Singaporean Food
Singapore is famous for FOOD. Pandan Chiffon Cake, I think it is one of the most famous iconic food here. You either use store-bought Pandan Paste or make your own Pandan juice and added into the cake batter. A nick name for this paste with vibrant green is called ‘Asian vanilla extract’, from this name, I think you probably can image how fragrant it is. When I opened the bottle of it, seriously … it smelt incredibly GOOD!
As a baker, I particularly look out for the bakes here. One of my favourite cakes in Singapore is Pandan Chiffon Cake.
Shop-bought Pandan Chiffon Cake
Since my husband and I relocated to Singapore seven months ago, I kept buying pandan chiffon cakes from the local bakery. Actually, the cakes taste good but sometimes we found that some cakes were a bit dry. Even though sometimes they were not always that fluffy and spongy, we still finished the cake in one day, maximum one and a half!
Interestingly, I never thought of baking one in my home kitchen. The reason for this is because it is a kind of local authentic delight, as a new expat, I thought I could never ever bake one as good as the local ones. Also, I found most of the recipes use pandan juice as one of the ingredients. Although there are two ways of making pandan chiffon cake, it seemed like using pandan juice was more authentic than using pandan paste.
Pandan juice
Pandan juice is made from pandan leaves and water. Where can you buy pandan leaves? Itโs pretty easy โ in the wet market or simply just go to the supermarket.
Then you need to …
- Wash the leaves and cut them into small pieces
- Place the pieces into a blender and add some water. Blend them for about 1 minute until it becomes a Pandan pulp.
- After that, pour the Pandan pulp into a fine strainer and use the back of the spoon to press on the pulp to get the juice out.
- Then you will have your homemade Pandan juice for cooking or baking.
It sounds quite a complicated process for a ‘pandan cake beginner’. That’s why I kept buying the pandan chiffon cake in the local bakery … ๐
Pandan Paste
One day, I found a little green bottle sitting on a shelf in the baking section of a supermarket. It was pandan paste! Why not avoid the complicated process (making pandan juice) to start with? I decided to give it a try. I adapted the recipe from an awesome blog, thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com which is one of my very favourites blogs, (for your reference, this website is no longer existed, updated Oct, 2024). However, I adjust the recipe a little bit to suit our liking.
- Reduced the amount of caster sugar
- Used vegetable oil instead of coconut oil (which is what I had in my kitchen).
When I opened the pandan paste, it had an unbelievably full and aromatic Asian scent. I combined it with the coconut milk into the cake batter and I was amazed by the bright green colour. I knew, immediately, that the cake was going to taste really de-li-cious. I was pleased that I used this green paste as my first local authentic attempt.
Why you’ll like this Pandan Chiffon Cake recipe
These are the reasons that I like this pandan chiffon cake sooooo much, I hope you will like it as much as I do tooooo!
- Unique Flavor: Pandan chiffon cake offers a fragrant, nutty taste thatโs a refreshing change from typical cake flavors.
- Light Texture: The cake is soft, fluffy, and melts in your mouth, perfect for those who prefer lighter desserts.
- Healthier Option: Made with oil instead of butter, this cake is lower in fat, offering a guilt-free treat.
- Visually Appealing: Its natural green hue makes the cake stunning and perfect for special occasions.
- Cultural Experience: This cake allows your readers to explore and enjoy a beloved Southeast Asian dessert tradition.
Ingredients in Pandan Chiffon Cake recipe
With just a handful of these simple ingredients, this pandan chiffon cake recipe effortessly creates a moist, airy and flavourful dessert that captures the essences of traditional Southeast Asian dessert. I think you would understand that once you’ve made it!
- Eggs: Eggs provide structure and lift to the chiffon cake. The egg whites, when whipped, create a meringue that gives the cake its light, airy texture, while the yolks add richness and moisture.
- Caster Sugar: This fine sugar dissolves easily and sweetens the cake without weighing it down. It also helps stabilize the egg whites when making the meringue, ensuring a light and fluffy cake.
- Vegetable Oil: It keeps the cake moist and tender and also helps the cake stay soft even after refrigeration, maintaining its delicate crumb. You can use any neutral flavour oil that you have on hand.
- Pandan Paste: This is the star ingredient that gives the cake its signature flavor and natural green color. Pandan paste infuses the cake with a fragrant, slightly nutty taste thatโs unique and aromatic.
- Coconut Milk: Coconut milk adds richness and a subtle creaminess, complementing the Pandan flavour perfectly. It also enhances the cakeโs moist texture. It is totally up to you to choose between full fat and low fat one. I normally use low fat one and there isn’t affect the texture of the cake at all.
- Cake Flour: It has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, resulting in a finer, more delicate crumb.
