Friday 7 April 2017

Pandan Cotton Cake


If feels like it's been ages since I baked. But I seem to be gaining momentum lately and my baking mojo is back. But I am not keen to try new recipes, preferring to revisit old ones.


This is the first time that I am using natural pandan in my cake batter. In the past, I used ready made pandan extract or pandan paste. 


This time I took the trouble to make my own pandan extract by using my Alpha Juicer.

Archive photo.
I used more than 20 blades of pandan leaves from my garden and got myself some concentrated pandan juice. It was a bit of a hassle to set up the juicer (it is also very heavy) and washing it later but it was worth the trouble.


This cake is a perennial favorite because the texture is unbelievably moist and light. It literally melts in your mouth and you will find yourself eating many many slices.

My cake shrank quite a bit because I did not invert the cake. Straight from the oven, I just let it cool on the rack. It still has that nice spongy cottony texture, so it was not a major issue. For better presentation (taller cake), it is advisable to invert the cake.

This cake has to be steam baked and this is how I did it (photos from an old post) :

Pour hot water in a tray and place a rack over it.
Put the cake pan over the rack and bake the cake.
Pandan Cotton Cake
Recipe source : Adapted from here

Egg Yolk Batter :
- 1 whole egg
- 5 egg yolks
- 65ml extra virgin coconut oil
- 80ml coconut milk
- 20ml pandan juice + some green coloring to enhance color
- 65g flour (sifted)

Egg White Batter 
- 5 egg whites
- 75g caster sugar

Method :

Egg Yolk Batter
1. In a mixing bowl, beat whole egg, egg yolks, coconut oil, coconut milk and pandan juice until well combined.
2. Sift flour a little at a time and fold to mix evenly.
3. If you find the batter lumpy, sift the batter. Set aside.

Egg White Batter
1. Using a hand mixer, beat egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks.

To complete the cake batter :
1. Take 1/3 of the egg white batter and stir into the egg yolk mixture until well mixed. 
2. Pour the egg yolk batter into the remaining egg white batter and fold the batter together (I used my bare hand) until evenly combined.
3. Pour batter into a line 9" square pan and tap the pan gently to remove air bubble.
4. Steam bake in the oven at 140C for 55 minutes until the top of the cake is browned and dry to the touch.

37 comments:

  1. Cake...cake...cake!!! I want!!! :D

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  2. i can eat your whole pandan cake in one sitting! looks so soft and fluffy! so tasty! did you eat it all in one sitting?

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    1. Oh no! hah..hah... I shared it. I can eat the whole cake in 2 sittings :)

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  3. All the sudden i rasa nk try buat this cake, coz its look sooo nice, so good, the method pun tak susah, the bahan pun tak susah to find.
    Wait, i screen shot dululah, incase kalo betul i nak buat i dah ada resepinya.

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  4. Look so soft and fluffy. I would like it.

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  5. I can smell the cake, slurps

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  6. I am not sure what pandan is๐Ÿ˜„But the cake looks delicious ๐Ÿ˜„

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  7. I see the words pandan and cotton...and I'm sold! Any cake that resembles some type of sponge cake is my fav. But I didn't know you have to invert the cake when taken out from the oven. That means to let the cake cool upside down, right? I wonder how those Taiwan original cake can get such a smooth finish top. By the way, your juicer looks like some big-ass complicated contraption...haha! :D

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    1. Yes, the cake is cooled upside down, just like chiffon cake. I reckon the Taiwan sponge cake contains more flour and therefore is more stable. So the top does not shrink too much and wrinkle, my theory hah..hah.. Oh yes, my juicer is one big ass juicer which sleeps in the cupboard most of the time >.<

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  8. Hi Phong Hong, this one looks better with the natural pandan colour. Must be very fragrant. I tried with pandan paste before but didn't like the colour and aroma. Seems superficial.

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    1. Thanks, Kimmy :) I also tried pandan paste and the color was quite awful. Nothing beats the aroma from natural pandan.

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  9. Hi Phong Hong
    I see that your baking mojo is back :)
    Fluffy cottony pandan fragrance cake you have baked. Must be so enjoying!

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    1. Hi Karen! Yes, but dunno will last how long hah..hah..

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  10. I'm not particularly a fan of cake, but your pandan green numbers look nicely light and airy.

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    1. I find it hard to imagine not being a fan of cake :D

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  11. Anything with pandan, i like, hehe...

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  12. Looks so good, PH... you know what, I just baked a lemon butter cake... and it flopped.. there are holes in between and the flour is like sticky or should I say mushy... I wonder why... maybe I added the lemon juice though the recipe didn't mention that.. hahaa... I murdered the recipe.. :)

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    1. Oh dear, don't worry, baking mishaps do happen. Maybe your batter was too wet? I have a lemon butter cake recipe that works, maybe you wanna try? hah..hah...

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  13. It was your 'Cake Week' or 'Baking Week' last week huh? Hahaha!

    It looks good and yummy, PH! My air liur menitis already... ^_^ But, it's normal whenever I visit your blog. Do you ever menitis air liur whenever you visit my blog? Tak pernahkan... I think I should do something just to make you feel the same experience menitis air liurlah!

    What to bake huh? Takkan kek kentang pulak! Hahaha!

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    1. Yes, MD, my baking mood came back. But kejap aje because after that the mood was gone hah..hah...

      I love kentang, so you can activate my air liur by showing me your kentang LOL!

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  14. I love this pandan cake. Even the foreigners loved them cos they don't grow pandans in their country.

    I must be frank that the green plate is not suitable for green cakes. Maybe a black plate would be nice! Excellent photography must have contrasting blend of colours and unique props. Just my 2 cents.

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    1. Point noted TM. Thanks for your honest critique :)

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  15. I bet it smells wonderful & the texture looks really nice fluffy too.
    Kristy

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  16. I noticed kalau buat cake yg spongy mcm ni, resepi dia mesti asingkan telur putih dgn yolk kan LL....
    Berapa org dlm rumah u yeh LL? I tengok rajin betul u masak...

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    1. Ya, Hainom. Kaedah macam ni, kek sangat gebu. Kita berdua aje tapi kuat makan. hah..hahh..

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  17. Hi, for the egg whites don’t you need cream of tartar? The reference post has cream of tartar.

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