The Baking Biatch || by Cynthia Lim: Pandan Gula Meleka Cake

I got rather inspired to bake after a couple of successful bakes last week.. On Sunday, I baked this Pandan Gula Meleka Cake, inspired by the Ondeh Ondeh.

I've been wanting to blog this recipe but since school started on Monday, the admin work and marking has been hellish. I literally slept 2 hours every night, with the exception of last night where I had a better 6 hour sleep. My apologies to those who have been waiting for this recipe!

I'm still dead tired but most of my tasks have been completed for the term.. It's exciting to know that my September Holidays are just round the corner! I plan to catch up on a lot of sleep, bake and craft!

So anyway, this Pandan Gula Meleka Cake is made with a pandan chiffon base, a swiss meringue gula melaka buttercream and a buttercream sauce.

It'd take about 3 - 4 hours to bake and I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5 if you can do chiffons.. and maybe a 4 out of 5 is chiffons are tricky for you.

Pandan Gula Meleka Cake Recipe

This recipe yields a 12" by 4" cake

220g cake flour

10 eggs (55g, room temperature)

120ml fresh coconut milk

120g unflavoured oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

20 pandan leaves

8 tbsp water

240g castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

150g egg white, room temperature

250g egg whites

100g castor sugar

50g gula meleka

250g unsalted butter

50ml water

150g gula meleka

pandan leaves (optional)

Fresh grated coconut

Method

Clean and snip pandan leaves into small pieces. Blend with water.

Sieve mixture and set aside.

Sift cake flour and baking powder, set aside.

Separate eggs, add half the sugar into the egg yolks. Ensure that bowl for whites is dry and clean of any oil/dirt/water. Mix on medium to high speed till yolk mixture is pale and fluffy.

Add 4 tbsp of pandan liquid into coconut milk, set aside.

Pale and fluffy!

Add 1/3 of coconut milk mixture into yolk batter. Mix well.

Add 1/3 flour mixture and mix well, just enough for flour to be combined.

Repeat in 1/3 addition till mixtures run out.

Add remaining sugar to egg whites and whisk to stiff peaks.

Yolk batter - all ready!

Whites all ready!

Add 1/3 meringue to yolk batter. Fold in to loosen batter.

Add remaining batter to yolk mixture and fold well.

Pour into a baking tin lined with baking paper. You may do so for the entire tin (if you're lazy) or just the bottom (so the sides can rise better). Smooth out batter as evenly as you can with a spatula. Tap the pan gently against the counter top to release trapped air bubbles.

Bake in a preheated oven of 160 degree Celsius for 30 - 40 minutes or till cake springs back gently when pressed or when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

Remove from cake pan upon removal from oven and set on cooling rack to cool completely.

Cube butter and allow it to soften

In a clean and dry mixing bowl suited for double boiling, add egg whites and sugar. Double boil on low heat while stirring constantly. Double boil till mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved OR when it reaches 70 degree Celsius.

Gently wipe bottom of double boiling bowl and pour into a clean and dry mixing bowl.

Whisk to stiff peaks.

When mixture has cooled to room temperature (whisk and set aside to cool if need be), add in a cube of butter at a time while whisking on low speed.

Mixture will curdle but fret not.

Continue to mix.

Add gula meleka that has been finely chopped into buttercream along with some vanilla bean paste.

In a small pot, add gula meleka that has been chopped with water. (If you'd like to add pandan leaves, boil the water with pandan leaves for a couple of minutes, remove it and add gula meleka. Due to evaporation, use about 60 to 65g of water) Bring to a boil on medium-high heat while stirring constantly. Boil till mixture thickens. Transfer mixture to a bowl (preferably one with large surface area) and pop into the freezer to cool.