- Cream of Tartar: This acidic ingredient helps stabilise the whipped egg whites, ensuring they hold their shape and contribute to the cakeโs light, airy structure. If you do not have one, you can use a few drop of lemon juice or vinegar instead.
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How to make Pandan chiffon cake
Prepare the cake batter:
- Mix the pandan paste with the coconut milk in a jug for easy pouring later.
- Use a whisk (you can use a mixer if you prefer) to whisk the egg yolks and sugar vigorously until thickened. Then add all the rest of the wet ingredients one by one and continue to whisk. You will see the egg yolk mixture becomes thicken and airy.
- Then add the vegetable oil and continue to whisk until emulsified.
- Pour in the pandan-infused coconut milk and continue to whisk until everything is well mixed. The liquid turns into vibrant green once it is added and smells divine.
Prepare the meringue
An important part of the process is to beat the egg whites properly. The purpose of mixing the egg whites until a stiff peak forms is to give the cake an airy, light and spongy texture.
- Remember, when you start beating the egg whites, it has to be at a slow speed (using any kind of electric mixer). After beating on a slow speed until it is foamy.
- Add cream of tartar to stabilise the egg whites and continue to whisk at low speed until a layer of foam has been formed.
- Gradually add in the sugar in three stages or spoonful by spoonful. It allows the sugar to dissolve in between.
- After all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to medium high speed to whisk the egg whites until they reach their full volume, or we can say its stiff peak form, which means the egg white can hold the shape at the peak when pulled out using the whisk.
This process needs patience. Otherwise, they will not reach full volume.
Then it is time to combine the green cake batter and the egg whites together. This is the fun part. It was just like going to a painting class mixing the bright green and white together. The batter will become a lighter shade of green because it is mixed with a lot of white. In the end, it turns out to be a pale green cake batter, which is really pretty.
- Scoop a little amount of meringue (beaten egg whites) into the cake batter to loosen it up.
- Gradually add in the meringue and very gently whisk / fold it into the batter.
- Once all the meringue is added, your batter will have a much fuller volume.
- Finally, use a spatula to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
Before baking
- Pour the cake batter into the chiffon tube pan at one spot. I found it is easier to handle the batter and the pan at the same time. If the cake batter is not level, shake the pan a little bit to even the batter out.
- Lift up the pan a few inches higher and drop it against the work surface a few times to get rid of the trapped big air bubbles inside the batter.
- One final trick is to run a skewer to the cake batter to further break down any trapped air bubbles as well.
- To ensure the cake has enough heat from the bottom to help the cake rise properly, place the cake at the lower rack in the oven. DO NOT open the oven door during baking.
Bake the chiffon cake
While the cake is baking in the oven, the whole house fills with such aromatic smells that it is almost irresistible!!!
- Once the cake was baked, I had to invert the pan immediately and let it cool completely to avoid the cake sinking down (remember this!). Actually, the moment it came out of the oven, my husband and I almost couldnโt wait to eat it. The hardest part was waiting.
- When it had cooled completely, I un-moulded it. Run a knife along the edges. Please do remember to run around the funnel as well.
- Of course, the bottom of the pan.
- Place the beautiful chiffon cake on a serving plate. Enjoy!
Immediately, we could feel the sponginess of the cake and it felt light as a feather. Of course, the next step was to taste it. It tasted fabulous, full of pandan flavour and the cake was very spongy in texture.
Pandan chiffon cake is one of those things that you just want to stuff into your mouth! We basically could not stop eating it! Since then, I have kept baking this cake by using pandan paste. My friend even asked me to bake one for her too. You can imagine how popular this cake is!
More chiffon cake recipes for your next bakes
- Coffee Chiffon Cake (video tutorial)
- Black Sesame Chiffon Cake (video tutorial)
- Vanilla Chiffon Cake + Tips for successful baking
Pandan Chiffon Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cool Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Category: cakes, desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Singaporean
Description
This is an ultimate Pandan chiffon cake. It is soft, fluffy and full of aromatic Pandan leaf and coconut flavour! Pandan leaf and coconut is a perfect combination, it is a MUST try cake!
Ingredients
Cake batter
- 5 pcs egg yolks
- 30 g caster sugar
- 40 ml vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp pandan paste
- 70 ml coconut milk
- 90 g cake flour (sifted)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Meringue
- 5 pcs egg whites
- 70 g caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
Prepare the cake batter
- Mix pandan paste and coconut milk in a jug and set it aside.
- Put the egg yolks and sugar into a mixing bowl and start whisking them. Whisk them about 2-3 minutes until it turns a lighter shade and thickens. Then add vegetable oil and continue whisking until emulsified.
- Once the oil has been incorporated,ย add pandan-infused coconut milk and mix well.ย The colour will change into vibrant green.
