Pandan Chiffon Cake

I read an article a few months ago naming Pandan Chiffon Cake as Singapore national cake. National cake???!!! Huh??? Is there ever such a title before?? I have no idea what's the criteria or the choices available. But the unassuming Pandan Chiffon Cake must have an edge over the rest to be "elected" to represent Singapore.

For me, I love love love love love love Pandan Chiffon Cake especially the ones from Bengawan Solo. The aromatic pandan flavour combined with the soft and moist texture makes it so irresistible. Paired it with a cup of coffee or tea for the best combination. And the best part? You can eat this anytime you want! It's great for breakfast, perfect for tea break and satisfying for after-dinner drinks. In my opinion, nobody can resist a slice of pandan cake and I've never heard of anyone disliking this "green cake" (as my Taiwanese friends call it).

My pandan chiffon cake baking journey certainly come a long way. When I moved into my new home, baking a pandan chiffon cake was on my "to bake" list. However, my first few attempts were disastrous! I have no idea why I failed  - the recipe steps were straight forward and I followed the recipe to a T. The cake either collapsed into a dome, cracked on the top or had a dense texture. Simply ..... Weird!

My UFO pandan cake

Being a stubborn Taurus, I was determined to get it right and just refused to give up. I tried other recipes, read up on different stages of beating the egg whites (I mean come on! Soft, medium, firm or stiff peaks are just too much for a beginner to understand!) and watched YouTube on folding techniques.

After many attempts, I FINALLY baked one that looks like pandan cake. It may not be perfect but it was the best to my abilities. I can still recall my joy when I unmoulded the cake from the pan and just couldn't stop grinning. Kudos to my official taster (aka my husband) for sampling it countless times regardless of the looks.

My first successful bake!

Recipe from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe

I used her 25cm tube pan recipe for my 23cm pan as I prefer the cake to be taller. The option lies with you.

For 25cm tube pan
Ingredients needed
 

• 6 egg yolks
• 20g caster sugar
• 40ml coconut oil (you can use any vegetable oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) pandan paste
• 80ml coconut milk
• 80g cake flour (sifted)
• 6 egg whites
• 80g caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

 

• Baking time: 60 minutes

Steps

• Preheat oven at 170°C (top and bottom heat)

• Beat together egg yolks and 20g sugar. The mixture will turn a lighter shade after about 3-4 minutes of beating.
• Add coconut oil and continue beating.
• Once the coconut oil has been incorporated, add coconut milk and pandan paste.
• Add the sifted cake flour and mix until just combined. Set this aside.

 

• In a clean mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy.
• Add cream of tartar and continue whisking.
• Gradually add sugar, whisking all the time until the egg whites form a stiff peak.

 

• Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk mixture. Beat it in.
• Gently fold the remaining meringue into the egg yolk mixture in 2 batches until no streaks remain.
• Transfer the cake into an UNGREASED tube pan and bake at 170°C for the required time. If the top of the cake cracks or becomes too brown, place a sheet of aluminium foil over it and continue baking.
• Once baked, invert the pan and place it on a raised wire rack (or any other raised device) to cool completely.

Ingredients needed

To make things easier for myself, I like to get all the ingredients ready (weighing, measuring and sifting) before starting the baking steps.

I prefer to add the pandan paste into the coconut milk to save a step.

Adding of pandan paste into coconut milk

This mixture already smell so good!

As for the eggs, I prefer to beat each egg separately into a small bowl first, check for any egg shells or foul smell before combining all eggs together. From experience, I was happily cracking eggs into one big bowl when the last egg turned out to be bad! It was difficult to remove the bad egg from the rest, so I ended up discarding the whole bowl of eggs. From then on, it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

Egg separation made easier with an egg
separator tool

All ready to start!

