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Screwpine (Pandan) Chiffon Cake



I bake pandan chiffon all the time that i have lost count lol.. well not to this one tho... this is the first time that i've ever baked pandan chiffon using fresh screwpine aka pandan leaves.. was intrigued to try and do the squeezing myself after reading abt it at Anie's blog.. thought of using mortar and pestle but was too lazy to do it.. decided to just blend it instead.. i used more than 25pcs of pandan leaves and 6 tbsp of water to get an almost full 1/2 cup.. added a little coconut cream to fill up my cup.. one thing for sure.. i am ditching my pandan paste fm now on! ahaks


Pandan (Screwpine) Chiffon Cake

For the 1/2 cup pandan leaf juice:
10-12 pieces pandan leaves * - i used 25pcs
3-4 tablespoons water - i used 6 tbsp
2 tablespoons coconut milk (optional) **

For the flour batter:
180 grams self-rising flour
100 grams castor sugar
8 egg yolks
6 tablespoon corn oil - i used canola oil
1/4 tablespoon baking of soda - i used 1/4 tsp

For the meringue:
8 egg whites
100gm castor sugar
1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar - i used 1/2 tsp



Method
Pre-heat oven to 170°C and position a wire rack at the lower third rack. Prepare a clean 25cm chiffon cake tin, do not grease.

Wash and cut the spears of pandan leaves into ½ inch pieces. Place into a blender and add 3 tablespoons of the water. Blend to form a thick paste, add another tablespoon of water if it is difficult to blend. If you have a mortar and pestle, pounding the leaves will be easier and less water will be required. Remove and squeeze out all the liquid from the paste through a fine strainer. You should be able to yield close to ½ cup of liquid. To top up and make exactly ½ cup, you can either add some coconut milk, which will go nicely with the pandan flavor, or add more water.

Sift the flour and baking soda into a small bowl. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the corn oil to form an emulsion. Add the pandan leaf juice or pandan leaf juice plus coconut milk mixture. Mix well before adding the sugar and whisk till sugar has melted. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk well into a smooth batter, there should be no lumps. Set aside.

On high speed of a stand or hand held mixer, whisk together the egg whites and cream of tartar. Start adding the sugar once the egg whites begin to foam, gradually in 3 additions. Beat till the meringue is smooth and glossy, with stiff peaks. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites.

Immediately stir in approximately 1/3 of the meringue into the flour batter. With a flexible rubber or silicon spatula, fold in the meringue gently and mix well. Once a roughly homogeneous mixture is achieved, add the rest of the meringue and repeat the gentle, light-handed folding process till the cake batter is well combined. Scoop from the bottom of the bowl to ensure no meringue or flour batter is left unmixed. Do not beat or overwork the batter as this will knock out the air you've put into the meringue.

Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin. Using your spatula, dip it into the batter right to the bottom and make circles around the tin twice. This is to remove any large air bubbles possibly trapped while pouring in the cake batter.

Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 45 to 50 minutes or until cake is done. The cake tester should come out clean. Don't fret if the top of your cake cracks a little, this is normal.

Release the cake by running a sharp, thin knife along the sides of the cake tin and subsequently the bottom of the tube. The cake is meant to be served upside down as it is heavier on the top.

Cake keeps well chilled in an airtight container or cling wrapped up to five days (three if using coconut milk).

Source: Pickyin
Recipe is from Pickyin mother's friend, original source unknown, makes a 25cm 5-inches tall cake.

Below are PickYin notes that were copied from her blog. Tks!.

Notes: I didn't have any self raising flour as I don't often bake with it so I made my own by using 180 grams all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons baking powder and a ¼ teaspoon salt, based loosely on the conversion method at Deb's Smitten Kitchen. This recipe has over 80% of flour over liquid ratio so it is a very stable chiffon. It is kept soft and moist with the equal amount of egg yolks used as opposed to the whites.

