Pandan Chiffon Cake 1

pandan has a nice aroma and is popularly used in many Asian and Chinese desserts. pandan's best friends are coconut milk and kaya..

Dear's family (of indonesian background) makes the best pandan cake! when i was first introduced to their pandan cake, i was expecting a chiffon cake but to my surprise, it was a dense pandan cake. nothing like the local pandan chiffon cake but i really love it! bengawan solo and subway niche both sell "kaya cake", which is quite similar to Dear's family pandan cake.

unfortunately, i dont get to eat Dear's pandan cake often. only when his mommy visits singapore then i get to enjoy it. since the mid-autumn festival, i have been craving for pandan cake. pandan chiffon cake seemed like the most logical choice of bake since recipes are easily available. BUT, from my simple research, i realised that it takes a LONG trial-and-error process to master the BEST pandan chiffon - something insanely fragrant, moist but light.... interestingly, i found out that prima deli (singapore) sells two types of pandan cakes - the normal one and the premium one... the latter costs about twice the price of the former, and just about the same as that of bengawan solo... by the way, bengawan solo apparantly sells the best pandan cake in singapore...

i really believe that there is a secret ingredient AND a secret technique to making the best pandan chiffon. while i'd used pandan paste and storebought coconut milk here, i know nothing beats using real stuff like real pandan leaves (blended and essence extracted) and freshingly squeezed coconut cream.

well, you might have noticed that the post title is pandan chiffon cake ONE. yes, i believe i will be pursuing the pandan-chiffon perfection..

Pandan Chiffon Cake (adapted from Bisous A Toi)



Ingredients:

100 ml ------------- coconut cream
1tsp ---------------- pandan paste
100 g -------------- cake flour
1 tsp --------------- baking powder
50 g ---------------- canola oil
4 ------------------- egg yolks
100 g --------------- castor sugar (divided)
one pinch of salt

5 ------------------ egg whites
1/4 tsp ----------- cream of tartar

Method:

1. preheat oven to 170degC

2. mix pandan paste into coconut milk. mix well

3. add oil, yolks, 50g sugar and salt into the mixture from 2 and mix well

4. sift in flour and baking powder and whisk using a handwhisk until smooth. set aside

5. using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy.

6. add the remaining 50g sugar until beat until stiff peaks (meringue forms)

7. transfer 1/3 of the meringue into the coconut-flour mixture and mix well using a handwhisk

8. slowly fold mixture 7 into the remaining meringue until well incorporated

9. pour final batter into an ungreased 18-cm chiffon pan and bake for about 50 min

just as i expected, this is quite a big gap from my ideal pandan chiffon. much room for improvement. this cake was fairly fragrant and light but not moist. i might have over-baked it.

just keep trying!