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.