Beat egg yolk with sugar till lighter shade

Add oil (I used canola oil)

Add pandan paste/coconut milk mixture

Use a spatula to scrap the side to ensure proper
mixing

Add in sifted flour

Use a spatula to combine well. Set aside

Beat egg white with sugar till foamy

Add cream of tartar and continue whisking

Add sugar gradually and beat till stiff peaks
 

Now this is the fun part. How do you know it's stiff peaks already? Very easy - just hold the bowl upside down! If it doesn't drip or fall out, then you are good!

By this time, my princess will come running to the kitchen asking to taste "The Cloud". Haha.

This is the part I liked the most. Take 1/3 of the meringue and beat into the earlier "green" mixture. No need to be gentle. Just whack!

 

Then you need to be really gentle by folding the rest of the meringue in 2 batches until no white streaks. You can choose to use a balloon whisk or spatula for the folding. And remember, be gentle!

Pour into ungreased pan and give it a few tap to
release air bubbles trapped within

I baked it on the lowest rack of my oven

After the required baking time, insert a skewer to check the cake. If the skewer comes out clean, then the cake is ready. If not, continue baking for a few minutes until done. Baking time may vary for different oven, so please check and adjust accordingly.
Once the cake is baked, remove from oven and invert the pan on a raised wire rack to cool.

Once the cake has cooled, unmould from pan. You can use a knife to run through the pan to release the cake. But I'm very bad at cutting so I use my hands (slowly and gently) to separate the cake from the pan.

Prepared this for my princess play date
with her friends

I simply love the pandan aroma that fills the house whenever I bake this cake. Even my neighbours commented they could smell it too!

I hope you will enjoy this cake as much as I do.

Family Taiwan Trip - Day 9

Bye Bye, Taiwan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry times always pass so quickly. It's our departure day from Taiwan back to our sunny island, Singapore.

Despite the weather not being too kind on us, I did have a good time in Taiwan. The family bonding time and precious moments we created together will always be part of my memories. So before my memories get eroded over time, I thought it will be a good idea to document everything down. That was the main reason of starting this blog.

My personal highlight of the trip has got to be the release of sky lantern into the sky. Somehow, it felt good doing that - from writing your wishes on the lantern to seeing your wishes floating up to the sky. The whole experience felt so tranquil and at ease. Hopefully the wishes we made will come true one day (except for the princess wish of becoming Elsa).

A good choice!
At least it passed my cleanliness standard

Waiting for our transport to send us to airport

At Taoyuan International Airport

Having lunch at Food Court

Last minute shopping

Waiting to board the flight

We are going home ~~~~~~~~~

Having some "ME" time by sitting separately
from family (ie princess)

She exclaimed "Wowwwww" when she saw
the child meal

The airline prepared a birthday cake for my father-in-law
which was somehow "disfigured" on the way home
 

So thank you Taiwan for the beautiful scenery we have seen, the countless food items we have eaten and the warm hospitality we have experienced.
We will definitely be back again!



<---- Family Taiwan Trip - Day 8

Family Taiwan Trip - Day 8

Taipei City - Danshui, Ximending

Our last day in Taiwan and the rain did not seem to die down. In fact, it got heavier by the day! Regardless of the weather, we decided to proceed to Danshui.

I have fond memories of Danshui when I visited with my other half in 2009. It was after our wedding photo shoot and so my diet plans were cast aside momentarily. That means I can eat shamelessly without feeling guilty! I remembered the yummy Ah Ge (阿給) which is fried beancurd filled with glass noodles drizzled with a sweet sauce. Drool ~~~~~~

The 30 minutes or so ride to Danshui was a straight forward one. Alight from the station and The Old Street is just a 5 minutes away from the station. You can expect to find lots of local street food and souvenir shops. It was pouring when we got there. So it was a challenge to hold the umbrella and take some shots.

