Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake

So, as I woke up this morning with great joy that the blog was finally open to public again with the block lifted, I was in great spirits! I baked 7 tubs of Pineapple Roses and baked 2 of these Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cakes! It's also a great day as our church wedding venue has been confirmed! Charis Methodist Church it shall be! So, with this great joy.. I decided to bake 2 cakes on top of the 7 tubs of pineapple tarts I baked..

Pandan Chiffon Cakes are widely sold all around Singapore with Bengawan Solo's being one of the more popular ones. Giant/Shop & Save even sells them at a cheap cheap 2 bucks! Pandan chiffon cakes has always been my mum's favourite and it has also been my favourite when I was growing up. I can still remember stuffing myself silly with these fragrant slices. 

Some time ago, I tried a pandan chiffon cake using ieatishootipost's recipe but it didn't work out well for me as some parts of the cake were still relatively spongey. I believe this was due to the uneven folding of the batter back then.. well, that was till I decided to try out this recipe given to me by Vanessa using the hand folding method that I'm so deeply in love with!

Most people I know of would squirm at the thought of using their bare hands to fold the batter but to me, so as long as our hands are cleaned thoroughly before we fold the batter, it actually works better than a whisk or spatula!

So, here's the recipe that I love so very much as there's no food colouring involved.. all the flavour of the cake's from the pandan juice made from pandan leaves. This cake takes about 15 minutes to prep and an hour to bake. I'm using a 20cm base chiffon tin and it yielded a 2" tall cake. If you'd like, you can use a smaller tin to achieve a taller cake. 

30 April 2013: I made a taller version of the cake to full up more of my 20cm baking tin. 7 eggs would be perfect for this recipe provided that the eggs are the the 55 - 60g variety. I have provided the 7 egg version of the recipe in the ingredient list. 

Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake Recipe (5 egg version)

My baking tin had a base of 20cm

110g cake flour

5 eggs (55g)

60ml fresh coconut milk

60g oil (I used Canola oil)

1/4 tsp baking powder

10 pandan leaves

4 tbsp water

120g castor sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake Recipe (7 egg taller version)

My baking tin had a base of 20cm

154g cake flour

7 eggs (55 - 60 g)

84ml fresh coconut milk

84g oil (I used Canola oil)

1/3 tsp baking powder

15 pandan leaves

6 tbsp water

168g castor sugar

1/3 tsp vanilla extract

NOTE: Steps for the 7 egg version is the same as the one for the 5 egg version

Steps

Preheat oven to 150 degree Celsius. Wash and cut the pandan leaves into small pieces. Exclude the tips of the pandan leaves (3cm) as they will make your fingers itch. Blend the small pieces of pandan leaves with the water.

Strain it with a sieve.

Squeeze it dry.

Sift the baking powder and the cake flour.

I used fresh coconut milk. You may use Kara etc if you like but I prefer this.

5 egg version: Add 2 tbsp of the pandan juice to the coconut milk.

7 egg version: Add 2 and 2/3 tbsp of the pandan juice to the coconut milk

5 egg version: Take half of the castor sugar (60g) and add it to the egg yolks that have been separated from the whites.

7 egg version: Take half of the castor sugar (84g) and add it to the egg yolks that have been separated from the whites.

Stir well till light and fluffy. A spatula/whisk can do the work.

Add in 1/3 of the coconut milk mixture and mix well.

You'd get something like this.

Add in 1/3 of the flour and mix well. Repeat coconut milk mixture + flour mixture in 1/3 portions and mix well.

Add the oil and the vanilla extract. Set aside.

Mix egg whites till frothy. 

5 egg version: Add in the other 1/2 of the castor sugar (60g). 

7 egg version: Add in the other 1/2 of the castor sugar (84g). 

**Ensure that your tools are totally dry and free from oil etc.. else, the eggs will not become stiff. 

Whisk egg whites till still peaks are formed. You should get stiff peaks like this! So cute! XD

Fold 1/3 of the egg white mixture. 

You should get something like this.

To the remaining 2/3 egg whites, add the egg yolk mixture. Fold in. I love doing mine by hand just like how I like to fold my cake batter for my sponge cakes. This video will show you how.

Once done, pour the cake batter into the baking tin and shake/sway till batter is evenly distributed.

5 egg version: Bake for 60 minutes with the cake in the middle rack. (Fan mode)

7 egg version: Bake for 70 minutes with the cake in the middle rack. (Fan mode)

Cake's all baked! The low temperature will ensure that the cake will bake as 'cleanly' as possible without erupted tops like some chiffon cakes. No offence to the baker who did the follow cake but I like my cake top as flat and clean as possible.

This was how tall the 7 egg version yield. 

Image taken from http://crustabakes.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/pandan-chiffon-21.jpg

Once baked, prop the chiffon cake tin on a higher level to allow it to cool for about 30 minutes before removal. Alternatively, blast a standing fan at the cake for 15 minutes before unmoulding it.

Most people remove their chiffon cakes with the use of a spatula or knife. I prefer the hand removal method.. so here's a video that will show you how.

So, once the cake has been removed, serve it upside down.. Well, at least that is what everyone else has been doing cos' the bottom sure looks better than the top! I love how fluffy this cake is and with the intensified pandan juice modification I did as compared to the original recipe, the taste is much more distinct and it smells great! The cake is fluffy and moist, just the way I like it. Also, the cake was pretty and light green in colour from the pandan juice rather than using food colouring. I must say, this is a recipe to stay.

I'm so glad that my mum and my mama-to-be loved the cake.. I baked 2 of these today, one for my family, one for the fav boy's family. It sure is so much joy baking for people we love. 

So do give this recipe a try, with the hand folding batter method and hand-removal method. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good this Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake tastes!

14 August 2014 update

New image series taken from my new kitchen! (: 

Post by Cynthia Lim.

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: