Ingredients
Pandan extract
- 15fresh pandan leaves
- 100 mlwater
Yolk batter
- 6egg yolks
- 60 gcaster sugar
- 90 mlvegetable oil
- 120 mlthick coconut milk
- 80 mlpandan extract
- 180 gcake flour
- 1 tspbaking powder
- 1/2 tspsalt
Meringue
- 8egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 tspcream of tartar
- 140 gcaster sugar
Equipment
- an ungreased 23 cm chiffon tin with a removable base and a central funnel
- a bottle or a rack, for inverting
Note
- the tin must not be greased at any point
Directions
- Wash the leaves and cut them into short lengths. Blend them with the water until they break down completely. Strain the pulp through a fine cloth, squeezing hard. Let the liquid settle for thirty minutes.
- Pour off most of the pale liquid and use the concentrate. The tin must never be greased, lined or floured. Whisk the egg yolks with the sixty grams of sugar until pale. Whisk in the oil in a steady stream. Whisk in the coconut milk and the pandan extract. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture.
- Whisk it just until smooth with no lumps. Do not overmix, which develops gluten and toughens the crumb. Whisk them with the cream of tartar until frothy. Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Whisk well after each addition.
- Whip it to firm peaks, not stiff dry peaks. Lift the whisk: the peak should hold but should curl at the tip. Rub a little between your fingers to check the sugar has dissolved. Folding the two together needs a light hand.
- Stir a third of the meringue into the yolk batter to slacken it. Fold in the second third gently with a large spatula. Fold in the last third very gently. Use a cutting and lifting motion, turning the bowl. Stop the moment no white streaks remain. Pour the batter into the ungreased tin from a low height. Do not scrape the bowl aggressively.
- Heat the oven to 160C in good time. Bake it for fifty to fifty-five minutes. Do not open the oven for the first forty minutes. Take the tin out and immediately turn it upside down. Rest the central funnel on a bottle neck or a rack. The cake must hang upside down while it cools.
- Leave it inverted for at least two hours. Removing it from the tin is done by hand. Cut it with a serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion. The crumb should be very light and springy.
Technique
- Never grease the tin; chiffon batter must grip the sides to climb as it bakes.
- Whip the meringue to firm peaks that curl at the tip, not stiff dry peaks.
- Invert the tin immediately and let it hang until cold, or the cake collapses.
Substitutions
- Bottled pandan paste, though the flavour is far weaker.
- Plain flour with a little cornflour in place of cake flour.
Variations
- Made in a loaf tin, though it will not rise as high.
- With gula melaka swirled through the batter.
- Made as small individual chiffon cakes.
History
Airy chiffon sponge coloured and scented with pandan juice, localised from the American chiffon cake technique in the mid-twentieth century.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pandan Cake?
Pandan Cake is a dessert from Singapore: feather-light green chiffon cake scented with pandan and coconut. Airy chiffon sponge coloured and scented with pandan juice, localised from the American chiffon cake technique in the mid-twentieth century.
How long does Pandan Cake take to make?
Pandan Cake takes 40 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large cake. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Pandan Cake?
Yes, within limits. Bottled pandan paste, though the flavour is far weaker. Plain flour with a little cornflour in place of cake flour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pandan Cake?
Pour off most of the pale liquid and use the concentrate. The tin must never be greased, lined or floured. Whisk the egg yolks with the sixty grams of sugar until pale. Whisk in the oil in a steady stream. Whisk in the coconut milk and the pandan extract. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture.