In one of the souvenir shop

A hungry girl is an angry girl

Fishballssssss

Yong Tau Foo
How I wish I can buy these back

Milk Muah Chee (Dry)

Milk Muah Chee (Soup)

After lunch, we decided to take the ferry from Danshui to Bali Left Bank (八里左岸). I was sceptical about the ferry ride as it was still raining and the ride may be too bumpy for the princess. The last thing I can handle is her throwing up in addition to the inconvenience caused by the rain. In the end, we decided to have a go at it since we have already travelled all the way there. The 10 minutes ride proved to be smooth sailing (phew!).

There are many souvenirs shops and cafes near the pier. However, many of them remained closed. We were not sure of the reasons. Maybe we were there on a weekday. Or maybe due to the constant rain - they don't expect many visitors, so might as well close for the day.
I saw many bicycle rental shops as well, so I reckon cycling must be popular on a dry day.
Since weather is not our side, we stayed in Bali Left Bank for only a while before taking the ferry back to Danshui.

On ferry ride to Bali 

Smile ~~~~ no matter what happens

While waiting for the rest, we didn't forget to entertain ourselves

The three troopers who went on a "mission" to check out a café
Unfortunately, it was closed.
Check out the bicycles parked at one corner. A pity we didn't have
a chance to rent those bicycles.

We planned to have seafood dinner at Danshui Fisherman's Wharf to celebrate my father-in-law birthday. However, after a disappointing visit to Bali Left Bank, we assumed that the shops at the Fisherman's Wharf may also be affected. So we took the train back to Taipei city and made contingency plans along the way.

Upon reaching Taipei, we decided to go back to our hotel room to rest for a while before heading to Ximending for dinner.
But before heading back to hotel, I had to buy my favourite 50嵐 bubble tea and I chanced upon this stall at the underground shopping mall selling scallion pancakes (蔥抓餅). It's just like our Singapore roti prata except it's more crispy. The dough is pan fried with oil drizzled on it and then "squashed" with 2 utensils to create the crispy edge and chewy texture. You can choose to have it plain or add toppings (egg, ham etc) to it. Extremely sinful but very addictive! Best to go with a cup of bubble tea!

My nth cup in Taiwan

Although I just stuffed myself with the scallion pancake earlier, it was time to head out for dinner at Ximending. We decided to walk to Ximending in an attempt to burn off some calories ahead of our feast.
We decided to have Mala Hot Pot highly recommended by my husband. Upon reaching the Ximen store, we were told to come back for our dinner slot. So we shopped around Ximending for a while.

Our group easily identified by the orange brolly provided by the hotel

The princess was too hungry to wait till dinner time
So it's 7-11 tea eggs to the rescue!

Ooooohhhhhh so good!

Finally our turn!

Dispenser drinks

Canned drinks

Fruits and dessert

The perfect way to end the dinner - with a pot
of tea

Just look at the variety!
And there is a staff stationed nearby who speaks through a microphone to
inform the kitchen on the food to replenish.
So you will not see any empty tray at any time

This is what I'm here for!!!!!!

And these!

DIY your own dipping sauce

Taiwan Beer

The perfect food to have on a wet day

Enjoy ~~~~~~~~

Super satisfied!
 

 
After dinner, we popped over to Holiday KTV  to sing our hearts out. Upon checking, we were told that the room rate was inclusive of food! OMG! We really couldn't eat anymore after our sumptuous dinner.

Food selection at the KTV

More food ~~~~~~

Singing "Happy Birthday" song to my father-in-law

We returned to our hotel late and was informed by the reception that the hotel has prepared a birthday surprise for my father-in-law. Wow! Nice gesture. The staff came to my in-laws room, armed with a tart, a birthday card and sang "Happy Birthday" together. It certainly was a memorable birthday for him.

My father-in-law who is gamed enough to wear
the birthday hat.

After which, we went back to our respective rooms to begin our packing for our flight home the next day. The past 8 days of fun seemed to pass in a flash.

Time to go home tomorrow!



<---- Family Taiwan Trip - Day 7                                      Family Taiwan Trip - Day 9 ---->