Monday 29 April 2013

Pandan Soufle Cake


Last weekend, I had 3 baking disasters. The first one was the Ogura Cheesecake. The cake turned out alright but the top got stuck to the cooling rack and got torn off when I removed the cake. This was how it looked like :

What a mess!

And then I baked a marbled chiffon cake. The cake rose beautifully in the oven, but I noticed lots of cracks. It didn't bother me because the surface will be at the bottom anyway. When I removed the cake and inverted it on the cooling rack, the whole cake dislodged itself from the pan 5 minutes later. Aiks! What was that, I asked myself. 

The batter looked promising.

I lifted the chiffon pan and my God! My chiffon cake was all scrunched up in a heap. I touched it and it was dry and hard. I reckon the oven was too hot. You see, when the oven was ready, I was still struggling to alternate my batter. It was a good 15 minutes later when I put the cake into the oven. My auntie did tell me that I must not leave the oven on preheat mode for too long. My heart sank. And I felt really down. Don't worry, I told myself. It's just a cake! I can always try again. But I couldn't help feeling upset, that's the way that I am. I wanted to snap a photo of the failed chiffon but I was too depressed to get the camera. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Not bad looking but no pandan smell. Sigh.....

The next morning I baked this Pandan Soufle Cake. Everything was going along fine and as I was pouring the batter into the pan, I realized to my horror that I had forgotten to add pandan essence. Oh no, not again! Yaaaarrghhh!!!!!! Another baking disaster. I was so disappointed with myself. Whatever it was, I proceeded to bake the cake. I am sure it will still taste good, I comforted myself.

Cooling upside down. Hopefully the top won't get stuck.

The cake baked nicely and to avoid the top getting stuck to the cooling rack, I lined it with baking paper. My previous attempt to line the rack resulted in my Mango Yogurt Cottony Cake getting some of it's top torn off. That cake didn't stick to the cooling rack but got stuck to the baking paper and I wonder why.

Phew! The top is intact.

It worked and the top of the cake didn't get stuck. Phew! At least things were looking up for me. I sliced the cake and tasted a piece. Mmmmm!!! Nice! It was cottony soft and tasted pretty good even though I missed the pandan essence. I felt very much better. At least this cake looked alright and tasted good. And I decided to put it up here since you people won't be able to detect the absence of pandan :)


In the afternoon, I read Quay Po's post titled Bad Things Come in Clusters All at Once. I could definitely identify with the title. What a coincidence. Bad cakes come in clusters too, I thought, until I read what happened to Quay Po and Quay Lo. My cake disasters pale in comparison and I chided myself for being so silly. Baking is supposed to be fun and relaxing. And here I am making a big deal out of nothing. Quay Po, thank you for opening my eyes. Hope you and Quay Lo recover soon.


This Pandan Soufle Cake comes from Kimmy of Cooking Pleasure. I attempted this cake twice previously and both turned out well except that the top got stuck to the cooling rack. And I have adjusted the baking temperature and time to suit my oven. I also adjusted the amount of ingredients for a 9" pan. I love this cake a lot and it will be baked again and again. And I will not forget the pandan essence:)










Pandan Soufle Cake
Recipe source : Adapted from Cooking Pleasure

Ingredients :

Egg Yolk Batter :
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 80ml coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon pandan essence
- 65ml extra virgin coconut oil (or any neutral tasting vegetable oil)
- 65g superfine flour (or ordinary cake flour)

Egg White Batter
- 5 egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 75g fine granulated sugar

- Green food colouring

Method :

For the egg yolk batter :
1. In a mixing bowl, add egg yolks, whole egg, coconut milk, pandan essence and oil. Whisk to mix well.
2. Add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisk to mix evenly. Set aside.

For the egg white batter :
1. Add cream of tartar to the egg whites and whisk using a cake mixer till frothy.
2. Add sugar gradually while whisking.
3. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks.

To complete the cake :
1. Take 1/3 of the egg white batter and fold into the egg yolk batter.
2. Then fold in the rest of the egg white batter in two additions.
3. Remove 1/3 of the batter to another bowl. Add a drop of green coloring and mix well.
4. Pour 1/3 of the plain batter into a 9" pan lined with parchment paper followed by all the green batter.
5. Pour in the rest of the plain batter on top of the green batter.
6. Smooth the top of the batter and tap the cake pan firmly on a work surface a few times to release trapped air bubbles.
7. Steam bake at 140C for 55 minutes (please adjust according to your oven).
8. Remove cake from oven and invert on cooling rack. Remove the cake pan immediately.
9. Carefully remove the baking paper and let cake cool completely.

