Sometimes it’s kinda fun to walk into an Asian grocery store and pick up a random produce you haven’t seen or used before. It just opens up a whole world of flavors. At the store, sometimes different names are used instead of the common English word. So what I thought was some unknown leaf La Dua, was actually pandan, something I had tried before! Pandan is especially common in Southeast Asia and the flavor is as ubiquitous as vanilla in the western world. I still remember visiting relatives and trying Pandan Kaya Spread (a pandan flavored coconut jam) on toast and it was one of the best things. Plus, it’s a beautiful light green color with the perfect warm flavor that just melts in your mouth.
Anyway, I got my hands on some pandan and vaguely remember seeing pandan chiffon cakes in bakeries during my travels. So naturally, as a lover of cake, I decided one way to use pandan would be to create a pandan-coconut chiffon cake. The key was to bring out the pandan flavor and it’s natural green color.
This recipe takes a basic chiffon cake and adds puréed and sieved pandan juice. A quick egg white coconut frosting is the perfect sweet addition to the light chiffon cake. Every bite is simple joy. And honestly, I couldn’t stop at just one cupcake…or 2…well basically ya gotta try it!
Other ways to use pandan:
- Steamed with rice
- Bake or steam with white fish
- Coconut pudding
Pandan Coconut Chiffon Cupcakes
Ingredients
Pandan Chiffon
- 8 pandan leaves (6-8 in long)
- 2 Tbsp water
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup sugar, divided
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk (I used soy)
Coconut Frosting
- 1 egg white
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut, optional
Instructions
- Prepare Pandan: Wash and blend the pandan leaves with 2 Tbsp water using a food processor or blender. Strain and discard the solids.
- Pandan Chiffon Cake: Using an electric whisk, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until it is foamy and increasing in volume. Then slowly add in 1/4 cup sugar and continue whisking for a few minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt).
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
- In a third bowl, whisk the wet ingredients (egg yolks, 1/2 c sugar, oil, vanilla) until pale yellow. Mix in the pandan juice.
- Alternatively add in 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of milk to the wet ingredients, and continue adding the batches and whisking until well incorporated.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in the egg whites. This is what makes the cake light, so if in doubt, under mix. It's okay to have streaks of white and green.
- Spoon cake batter into a cupcake pan, ungreased. Bake for 20 minutes. Then increase oven temperature to 350ºF and continue baking for about another 5 min, or until cupcakes turn golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on a cooling rack. Use a small spatula to help remove the cupcakes from the pan. The cakes will be green inside even if the outside is golden.
- Coconut Frosting: While the cake bakes, make the frosting. Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar on the top half of a double boiler on low heat.
- Using an electric whisk, beat the egg mixture until it begins to thicken. Then add in vanilla extract and continue whisking on med-high till stiff peaks form. Remove from heat and stir in coconut. Let it cool to about room temperature before use.
- Once the cakes and frosting has cooled to room temperature, frost each cupcake and enjoy!
Notes
- Pandan can be found in many Asian grocery stores, and you can also use frozen pandan, thaw before use
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