Growing up, nobody in my household really fancied sweets. Nobody. The only thing that was ever requested was Pandan Chiffon Cake, from my dad. But, he is awfully picky about his pandan cakes. He’s adamant about not using pandan extract (“not real!”), yet at the same time not satisfied with just pure pandan juice (“not enough pandan taste!” or “too grassy!” 😂) On the contrary, I enjoy the light perfume of pandan through the cake – it’s one of my favourite tea time snacks and it usually does not last long on my kitchen counter.
Pandan Chiffon Cake
Light and airy chiffon cake infused with pandan, the "Vanilla of the East". This cake is a great, guilt-free snack any time of the day and a favourite in my household!
Each serving makes one 21cm chiffon cake
Ingredients
Large Mixing Bowl
Stand Mixer Bowl
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 165°C.
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Prep pandan juice: Blending pandan leaves with water, strain and set aside 70g of juice.or Mix 70g water with pandan essence
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Cake batter: In a large mixing bowl: add egg yolks, sugar, oil, coconut milk, pandan juice, mix well to combine.
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Sift in cake flour and salt. Set aside.
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With a stand mixer (or hand mixer), beat egg whites. Add sugar in three additions, beating meringue until stiff peaks.
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Add meringue into pandan batter in three additions, whisking carefully (use a whisk to avoid beating too much air out).
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Pour batter into chiffon cake tin (do not grease it). Use a chopstick or skewer to run through the batter to get rid of unwanted air bubbles.
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Bake in oven at 165°C for 50 minutes, and 150°C for another 15 minutes.
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Remove from oven, and invert cake to cool. Once completely cooled, slowly peel cake from sides of cake tin.
Note
- On days when I don't feel like blitzing pandan leaves and cleaning my blender, I use pandan extract mixed with 70g water instead. Depending on the brand of pandan extract you use, the ratio of extract : water might differ - I'd recommend starting off with a conservative amount, and adding more along the way if you feel it does not look green enough or taste pandan-y enough so you don't end up with a shockingly green cake.
- To cool the cake upside down, I'll usually place the center funnel of the cake tin on the mouth of a tall sauce or wine bottle.