Note : I folded the batter using my bare hand. After folding 1/3 of the egg white batter into the egg yolk batter, I poured the egg yolk batter into the remaining egg white batter and folded by hand until well mixed.

82 comments:

  1. Hi PH, despite the disasters, I think your pandan souffle looks very pretty and nice. I hope this week will be a much better week for you:D

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    1. Thanks, Yen! The cake turned out and this is the best oven temperature and time for me. Will use it for future bakes.

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  2. Now I felt better that other bakers too have their own disasters in their kitchen, kekeke! My chiffon dropped out once too, underbaked that's the reason! I am glad your pandan cake turned out beautiful:D Tell you a secret, I forgot I am supposed to add coconut milk instead of milk, so mine was rather bland lol!

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    1. Hah! Hah! Jeannie, thank's for the comfort. I think we should not hesitate to share failures as well so that others may learn from it and know that they are not alone.

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  3. It happens to me all the time! Disasters in the kitchen are very common for us who spend alot of time in there... Your chiffon cake looks gorgeous, love the texture.

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    1. Thanks, Mich! I guess we learn from these disasters and get better as we go along. Never give up!

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  4. Hi Phong Hong,

    We always think that everything we see at blogs seems wonderful but in fact, in some place and some times, there are always yucky bakes that are never good enough to appear blogs... LOL! I have a few wholemeal bread recipes that I would never post and blog because they are simply too yucky to eat.

    Good that out of your clustering cake disasters, this one is clearly an outcast! :D

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, I have lost count of how many cakes I threw away! And I have also thrown out dishes that were simply yuks! It is a great comfort to me that I am not alone :)

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    2. Hi Phong Hong,

      After reading your comment on my Xiang si cake, I just realised that I have forgotten to link your name which is mentioned at my post... I have added the link of this beautiful now. Too much Xiang si and less sleep... That's why :(

      Zoe

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    3. No worries, Zoe :)

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  5. PH!!!! rasa macam nak meraung masuk sini, kejam betul la semua gambar2 ni! I suka kek2 tu semua, tak kira lah crack ker, lekat ker, semua gerenti hilang bila masuk kemulut. Taktau naper, tiapkali I tengok gambar kek gebu lembut camtu, gusi ni gatal semacam jer, rasa nak gigit2 komputer screen! geram betul!

    PH, ini antara sebab kenapa I tak berani buat kek2 camni, kalau tak jadi I sure patah hati tapi I salute la kat you, still boleh baking hari2, if I sekali dah frust, tahun depan belum tentu I cuba lagi...

    tangan ni macam dah gatal jerr nak try, tp at least kena duduk seminggu study betul2 semua tips dan cara...tu yg malasnya ngehehehe

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    1. Ish..ish..ish...Q! Jangan gigit computer, nanti gigi rosak sis! Hee..hee...I selalunya mambaking pada hujung minggu. Kadang-kadang jadi, kadang-kadang jahanam. Cubalah buat kek ni. I am sure you can do it!

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  6. Phong, disasters make u better. look at wat u got in the end... awesome texture

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    1. Thank you, Vimitha! I am learning all the time :)

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  7. Hi phong hong
    A disaster bakes, huh? But I am sure though it doesnt looks nice to the look the taste is still there. Happy baking again, and the second time round would be perfect.

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    1. Thanks, Mel! The last cake is good and edible except that it didn't have pandan smell. And you are right, as long as it taste good, that is all that matters.

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  8. Oh dear, Phong Hong, this is all abt the ups & down for baking! Good for you that you have the never give up spirit! Actually for me, I will be happy to see my cake came out like the 1st picture.This soufle cake recipes sounds very interestingto me & the cake looks real soft there!

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    1. Jessie, I should have documented all my past failures and share it in a special post :) Sometimes, I can laugh at my failed cakes and sometimes I feel so upset. But at the end of the day, I still troop on and still have fun baking.

