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.