- Sift in cake flour, baking powder and salt.ย Continue to use a whisk to gently mix until just combined. Then set the mixture aside.
- Preheat the oven to 160โ / 325โย to make sure the oven is nice and hot once the cake is ready to be baked.ย
Prepare the meringue
- Whisk the egg whites in a large mixing bowl at low speed using a mixer until foamy, approx. 1-2 mins.
- Add cream of tartar and continue whisking. Then gradually add in the sugar into the egg whites.
- Turn the speed up to high and keep whisking all the time until the egg whites form a stiff peak. It takes around 5-7 minutes. Be patient!
- Scoop a little amount of meringue into the green cake batter to loosen it first.
- Then, fold in the remaining meringue in a few batches until all well combined.
- Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well mixed.
Bake and cool the chiffon cake
- Transfer the cake into an UNGREASED tube pan and bake in the preheated oven atย ย 160โ / 325โ at the lower rack for about 40-45 minutes (mine took 40 minutes) or until insert a skewer withdraws clean. If the top of the cake cracks or becomes too dark, place a sheet of aluminium foil over it and continue baking.ย
- Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and invert the pan immediately and place it on a raised wire rack to cool completely.
- Use a small palette knife gently scrape along the side of the pan, do not forget the edge of the tube of the pan and the bottom to unmould the cake.
- Serve the cake on a serving plate and enjoy the delicious pandan chiffon cake with a cup of coffee!
Notes
- Each egg is around 60 grams without shell.ย ย
- This recipe is for an 8-inch tube pan.
- To ensure the mixing bowl and the whisk are grease-free, you can drip a few drops of white vinegar or lemon juice onto a kitchen paper to wipe the tools before whisking the egg whites.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 131kcal
- Sugar: 8.7g
- Sodium: 32mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7g
- Carbohydrates: 14.5g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 3.7g
- Cholesterol: 92mg
Give this recipe a try! Let me know how it goes for you! I love connecting and seeing your pictures.
It would be fantastic if you could take a moment to rate this recipe with stars โญ๏ธ after trying. Your feedback helps other readers!
Thanks for joining me in the kitchen today. Keep baking!
This Post Has 10 Comments
Is self raising flour the same as cake flour? What is the UK equivalent.
?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for stopping by. Self raising flour is not the same as cake flour. Cake flour is low in gluten and usually has 7 – 9 % protein content. This helps the cake rise taller and has a fine crumb. It is perfect for chiffon cake. Please check out the one in the recipe card which I like using it for chiffon cakes and cookies. Hope it helps!
Hello, I don’t have Pandan paste, will Pandan extract work? Thank you
Hi Ashely,
Many thanks for your question. Yes, it will work. Both add pandan flavour to the baked goods. The difference between pandan extract and pandan paste is their consistency and concentration. Pandan extract is a liquid and usually less concentrated while pandan paste is a thicker paste and it often has a stronger green colour. You might need to add a little bit more pandan extract to enhance the flavour. Hope it helps! Keep baking! ๐
Hi Wendy, I chanced upon your recipe for Pandan Chiffon Cake as I was searching for the Domestic Goddess recipe (which I have used hundreds of times). Fyi she has taken down her website and created a new one on workshops. All her recipes are no longer available online
so your link no longer works. Thank goodness you shard it here! Our tastebuds are similar: I have to reduce the amount of sugar too.
Hi Peony,
Thank you very much for bringing this to my attention! โบ๏ธ I really appreciate you letting me know about the broken link โ Iโve now removed it. Many thanks for your 5-star rating as well and itโs so fun to find someone with similar taste buds! Hereโs to more delicious finds we can enjoy together! Keep baking! ๐ฉโ๐ณ
Hi,
I have a pandan plant. How can I substitute the paste for the leaves and how can I use the leaves to make the paste?
Thank you,
Patty
Hi Patty,
It is a very good question. Thank you! Here are the steps of making pandan paste from leaves.
You’ll need 7-ounce pandan leaves and 3 cups of water
1. Cut the leaves into small chunks. Combine the leaves and 1 cup of water in a blender and lend on high speed until finely minced.
2. Pour the mixture through a sieve over a jar and squeeze the minced leaves to extract the juice.
3. Place the pulp back in the blender and repeat the process with the remaining 2 cups of water, one cup at a time.
4. Once all the juice is collected, place a coffee filter and set it over a large bowl. Pour the juice into the filter and let the juice drain away. The remaining pulp in the filter is your pandan paste.
5. Store it in a covered container in the fridge for about 1 to 2 weeks.
Hope it helps! Let me know if you have any questions. Keep baking!
great recipe thank you
Hi Marlene,
Thank you! Glad to hear that you like it! Happy baking! ๐