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  9. Oh wooow...Sooo soft n wish I could taste this:)

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    1. Hee..hee...thanks, Priya! Wish I can share it with you :)

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  10. Dear phong! sungguh kuteruja melihat kelembutan kek itu...huhuhu... malangnya i tak ada oven sekarang ni.....baru je pagi tadi tengok kek yang ala2 gini (kek ogura??) kat blog chinadoll.. jatuh hati.. =)) nak bookmark 2 kek ni dulu...nanti dah ada oven baru nak cuba! hihi

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    1. Cik Wan, betul ni kek Ogura. Nanti bila Cik Wan dah dapat oven, Cik Wan kena cuba buat kek Ogura. Kalau Cik Wan pernah buat kek Chiffon. pasti tak ada masalah dengan kek Ogura sebab cara membuatnya sama. PH tunggu Cik Wan punya kek, ok?

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  11. Green is the color of the season. Your cake is lovely. I am sure you will come out with lots of success after this.

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    1. Thank you so much for your encouraging words! Much appreciated :)

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  12. Hi friend, your cake looks much better than mine. My opinion, we must know our oven well and adjust. Keep trying.

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    1. Kimmy, next time I want to try your zebra style. I was scared I can't do it properly, that's why I opted for only 1 green layer. Thanks for your encouragement, my friend!

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  13. Phong Hong, Kawan don't worry we are in the same boat! High 5! Piak! Glad to know that I am not alone! haha....

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    1. Christine, piak! piak! Thank you for your recipes! I will be trying out more Ogura cakes. So soft, so moist and so good to eat! Fat liao...hee..hee...

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  14. Hi PH,

    Just by looking at the photo, I can tell you that the cake is ohhh so soft and ooohhh so yummy!

    Same case here, kalau buat 1 thing and it turned out KO, better not continue doing others, it will be a waste. Tapi I kadang-kadang degil juga. Still tried and ended up feeling frusterated again and again!

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    1. MamaFaMi, when it comes to baking, we must be degil! If not, sure give up terus. Ya lah, I agree sometimes very frust sampai nak menangis. But sometimes, very the semangat! Berkobar-kobar!

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  15. Wow,very soft and spongy texture with beautiful layer! Well done phong hong ^_^

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    1. Thank you, Esther! I tried many times :)

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  16. Hi PH, don't be upset over the disappointments, we all have our bad baking days :)

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    1. Thank you for your comforting words! I just can't help it sometimes, feeling sad and disappointed. I keep thinking of how many eggs I wasted while there are people starving out there :(

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  17. wow! your cake looks soft and fluffy it must be yummy the cake tok jadi I .usually slice it and bake it 'it will be nice and crispy.What is steam bake?Can you let me know ? any way now I am busy going through the website because of the coming elections and also listening to the ceramah very interesting

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    1. Ee-Ee, check my Mango Yogurt Cottony Cake post. I have written something on steam bake there.

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  18. Ooooo...looks so fine and soft. Yet to try my hand at baking, so lazy to get down to it.

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    1. Arthur, when Melissa comes home for holidays, she can help you to bake this cake :)

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  19. Wow, Phong Hong! Your lovely cake is amazing, so fluffy, light as a 'feather'...so pretty with the pastel green of the pandan, I would love to have a slice of this yummy cake...just so droolworthy delicious!

    Glad to hear that you also have Windows 8. Not too many people have it yet, and I'm just fumbling around 'self teaching'...even had to connect it by myself...and never mind all the 'goof ups'. Good thing the PC tower is light, so I can easily take it to where I bought it and have the tech support team show me stuff on it. Will figure out the photo download soon, I hope! xo

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    1. Elisabeth, I salute you for being able to tinker with the computer yourself! I am totally hopeless :) You should try baking this cake sometime. I love it a lot and so do my family.

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  20. Aiyo phong hong, you are making me hungry at this time of the night.. you did great, don't beat yourself up. all cooks and chefs have their many disasters so they can improve. i've yet to bake chiffon cake, so i can be worst than you

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    1. Thank you, Shannon! Hah! Hah! Then you must bake the chiffon and make me feel better :)

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  21. Wow! What an amazing attempt. Well done and kudos! I don't think I will be able to make this cake as light and fluffy as yours. Have yet to make chiffon since I haven't been able to do much in the kitchen a lot lately. Will definitely give this recipe a try. We all love pandan in my family ;). Have a great week!

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    1. Hi Jo! I know you will be able to make a fab chiffon cake, so you ought to bake one soon :)

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  22. So soft and delicious looking, makes me wanna bake it. ;)

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    1. Yes, you should! It's a really amazing cake which everyone loves.

