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Pandan chiffon cake
Pandan chiffon: tall, feather-light green chiffon cake with fresh pandan juice and coconut milk
No Singapore birthday table, office tea or visit to grandma's feels complete without a pandan chiffon cake, the pale green ring sold whole at heritage bakeries and neighbourhood confectioners and carried home in a box, and travellers fly home with one in their hand luggage. The crumb is cottony and springy, moist from coconut milk, and the flavour comes from juice squeezed from blended pandan leaves: grassy, vanilla-like and faintly nutty. It is served plain, in tall wedges, with kopi or tea. The usual mistake is greasing the tube pan; a chiffon needs to cling to bare metal to climb, and cooling it upside down is what keeps it tall. Chef's tip: beat the egg whites only to firm, glossy peaks that curl over at the tip; stiff, dry whites won't fold in smoothly and leave white streaks and holes.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the pandan juice
- 12 pandan leavescut into short lengths
- ¼ cup water
For the yolk batter
- 5 egg yolksfrom large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 oz caster sugar
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 ⅞ oz cake flouror plain flour with 1 tbsp replaced by cornflour, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For the meringue
- 5 egg whitesfrom large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar
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What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Blend 12 pandan leaves with ¼ cup water to a fine green pulp, then squeeze it hard through a muslin cloth. Measure 70 ml of juice (top up with water if short).
Step 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan) with a shelf in the lower third. Use a 21–23 cm aluminium chiffon tube pan; do not grease it.
Step 3: Whisk 5 egg yolks and 1 oz caster sugar until pale. Whisk in ¼ cup coconut milk, ¼ cup vegetable oil and the pandan juice until smooth and emulsified.
Step 4: Sift in 3 ⅞ oz cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt and whisk gently until you have a smooth, glossy green batter with no lumps.
Step 5: In a clean, grease-free bowl, beat 5 egg whites with ½ tsp cream of tartar until foamy. Add 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar a spoonful at a time, beating on medium-high, until the meringue is glossy and holds firm peaks that curl at the tip.
6 minStep 6: Stir a 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.
Step 7: Pour into the pan from a low height, then run a skewer round the batter to pop large bubbles and tap the pan once on the worktop.
Step 8: Bake for 45–50 minutes, until well risen, golden on top and springy when pressed; a skewer should come out clean. Don't open the oven in the first 30 minutes.
50 minStep 9: Turn the pan upside down at once onto its feet or over a bottle neck and leave to cool completely, about 1½ hours.
Step 10: Run a thin knife round the sides and the tube, push out the base and release the bottom. Cut with a serrated knife in gentle sawing strokes.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 27 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does pandan chiffon cake take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
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