Pandan Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Previously, I had baked a pandan chiffon cake here adapted from Diana The Domestic Goddess Wannabe

As my big kids loved the pandan chiffon cake and the Topo Map Love cake,  I tried to incorporate them in 1 chiffon cake ... so glad that it turned out nice ^-^

Recipe source : Diana The Domestic Goddess Wannabe

Here's my slightly modified version as I've tweaked the recipe a little to make a portion with chocolate flavour and created 2 cocoa lines for this chiffon cake. I've also heeded the advice from my baking 师父 (master) to whip the meringue first to save the hassle of washing and cleaning dry my electric stand mixer 2 times.

Pandan Chocolate Chiffon Cake
(21cm tube pan)
Ingredients
For the batter:
80g Top Flour
6 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
40ml vegetable oil
70ml coconut milk
30ml homemade concentrated pandan extract + some juice

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (sift) for making chocolate batter
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder for the 2 lines

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

Method :
1) Separate the eggs into yolks and whites.(the size of my egg is 60g each with shell)

2) In a clean mixing bowl, whisk the cold egg whites and cream of tartar till foamy using the electric mixer. Gradually add in caster sugar in 3 separate additions and beat till stiff peak, formed into a firm meringue. Transfer to a big bowl and chill in the fridge.

3) In the same mixing bowl, cream together egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and thick using the electric mixer (about 3 - 4 minutes).  Add vegetable oil and continue beating. Once the oil has been incorporated, add coconut milk and pandan paste and mix well.

4) Next, add the sifted top flour and mix until just combined.

Scoop about 1/3 of the batter and sift in 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, mix well.

5) Divide the meringue into 2 portions: about 1/3 for cocoa mixture and the remaining for pandan mixture.

Gently fold meringue into the cocoa mixture with a spatula until it looks evenly mixed (no streaks of meringue).

Gently fold 1/2 of the meringue into the pandan mixture with a spatula. Fold the remaining meringue into the pandan mixture until it looks evenly mixed (no streaks of meringue).

6) Pour 1 layer of pandan mixture in an un-greased chiffon tube pan. Level it with a spatula. Evenly dust a thin layer of cocoa powder over the batter (about 1.5 tablespoons). Repeat the same for 2nd layer of pandan mixture. Lastly, pour in the cocoa batter, level it with spatula.

7) Gently tap the pan on the table top a few times to release trapped air bubbles.

8) Bake at the preheated oven 180°C for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature 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.

I covered a piece of loose foil over the pan in the last 15 mins of baking to avoid cake top being burnt too much.

I'm always "Yes !" and smiling whenever I see "no crack" on the
surface of my chiffon cake :D

9) 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.

10) Immediately invert the pan to cool completely before unmoulding the cake from the pan.

We love this so much ... fluffy soft with sweet fragrance of pandan and coconut complement to the bitter-sweet chocolate flavour :D

Enjoy ! Happy baking !

I'm joining Best Recipes for Everyone June 2015 Event Theme: Secret of Chiffon & Roll Cakes. 

Organized and hosted by Fion of XuanHom’s Mom Kitchen Diary