Pandan Chiffon Cake
This airy pandan chiffon cake blends fresh or frozen pandan leaf juice and rich coconut cream into a tender, springy sponge baked in an ungreased tube pan and cooled upside down.
Equipment
- 9 1/2- to 10-inch round angel food cake pan
- Food processor
- Fine-Mesh Sieve
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Thin-bladed metal spatula
Ingredients
- 120 g pandan leaves (frozen or fresh)
- 5 tablespoons water (71g)
- 1 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour (200g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 6 large egg yolks (84g to 99g), at room temperature
- 1/3 cup King Arthur Baker's Special Sugar* (63g)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (99g)
- 5 tablespoons coconut cream (75g), skimmed from the top of a can of unshaken coconut milk
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (270g) egg whites from about 8 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup King Arthur Baker's Special Sugar* (143g)
Instructions
- Set a rack in the oven’s lower third and heat to 350°F. Have an ungreased 9 1/2- to 10-inch round angel food cake pan ready for the finished batter.
Extracting Fragrant Pandan Liquid
- Rinse and trim fresh leaves to retain only the dark green portions, then snip them into 1-inch lengths and place them in a food processor with the water. Pre-trimmed frozen leaves need only cutting before processing.
- Process the leaves with the water until finely shredded. The mixture should look like tiny green clippings suspended in liquid.
- Collect the juice through a fine-mesh sieve, or squeeze the pulp in cheesecloth or a nut milk bag. Aim for about 90g of strained pandan liquid without coarse leaf pieces.
Mixing the Coconut-Pandan Yolk Batter
- Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and reserve. The dry mixture should look evenly combined and free of visible lumps.
- Beat the yolks with the 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. After about 2 minutes at medium-high speed, the mixture should look thick and pale yellow.
- Whisk the pandan liquid, vegetable oil, and coconut cream into the beaten yolks. Continue until the mixture has an even color and no separate oily patches.
- Incorporate the sifted dry mixture with the whisk, then set the batter aside. Stop once the flour has disappeared and the batter looks uniform.
Whipping Glossy Meringue & Gentle Folding
- Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in another large bowl at medium-high speed with a whisk attachment. Let the whites become foamy before adding sugar.
- Gradually feed in about half the meringue sugar while beating, reach soft peaks, then add the remaining sugar and continue whipping. The finished foam should hold stiff peaks with a glossy surface rather than looking dry or clumpy.
- Fold one-third of the meringue into the yolk batter, then gently incorporate the remaining meringue. The batter should stay airy, with no visible white ribbons.
- Transfer the batter to the ungreased pan and pass a toothpick or skewer through it. This breaks up large trapped bubbles that could leave holes in the crumb.
Two-Stage Baking, Inverted Cooling & Clean Release
- Bake for 35 minutes at 350°F, reduce the oven to 325°F, and continue for another 5 to 10 minutes. Check for a light-brown top, gentle spring-back, and a clean skewer from the center; surface cracks are normal.
- Take the cake out and immediately invert the pan over a bottle neck. Keep it upside down until completely cool so the delicate crumb remains supported.
- Release the cooled cake with a thin-bladed metal spatula between the sponge and pan, then turn it onto a serving plate. Work carefully around the contact surfaces to avoid pulling or tearing the crumb.
Notes
Pan tip: Always bake in an ungreased, uncoated aluminum angel food cake pan so the batter can cling to the sides as it rises, and keep the pan inverted until completely cool before releasing.
Meringue cue: Whip the stabilized egg whites with gradual sugar additions until glossy stiff peaks form, stopping before the foam turns dry or clumpy so it folds smoothly without deflating.
Ingredient tip: Do not shake the coconut milk can before opening; skim only the thick coconut cream from the top rather than using the thinner liquid underneath.
Pandan paste swap: When fresh or frozen leaves are unavailable, blend 1/2 teaspoon store-bought pandan paste with 5 tablespoons (75g) coconut milk and use it in place of the extracted pandan liquid for a brighter green sponge.
Storage: Wrap the completely cooled plain sponge well and store it at room temperature or in the refrigerator, keeping cream or fruit toppings separate until serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate based on common ingredients and serving sizes. Values may vary depending on brands, portions, and substitutions.