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Cakes & Breads

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Whisk egg yolks with fresh pandan juice, coconut milk, oil and cake flour, fold in a stiff meringue, bake in an ungreased 23 cm tube pan at 170°C for 45–50 minutes and cool upside down; about 3 hours for 10-12.

Pandan chiffon is the tall, feather-light green cake you find at every Malaysian and Singaporean bakery. Fresh pandan juice and coconut milk give it a sweet, grassy fragrance and a natural pale green colour, and a firm meringue folded into an oil-based batter makes it rise high in an ungreased tube pan. It is cooled upside down so it cannot sink, and it stays soft for days. The method is easy once you know the three rules: no grease on the pan, a stiff but glossy meringue, and a gentle fold.

A tall pale green pandan chiffon cake on a cake stand with one slice cut out, the slice on a small plate showing the light, airy crumb, with pandan leaves Start cooking mode

Ingredients

Pandan juice

  • 12 pandan leaves, cut into short pieces
  • 120 ml water

Yolk batter

  • 5 egg yolks, from large eggs at room temperature
  • 30 g caster sugar
  • 70 ml coconut milk
  • 60 ml pandan juice
  • 60 ml vegetable oil
  • 115 g (1 cup) cake flour, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Meringue

  • 5 egg whites, from large eggs at room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 80 g caster sugar

Method

  1. Blend the pandan leaves with the water until finely chopped. Squeeze the pulp through a fine sieve or muslin and measure 60 ml of juice. For a deeper colour, let the juice settle in the fridge for 2 hours and use the darker bottom part.
  2. Heat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Have ready a 23 cm (9 in) chiffon tube pan. Do not grease or line it; the batter needs to cling to the sides to rise.
  3. Whisk the egg yolks with the 30 g sugar until pale. Whisk in the coconut milk, pandan juice and oil until smooth. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk just until there are no lumps.
  4. In a clean, grease-free bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Add the 80 g sugar a spoonful at a time and keep beating until the meringue is glossy and stiff, and the peaks stand up with just a soft curl at the tip.
  5. Stir one third of the meringue into the yolk batter to loosen it. Fold in the rest in two additions with a large spatula, cutting down through the middle and turning the bowl, until no white streaks remain.
  6. Pour the batter into the pan and run a skewer through it to burst any big air bubbles. Tap the pan once on the bench.
  7. Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the cake has risen above the rim, the top is golden and springs back when pressed, and a skewer comes out clean.
  8. Turn the pan upside down at once and stand it on its tube or on a bottle neck. Leave it to cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
  9. Run a thin knife around the outer edge and the tube, push the cake out, then release the base. Slice with a serrated knife.

Tips

  • No fresh pandan: use 60 ml coconut milk plus 1/2 tsp pandan paste instead of the pandan juice.
  • Why it sinks: an underbaked cake, a greased pan, or not cooling it upside down. A meringue beaten until dry and lumpy also collapses.
  • Cracked top: a crack on top is normal for chiffon and is hidden when the cake is turned out.
  • Storage: keep the cake covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 4 days. It stays softest at room temperature.

Questions

Why should I not grease the chiffon pan?

The batter has to cling to the sides of the pan to climb and stay tall. On a greased pan it slides back down and the cake sinks.

Why did my pandan chiffon cake sink?

Usually it was underbaked, the pan was greased, the meringue was overbeaten or underbeaten, or the cake was not cooled upside down.

Can I use pandan paste instead of fresh leaves?

Yes. Replace the pandan juice with the same amount of coconut milk and add 1/2 tsp pandan paste. The colour will be brighter and the flavour a little less fresh.

How do I store pandan chiffon cake?

Keep it covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 4 days. Bring it back to room temperature before serving so it is soft.

Is this pandan chiffon cake halal?

The recipe is pork-free and lists no alcohol. It is not halal-certified: check that the baking powder, cream of tartar and any pandan paste carry halal certification.

A Dada Cooking original recipe. Quantities are metric first, with US amounts in brackets.