I realized after speaking to a few friends wanting to make this cake that many do not own a 25cm bundt or angel food cake tin. There are two ways you can handle this situation without getting a bigger tin. The first is to make the entire recipe, pour enough batter into ¾ of your tin and bake the rest in lined muffin tin(s) for about 30 minutes. The muffin-sized cakes will be more dense but will still be great. Alternatively use the following tin size-number of eggs conversion to modify the recipe.

14cm tin - 1 egg
17cm tin - 2 eggs
21cm tin - 4 eggs
23cm tin - 6 eggs
25cm tin - 8 eggs

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your chiffon tin... Where do you get it? Thanks for sharing Rima:)
Chan

Mel said...

Me too, I've baked lots of chiffon cake before but yet to bake pandan chiffon cake. Recently suddenly lots of post of pandan chiffon cake lately, hmmm, I wonder why? Screwpine leaves fever? How's your packing up lately? I 'salute' you as you still find time to bake. Can't leave without a cake a day? LOL!!

Rima said...

Chan
I got it fm Vietnam.. Sweet right? Hehe

Rima said...

Mel
One thing for sure.. No after taste n the colour is natural.. I like.. Didn't know it's the in thing now.. I baked it out of curiosity lol..

Yeah.. Almost done... All floors settled except basement cos that is where my baking pantry is.. Will do that this wkend or next week cos I still wanna bake lol

MamaFaMi said...

Salaam Rima...

Mama masih lagi belum menemukan kerajinan untuk memblend dan memerah jus pandan asli. Entah bila la nak datang aura rajin tu... tak tahu kat mana menyoroknya... hehehe..

KG said...

rima, think i must make itu cake chiffon juigak sooner or later, sbb di kg last weekend my kids suka! itu hairi hancem lah!

Hesti HH. said...

Salam Kak Rima,

Cantik sekali chiffonnya kak. Dan sudah pasti wangi dan rasanya jauh lebih enak menggunakan pandan yang asli kan kak...

Unknown said...

wanna try this too...kak rima, your chiffon is soooo menggoda...(or issit your anak teruna?) hehehe...

Alice said...

wow Rima, such a nice color knowing no paste used :)

Shasha Mohamed said...

Thats very good of u to change to pandan leaves from pandan flavoring.

Keep up the good job!! ;)

Yat Maria said...

Babe

U can call me if you need help packing the basement stuff..I can tolong u, no problemos..hehe..jangan nanti tu kotak salah hantar rumah sudah...muahhahaa..5 boxes yr new place, the remaining 55 go to BR..kahkahkah..eh amacam I taw ada 60 boxes eh? kwang5x

Unknown said...

HI Rima,
I love to check ur blog even before i became a blogger....U have a fantastic blog on cakes especially....I have never baked a chiffon cake before...and seeing ur pandan chiffon here makes me to have the urge to try....I'll bookmark this and for sure will try some day...tq for sharing!!

Nuqman Harris Sharmizi said...

salam sis rima..i baked this pandan chiffon cake yesterday,while lunch break...using the whole recipe & a new 21cm chiffon loose pan, it turned out perfect.once cooled, i released the cake and sliced it..the texture goes same with urs except the color...not too green..its more natural cos i didnt add any color paste..took a bite..and it's taste so so yummeh...hmm..i ate 2 slices on the spot and then sliced all of them. Packed some for cleaners at my office and packed the rest to bring to my hubby's village cos we planned to go back to his kampung after office hours. I plan to bake it again for upcoming AidilAdha Eid for my mom..it's worth of buying new item..huhu..no regret!!

PickYin said...

Thanks for the shout out! I've since improved the recipe by using cake/top flour and leaving out the leavening agents and cream of tartar. This yields a finer crumbed cake, better texture.

About Me

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Hi.. I am a SAHM to 2 kiddoes..19yr old boy n 2 year old girl.. met my Austrian hubby here in Singapore and hv been living here all my life... my love for baking started when i was 6mths preggie to my daughter, Sonia... my addiction to baking has not stop eversince.. I hope to learn as much as i can abt baking and decorating and then share it with u along the way..