lamington tastes even better the next day: an overnight fridge stay leaves the strawberry jelly in a fruitier and ultra-refreshing state.

Ferrero Reveal was a popular flavour at N2 Extreme Gelato, the gelato parlour run by Min Chai – Tokyo Lamington's other co-owner.

It's been turned into a lamington here and, boy, what a transformation! Thanks to the hazelnut-rich cream and Coco Pops coating, it has the glorious effect of eating a Ferrero-Rocher chocolate in lamington form.

Tokyo Lamington wasn't meant for Sydney – it was destined for Singapore and Tokyo, but the pandemic changed the Australian owners' plans.

In June, they ended up making 4000 lamingtons for Koko Black, shipping them from Sydney to Melbourne just before the border closed. It led to a lightbulb idea: why not create Tokyo Lamington here?

The duo was meant to cater for the Australian Olympic team in Tokyo, now they produce an iconic Australian dessert with many Japanese ingredients. What they've created is a unique blend of two cultures.

This "test lab" has produced such wonderfully one-of-a-kind lamingtons – I'm glad it exists in Sydney.

The low-down

Tokyo Lamington

Where: Level 3, Market City, 9 Hay Street, Haymarket, tokyolamington.com

Main attraction: Inventive lamington flavours made with top ingredients, such as sesame paste and matcha from Japan. Some flavours are permanent (strawberry and rose, the OG), while others will rotate. Hojicha, Earl grey, and red velvet lamingtons are on their way.

Must-try dish: The stunning Ferrero Reveal or the yuzu meringue, which takes takes two people to make, involves triple the workload of other flavours and, accordingly, sells out quickly.

Insta-worthy dish: The fairy bread popcorn lamington. Or the rose and strawberry lamington – it's inspired by Black Star Pastry's rose and watermelon dessert.

Drinks: From $3.50 for canned Boss coffee ("every morning I'm in Japan, I have a Boss coffee," says Stewart of the Japanese vending-machine staple) to $5 Single O Parachutes coffee

Prices: From $7 for the OG lamington to $9 for the yuzu meringue lamington

Open: Monday to Thursday 11am-9pm; Friday to Saturday 11am-10pm