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  23. PH dear..honestly i m d worse baker when comes to baking..haha! looking to those so called disaster pic (mine even more disasterous i think..haha) make me realize that we could easily upset & feel disappointed but not giving up! keep up d +ve spirit yeahh.. :)

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    1. Hah! Hah! I had lots of disasters and funny looking cakes in my earlier attempts. Yeah, we must not give up hope!

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  24. Hi PH, i can totally identify w your baking disasters haha! Its ok la, there are much worse things in life, hor. Your pandan souffle looks good. Good job :)

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    1. Thanks, Esther! You are right, baking disaster is nothing compared to other worse things that could happen :)

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  25. Hi Phong Hong,
    This is a lovey pandan souffle cake.
    Can i have a piece please..look so good!!
    i am here to give PH jia you! jia you!!
    mui

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    1. Thank you, mui mui! You are so kind, so I will give you the whole cake :)

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  26. A perfectly baked cake! Looks very soft and fluffy! I'm glad that you had success after some adventures! Sometimes things just can't seem to get right! I can relate to that, had a few "adventures" in the kitchen myself!
    Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Joyce! I guess all those "exciting adventures" make us better cooks and bakers :)

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  27. hats off to your perfection dear..:)
    looks scrumptiously tasty..
    Tasty Appetite

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  28. Hi PH! I can't smell the pandan from here too! :D

    Seriously, the cake looks good and I'm sure it tasted good too, with or without the pandan essence! :D

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    1. Hah! Hah! Alvin, the cake tasted like "kay nui kueh" and was unbelievably soft. It is a cake that you won't stop at just one slice. If wife hasn't already baked this type of cakes, get her to do it. You and your kids will love this cake!

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  29. Hi PH! Just got here via Azie Kitchen. Nice blog you have and I will be sure to visit here often!

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    1. Thanks for coming by, Tina! I've peeped into your blog and I love what I see!

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  30. First time here. wow is the word i wanted to say by looking at this cake :) U rock !

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    1. Chitra, you are very generous with your compliments :) Thank you!

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  31. Hi! This is my first time here on your blog. All your food creation look so delicious. care to follow each other? I would be more than happy. Let me know.:)

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    1. Thank you, Melgie! I have already followed you :)

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  32. Oh well done!
    You did that nicely!
    Im definitely gonna try that!

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    1. Thank you, Joan! Do try as this is a cake that you will love :)

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  33. Lovely bake & looks so soft & fluffy with prefect texture! The color is so inving & yummy! I don't even dare to venture into baking this cake! But you've made, Bravo PH! ;)

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    1. Thank you, Kit! I am sure you can do it!

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  34. Yikes, I won't stay long until you give me your cake curse ;)
    This looks delicious! I'm glad it turned out great regardless!

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    1. Hah! Hah! Don't worry, Cathleen. The cake curse is not contagious :)

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  35. Third time lucky?

    Well at least two of the cakes are edible. Two out of three not bad percentage.

    Too bad the cake got stuck on the cooling rack and baking paper. I wonder could it be that we need to put greese the rack and paper with some butter?

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    1. This time it didn't stick to the baking paper. So I will use this method and hopefully it stays that way :)

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  36. Love ur cake . Amazed by ur baking skills
    http://www.followfoodiee.com/

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    1. Thank you! Actually I am not so skilled yet, still learning and still making mistakes :)

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  37. Noticed that you were very hard working baking cake huh, I believe you can do better and better ..nice combo!

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    1. Thanks, Sonia! I very "boh kam guan" when the cake tak jadi so I must do until success!

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  38. Hi Phong Hong, another lovely cake. Love the layering and colur, very tempting. I need 2 big slices,please! LOL

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    1. Amelia, two slices is not enough! You and I we have 4 slices each hah! hah!

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  39. Phong HOng, thanks for stopping by and joining in the cake extravaganza. Cheers

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    1. Thank you, Carole! It is a pleasure to join in the fun :)

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  40. Hi phonghong. I love your blog. Thanks for sharing. You turn me to good baker now. I used to make a hard n drop cake. Hehe. I tried your yogurt cake. It turns out so perfect that i couldnt believe i made it myself. Thanks *hug* you give very clear directions.

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    1. Hi there! Thank you for visiting and trying the cakes. I am glad to hear that your cake turned out well. Clap! Clap! Well done!

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