Pandan Chiffon Cake

I absolutely love to cook and bake with pandan leaves. There is something intoxicating about the smell of pandan wafting through the kitchen as it cooks.  Although not very common here in Queensland, it is an item that is used throughout many traditional Malaysian recipes, adding a delicate sweet flavour to the dish.  I have seen friends and relatives in Malaysia using pandan leaves tied in a knot to use as an air freshener for their homes or car.  Personally, I think that would just make me hungry for pandan all the time!


Chiffon cake is a beautifully light, fluffy, cottony soft cake, very similar to sponge cake, but using oil instead of butter.  I would buy a slice of this deliciously fragrant cake for morning tea at school.  Now that I am an adult, I can bake these for morning tea and have a piece warm out of the oven with a cup of kopi-o (I am yet to find someone who doesn't follow the philosophy of coffee and cake as a match made in heaven!). 

 Ingredients:

6 eggs (separated)

1 3/4 cups of self-raising flour, sifted

1 cup of coconut milk

10 pandan leaves (if you do not have fresh pandan, you can you 1 teaspoon of pandan essence)

1 1/4 cups of sugar (separated into 1 cup and 1/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.

In an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, cream of tartar and 1 cup of sugar until light and stiff.

While whisking egg white mixture, blend the pandan leaves together with the coconut milk in a food processor. Process until all the leaves are finely ground. Strain the mixture using a sieve, ensuring that you squeeze as much liquid as you can from the leaves.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolk and remaining sugar till creamy and light. Add the pandan juice and oil. Lastly fold in the flour and mix well. Make sure that the flour is well incorporated but do not overmix.

Gently fold in the meringue mixture into the egg yolk mixture a little at a time until all incorporated.

Pour the batter into a tube pan, a bundt pan or into little cupcake cases.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until cake is cooked or 30 minutes if you are baking as cupcakes. Test by inserting a skewer into the middle of the cake. A clean skewer indicates that the cake is ready.

Once out of the oven, invert the pan and let it cool completely before you remove it from the pan.

Cake in the traditional tube pan

This cake is simple, easy to make, and melt in your mouth deliciousness.  Just a word of warning though, this cake is so light and airy, that you can easily have 4 slices without realizing! There has been times where a whole cake disappears within a day.... just saying... Happy baking!