Flour and egg cake, two of the ingredients of pandan cake.
Originally from Malaysia, pandan cake is a chiffon-style cake flavored with pandan leaves. Fluffy and usually made in a tube pan, pandan cake is often mint green in color due to the presence of pandan. This cake is popular in many regions of Asia and Indonesia.
Like chiffon cakes, pandan cakes often use egg whites and yolks. Although the whole egg is used, each egg still needs to be separated. In addition to eggs, sugar and cream of tartar or chemical yeast are often used. Cake flour is also a necessary ingredient.
Pandan leaves are from a backbone.
The main ingredient in this cake, however, is pandan. The flavoring can be obtained from the leaves themselves or from pandan extract, which is generally more widely available in some parts of the world. Both the extract and the leaves are often combined with coconut milk during baking, and some versions of pandan cake may add grated coconut to the cake frosting to accentuate the coconut flavor as well.
Shredded coconut can be added to a pandan cake topping.
To make a pandan cake, a meringue is first created. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until the mixture begins to stiffen. The sugar is then gradually added and the mixture is whisked to blend each serving. After stiff peaks form, the meringue can be set aside.
The other ingredients are combined in a separate container. If pandan leaves are used, they are tied into a knot and cooked in coconut milk. The leaves are then removed and the pandan-flavored milk is quickly poured into an ice bath. Once cooled, the milk and pandan mixture can be combined with the flour, baking soda and egg yolks. Pandan extract is simply poured into the mix without any additional preparation, but even if the extract is used, coconut milk is often added to this cake.
After both mixtures are complete, the flour mixture is incorporated into the meringue in small portions. It is important to fold to combine, rather than just stir, to retain the air content of the dough created by the meringue. This excess air is necessary to ensure that the finished cake is light and fluffy.
The finished dough is then placed in a tubular shape or circular cake pans. The molds should be greased with butter and floured before adding the dough. If using a tube pan, the cake should be cooled by suspending the pan upside down in its center hole once the cake is baked. While a pandan cake is usually icing-free, a meringue frosting may occasionally be used.