Remember the pandan chiffon cake high I was riding on? It was so good a crack that for some insane reason, I went on to create the Lychee Chiffon Cake with Matcha Whipped Cream Frosting. Yes, I am ‘a leetle beet’ crazy. But hey, those days were good. I revelled in the chiffon experiments, gently cradling my mixing bowl as I folded beautifully whipped egg whites into the rest of the cake batter. I also enjoyed inhaling the one-of-a-kind perfume that wafted under my nose as I squatted in front of my humble oven, watching the chiffon rise up, up and away. And my favourite part? Getting swept up in big bear hugs when my pandan-cake-loving husband declared the chiffon a success! Yes, one of the surefire ways to a man’s heart (and big bear hugs) is through his stomach, and I particularly enjoy making M his favourite treats.
It is this love and love alone that made me experiment with yet another pandan chiffon cake recipe. This time, I decided to have a little fun, and combined the very best of both chiffon recipes I tried. You see, with the first pandan chiffon cake I made, the cake was a teeny bit chewy and I wished that it was a little more tender. Then with the lychee chiffon, it was a beautifully soft cake alright, but I didn’t like the way it cringed ever so slightly when I went in with the knife. I was determined to get the chiffon right, and what better way than to be fuelled by M’s insatiable appetite for pandan chiffon?….
……Alright alright, let’s cut the romantic crap. I’m ‘fessing up here. Yes I wanted to perfect the recipe for M, but really, I made my best chiffon yet for a special occasion too. Two dear friends had kindly invited us over to their place for a (REALLY FABULOUS, if I might add) home-cooked meal. As they aren’t Singaporeans or Malaysians, I thought that they might not know what pandan chiffon cake is, and I really, really wanted to induct them into the pandan-loving club. It turned out that one of them have tasted pandan cake before and she was a convert already. That made me pee in my pants a little, because then I was hard-pressed to wow them!
Now, I was really nervous when it was time to cut the chiffon cake at their place. There were two things that I hoped for. I wanted the cake to stand tall and proud even after cutting it, and I wanted the cake to be soft, tender and beautifully light when bitten into. Luckily for me, my pandan chiffon didn’t let the meal down. Phew! My hosts loved it and M was duly impressed. I was most happy with it too, and I definitely think that this recipe is a keeper.
Here’s the recipe:
Pandan Chiffon Cake
(for a 21cm chiffon cake tube pan)
Group A:
70g plain flour
20g corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Group B:
4 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
Group C:
80ml coconut milk
60ml sunflower oil
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1/2 teaspoon pandan essence
1/2 teaspoon green food colouring
Group D:
5 egg whites
50g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
10g rice flour
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
2. Sift ingredients in A together, twice. Set aside.
3. Using ingredients in D, beat egg whites till frothy, add cream of tartar and beat to combine until the mixture turns a little more opaque than the frothy state. Meanwhile, combine the caster sugar and rice flour in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of this mixture to the egg white mixture, and beat till you get soft peaks. Then add the remaining caster sugar-rice flour mixture gradually and beat till stiff peaks form. Set aside.
4. Using the ingredients in B, beat the egg yolks and sugar together till volume triples and mixture turns pale. Meanwhile, combine ingredients from C in a bowl. Beat in the combined ingredients from C to the egg yolk mixture. Next, add the flour mixture from Step 2 and beat well to combine.
5. Fold 1/3 of the meringue (from Step 3) to the batter from Step 4. Then gently fold in the remaining meringue until well-incorporated.
6. Pour the batter into the chiffon cake tube pan, use one chopstick to swirl round the batter to get rid of some bubbles. Smooth out the surface with a spatula to remove the ripples created by the chopstick.
7. Bake the cake at 160 degrees Celsius for 16 min, then turn the temperature down to 150 degrees Celsius and bake for 29 min. The times and temperatures may differ, depending on the oven.
8. Remove the cake pan from the oven and invert it immediately. Let stand to cool.
9. Unmould the cake when it is completely cooled, by running a knife along the surfaces that the cake makes contact with the pan (including the tube itself).
I hope you enjoyed this post!
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Don’t forget to join me on my journey in making the perfect chiffon cake. My first instalment was on the pandan chiffon cake, check it out here! Or hop over to have a look at my lychee chiffon cake!
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I have never heard of pandan chiffon cake but this looks yummy. It definitely looks light like you stated and I can’t wait to try this out. Nice post.
Babygirl: I hope you like this recipe!
woah i want to do this recipe but can’t find cream of tartar around here! I think that’s one of the reasons why my chiffon collapses to 2/3 its original volume after cooling down
beidisg: Oh man, I’m surprised you can’t find cream of tartar in Sweden! There should be!
