Pandan Chiffon Cake
Pandan Chiffon Cake offers a fragrant, soft, and fluffy cake that is simply delicious! Mixed in with coconut milk to bring out amazing flavors. Not to mention, the cool green hue is a crowd pleaser!
Having a pandan chiffon cake reminds me of buko pandan drink. The natural and fresh aroma of pandan is truly inviting. If the refreshing smell of this chiffon cake is not enough, wait until you take a bite. Soft and moist cake like my pianono but with coconutty flavor in each bite!
What is pandan?
Pandan or more specifically pandan leaves are widely used in South East Asian cuisine. It is an added ingredient to make dishes or desserts aromatic and mouth-watering. In the Philippines, pandan leaves are sometimes included when cooking rice and oh boy! does it smell good!
What if I can’t find pandan leaves?
The good news is, if you are living in any South East Asian country, it’s quite easy to buy them in the markets. If not, a great substitute is to use pandan extract or flavoring that you can buy at Asian stores near you.
Why this pandan chiffon cake recipe works
With the addition of the cream filling, not only do you have soft and moist cake but added creaminess from the filling! This is optional though and the cake is still amazing on its own.
There are a lot of chiffon cake recipes out there and all are equally great with their own respective merits. This recipe though yields a fluffy, springy cake that doesn’t crumble when taking a bite. You’ll also appreciate that the top is soft and not crusty.
Using oil is a pre-requisite for making chiffon cakes to make it stay softer and moist far longer than cakes made with butter. What I find to work well is using oil like vegetable oil and in my case canola oil.
Some tips for an amiable experience
When beating the egg yolks with sugar, submerge half of the mixing bowl in warm water. This will help to quickly and really dissolve the sugar. This will also ensure that the top of the cake will be soft, smooth and not crusty.
Use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour for a softer, light and fluffy cake.
For the the meringue, make sure that you achieve stiff peak, meaning the meringue will hold almost any form and should feel smooth and silky, with no sugar grains.
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
Other cake recipes you may like:
Cheese Butter Cake – With its distinctive butter flavor, pillowy soft crumb, and cheesy toppings, this is truly the best butter cake I’ve ever had. After a bite, I guarantee you’ll agree.
Carrot Cake is a wonderfully moist and perfectly flavored cake recipe. This cake is surprisingly simple to make.
Pandan Chiffon Cake
Ingredients
For batter
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup canola oil / vegetable oil
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp pandan flavoring/extract
For the meringue
- 8 eggs whites
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ cup sugar
For Cream Filling (optional)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar (sifted)
Instructions
- Pre heat oven at 160°C / 320°F and line 2pcs x 21cm x25cm baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Making the meringue
- Separate egg whites and yolks. Set aside yolks for later use. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites using a hand mixer until frothy. Tip in cream of tartar and beat again for 3 – 4 minutes. Add sugar gradually or in 3 batches while beating in medium speed until stiff peak.
Making the batter
- Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt flour 3 times into a bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks using a wire whisk or hand mixer. Add sugar and submerge bowl in warm water and beat until sugar completely dissolves.
- When sugar dissolves, remove bowl from warm water and continue beating until pale in color. Add canola oil, coconut milk, and pandan flavoring. Mix well until fully incorporated.
- Tip in cake flour mixture and gently fold in with the wet ingredients. Continue folding in until no traces of flour left.
- Using a rubber spatula, add 2 scoops of meringue and mix in with the batter one at a time. When completely incorporated. Transfer the batter into the meringue bowl and fold in until fully incorporated.
- Fill two baking pans with equal parts of batter. Tap the baking pans a couple of times on top of the counter to release air bubbles.
- Bake in pre heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until top of chiffon cake turn golden brown and inserted toothpick come out clean.
- Remove from oven and with a hand covered in oven mittens. Immediately flip the pans onto a wire rack lined with parchment paper and release the cakes. Turn them topside up and let cool down.
Making the cream filling (optional)
- While waiting for the chiffon cakes to cool down, you can make the cream filling by whipping the whipping cream with hand mixer on high. Add in the powder sugar carefully until smooth and creamy.
- Take one of the chiffon cake and spread cream filling on top then place the other chiffon cake on top of the cream filling. Slice to preferred serving size. Bon appetit!
