Pandan Chiffon Cake

I've always wanted to bake a very fragrant pandan chiffon cake with the sides nicely golden brown ... Well? ....I knew it ! Haiz ! Again ! This chiffon cake of mine didn't like to wear 'sarong' :(

Over the last weekend, I bought 1 big bundle of pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) to make some Nyonya kuehs. Anticipated that I would not be able to use all, decided to make the concentrated pandan extract (click here for the details by Wendy) to bake a pandan chiffon cake.

Look ! My homemade concentrated pandan extract 

Here's using the recipe adapted from  Diana The Domestic Goddess Wannabe.
Below incorporated few steps that I'm used to in baking chiffon cake.

Pandan Chiffon Cake
(21cm tube pan)
Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
40ml vegetable oil
2 tablespoons homemade concentrated pandan extract
70ml coconut milk
80g cake flour

For the meringue:
6 egg whites
80g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Instructions
1) Beat together egg yolks and caster sugar.

2) The mixture will turn a lighter shade after about 3-4 minutes of beating. Add vegetable oil and continue beating.
Once the oil has been incorporated, add coconut milk and pandan paste.

3) Add the sifted cake flour and mix until just combined. Set this aside.

4) In a dry clean mixing bowl, beat the cold egg whites and cream of tartar using electric mixer till foamy, add in caster sugar in 3 separate additions and beat till egg whites form a stiff peak.

5) Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk mixture with a spatula. Gently fold the remaining meringue into the egg yolk mixture in 2 batches until no streaks remain.

6) Pour batter into 21cm un-greased chiffon tube pan. Spread and smooth the batter evenly with a spatula. Bang the pan gently on a work surface several times to release the air bubbles trapped in the batter.

7) Bake at preheated oven 180°C for 15 minutes, lower down to 160°C, continue to bake for 45 minutes or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

If the top of the cake cracks or becomes too brown, place a sheet of aluminium foil over it and continue baking.
*I placed the aluminium foil over it at 25 minutes into baking when I saw the top was rather browned. In that split moment, I was quite hesitant to open the oven door actually.

8) When the pan was removed from the oven, I used the suggested technique to drop the pan at a height of 20~30cm onto a table top. This action helps to keep the springy texture of the cake when it is left to cool.

Glad that there's no crack and it rose pretty high too!

9) Immediately invert the pan and place it on a raised wire rack (or any other raised device) to cool completely before unmoulding the cake from the pan.

After I've popped the pan into the oven for baking, it's the usual washing routine and cleaning the mess in the kitchen. Hmm... I could smell the sweet fragrances of pandan and coconut ... it filled the kitchen with the most wonderful aroma.

The colour of this chiffon is pale green but full of pandan fragrant. Very fluffy soft and springy ("doi doi" as I was holding a slice!). And here's a slice for my morning brekkie ^-^! My girl liked it too ! 

BTW, I brought the rest of the chiffon cake to my office to treat some of my colleagues. They commented  "very nice, moist and fluffy soft and pandan fragrant". 
Hee .. hee.. glad that they gave thumbs up to this pandan chiffon cake ^-^!

Happy baking and have a great weekend!