Your cake is gorgeous!!!
I love how you used coconut milk in this!! 
Such a nice touch! 
xoxo
Kathleen
katshealthcorner: Thank you! I can’t take credit for the coconut milk though…all pandan chiffon recipes have them =).
Well done! I love your creative streak with this Pandan Chiffon Cake. Reminds me about your creative streak with the Macarons. Beautiful pictures as always!
foodtable: thank you!
I’m not exaggerating when I say this – your pandan cake has changed my life! I’m absolutely addicted to it now and it has also started me learning to bake (although I tried doing a sponge cake this morning and it failed! Haha). Thank you so much Rachel x
Shirley: I’m so glad to change your life with a pandan cake! Continue baking, Shirley, it’s fun! Welcome to the club!! x
I love making pandan chiffon cakes! Yours looks so beautiful.
This looks amazing! I love to borrow this recipe and make a peach version instead.
Mable: That sounds amazing!
i need to bake this! thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.
I have made pandan chiffon cake several times and it never looks this good!! I have to try your recipe! quick question, the last few attempts I tried a very thick coconut milk and it definately made a difference-it was alot more moist. Is your coconut milk thick as well? also when you immediately invert it, do you do this on a rack or a plate?? I’m thinking putting it on a rack would make it fall out of the pan??
baker in training: I don’t think mine was very thick, it was normal coconut milk I used. It sounds like you used coconut cream. You can temper the moisture too using oil. I invert it on a clean working surface, that’s because my chiffon cake tin stands on its little feet (like a tripod) when inverted. Chiffon cake tins should come with those feet. The cake wouldn’t fall out of the tin as the batter would have clung to the centre and sides of the tin, it will only fall out if you’ve unmoulded the cake by running a knife through the ‘clung’ edges before you invert the cake, if you know what I mean. Hope this helps!
Hi, I’m trying to find a good chiffon cake recipe and i chanced upon your blog!:)
I was looking thru the ingredients list and i’m wondering, may i know what is the rice flour in Group D for? It looks like a meringue recipe so what is the rice flour for? I usually only use cream of tartar to stabilise the egg whites and then add sugar to it. Never come across rice flour yet, so I would like to know how it helps in the baking process
I don’t have rice flour at home, so may i omit it? if not, where do i purchase it? I don’t want to buy a big pack as I don’t know how to use it apart from this chiffon cake recipe. Could you advice? Thanks!
cheers,
Tabby
Tabby: Thanks for stopping by! I am not entirely sure but I reckon it’s to make for a fluffier meringue. I have omitted it from other chiffon recipes, but not from this. I don’t think it will affect the chiffon in big ways, I have made chiffons without rice flour in the meringue, and they turn out good too. Whether or not the rice flour makes a subtle difference between the (good) chiffons I made in the past and this one (my best so far), I’m not sure. I’m based in London and for me rice flour can be bought in Asian stores. I often use it to make chwee kueh, for which you will need large quantities, so I always manage to finish my bag. If you’re based in Singapore, I’m not really sure where, but I’m sure it is way more accessible than in London. Hope this helps!
I used your recipe last night and tried it for a second time today (shortened my baking time: my oven may be warmer/drier than yours), and got my version of “Pandan chiffon cake…my best yet”! Thanks darling now i get to share this with my Swedish neighbours and homesick Asian friends!
beidi: Glad you got your version! Wow, and I thought my oven was warmer and drier than normal…because of the fan assistance, I find that my cakes bake more quickly than in other ovens.
Oh yes, I substituted rice flour for glutinous rice flour (can’t get regular rice flour here) and it was okay.
beidi: Interesting! Did it make the cake more stretchy? The purpose of the rice flour is to make the chiffon fluffier
hi! so glad tt i came across your recipe while looking for pandan chiffon cake recipes!
is it possible to omit the rice flour and cream of tartar? cos those ingredients wont be used often and im afraid it’ll expire w alot of them left ):
and also, the pan you used, is it those that the pan can be separated into 2 parts? can i use the normal ones tt’re similar to bundt cake pans?
thanks! (:
Jaime: I reckon the rice flour may be omitted with minimal effect (this is my hunch but I have not tried the recipe without rice flour) but cream of tartar stabilises the egg whites, and is crucial to making a good meringue here which lends a fluffy texture to the chiffon. You may omit it but you will need to be extra gentle when folding the meringue into the cake batter to prevent loss of too much air.
I used the cake tin that can be separated, this makes for easier unmoulding.
very nice cake!!! love it! cheers from Athens!
Vanessa: Thanks!