Pandan Chiffon Cake

Pandan chiffon cake is soft, fluffy, moist and fragrant. In this recipe, the addition of coconut milk enhances its flavour. The fragrance and colour of the cake come from the pandan leaves extract.

4.71 stars

Preparation 30 mins
Cooking 60 mins

Dessert

班蘭戚風蛋糕, Pandan cake, Kek Pandan Chiffon,

Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Bruneian

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Nutrition per Serving

144 kcal
14 g
9 g
3 g


Pandan chiffon cake is like a dream cake due to its fluffiness, softness and moistness. The fragrance of the cake comes from the extract of pandan leaves which is also known as screw pine leaves.

This recipe offers a step by step guide with all the tips needed to come up with the perfect pandan chiffon cake.

How does pandan leaves taste like?

Pandan leaves is quite neutral in taste and has a grassy note because it is after all, a type of perennial grass. It is mainly used for its colour and aroma.

Can pandan leaves be substituted?

Unfortunately, pandan leaves cannot be replaced as it provides a very special aroma.

Where to buy pandan leaves or pandan extract?

Frozen or fresh pandan leaves are sold at Asian grocers. Otherwise, bottled pandan extract can also be found in Asian grocers. They are normally displayed along with the colouring and other extracts for baking/cooking.

Alternately, of course, you may replace it with orange juice, lemon juice, vanilla, coffee or any flavour of your preference.

Is baking powder needed?

No. If you do not want to use baking powder when making chiffon cake, you may omit it. Baking powder is recommended to ensure that the cake rises in case the other steps were not done properly.

To prevent a dense chiffon cake

Chiffon cakes are loved for its airiness. Besides using the help of baking powder, you need to ensure each step is done very carefully. However, making a perfect chiffon cake is very tricky because it depends on the eggs and how you mix the ingredients together.

  1. Egg whites must be fully beaten until stiff. However, they shouldn't be over worked as the cake might not rise. Egg whites which are over worked will not form a stiff peak. This will result in a flat and dense cake.

  2. Sugar helps to stiffen the egg whites. It's recommended to use fine sugar which is recommended for baking in this recipe as it is important for the sugar to dissolve, helping to create the shine and stiffness that is needed for a perfect chiffon cake.

  3. Egg yolks on the other hand must be beaten to incorporate air. Beat till the colour of the yolk turns pale.

  4. When combining the mixture as shown in step 6, carefully fold the batter and not lose the air in the egg whites.

Each step needs to be adhered to closely. Take time to watch the video above to understand the steps.

What is the difference between a sponge cake and a chiffon cake?

Chiffon cake is generally more airy compared to sponge cake. It is also more moist because of the oil used in the recipe.

Does the pan require greasing?

No, the cake pan does not need to be greased because the batter needs to cling onto the pan to rise.

How to store chiffon cake?

Once the cake has cooled, store it in an air-tight container. It should keep well for three days. However, I bet that it would be finished within a day or at the very most, two!


Ingredients

Servings:  
100 ml
coconut milk
2 tbsp
water
15
pandan leaves
5
egg yolk(s)
80 g
sugar
70 ml
coconut oil
1 tsp
baking powder
100 g
cake flour
5
egg white(s)
1⁄2 tsp
white vinegar
1⁄2 tsp
salt

Steps to Prepare

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 1

Step 1 of 8

Blend the pandan leaves with 2 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk. Sieve the blended pandan leaves to obtain the extract. Set aside.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 2

Step 2 of 8

    • 5 egg yolk(s)
    • 20 g sugar

Beat egg yolks until the colour lightens. Add sugar. Continue beating until mixture is even and creamy.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 3

Step 3 of 8

    • 70 ml coconut oil
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 100 g cake flour

Add oil, the rest of the coconut milk and pandan leaves extract. Mix well. Add sifted baking powder and cake flour into the mixture.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 4

Step 4 of 8

    • 5 egg white(s)
    • 60 g sugar
    • 1⁄2 tsp white vinegar

To prepare meringue, add sugar to egg whites a little at a time. Beat at high speed until it is foamy. Once it begins to foam, add vinegar.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 5

Step 5 of 8

    • 1⁄2 tsp salt

Continue beating the egg whites at medium speed. Add salt too. Beat the egg whites mixture until stiff. Do not overbeat.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 6

Step 6 of 8

Add the meringue into the batter in batches. Fold in till batter and meringue are mixed thoroughly.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 7

Step 7 of 8

Slowly pour the batter into a mould (ca. 18-22cm) while tilting the mixing bowl to get rid of air bubbles. Use a rubber spatula or chopstick to quickly run through the batter to pop air bubbles.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Step 8

Step 8 of 8

Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour or until golden brown. Once brought out of the oven, place it upside down until it cools to room temperature.

Published: April 2, 2016


33 Discussions

Eileen
4 years ago

Eileen

Hi Grace, today I bake this pandan chiffon cake. Is nice & not too sweet. Only the colour not so green as yours. May I know how much pandan juice u extracted from the pandan leave?

Eileen
4 years ago

Eileen

Hi Grace, what is the best chiffon cake mould size for this recipe?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Anywhere between 18-22cm ;)

Mae
4 years ago

Mae

Hi I had some problems with the cake. On the outside it looked fine and when I removed it from the mould, it seemed to have a thin layer of a few milimeters that was light and spongy but the rest inside more resembled a kueh and it seemed to have lost air. Could it be possible that I didn't * beat the egg whites stiff enough (I put in the touch of vinegar and beat till fairly stiff) *fold the egg whites in too much *too much coconut oil. *oven temperature not constant enough? * I didn't pay attention and lightly greased the mould with a touch of oil...I would post a pic here but apparently there is no option for me to do so...

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hi Mae, when it comes to chiffon cake, there are so many reasons that may cause it to be dense. It's so fussy! We listed many factors above. From your explanation, it does sound like the egg whites are fine. Greasing the mould is a big no-no because the batter needs to climb to rise. Another reason could be over mixing the egg whites into the batter, cause it to loose its air. Finally, it could also be the oven temperature. You may want to invest in an oven thermometer so you know the exact internal temperature and see if the oven temperature could have affected the cake.

Joyce
4 years ago

Joyce

I am somewhat confused with the coconut part. If i’m using 100ml for the extract what’s the amount of “the rest”?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

In step 1, you will only need 2 tablespoons out of the 100ml coconut milk and 2 tablespoons of water to make pandan extract. The rest is what is left behind after using 2 tablespoons i.e. about 70ml

Joyce
4 years ago

Joyce

Ok thanks

Kathleen
4 years ago

Kathleen

Can I replace coconut milk with coconut cream?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

No. Coconut cream is too thick.

Miss Happi
4 years ago

Miss Happi

Hi - I followed the recipe the first time and fantastic - except the cake wasn’t green enough but could taste the pandan flavour. I then tried the same recipe and added 1/4 teaspoon pandan extract as well as 70ml coconut milk and 30ml coconut cream (cuz I ran out of coconut milk) - it tasted not great - not sure how to explain the taste but it was kinda sourish, leaves a bad taste in mouth kind of taste? Is it because I added too much pandan extract or because of the coconut cream?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

None of the ingredients should taste sour. However, we have heard about some pandan extract can leave a metallic taste. I'm not too sure about this. Maybe try a different brand?

Miss Happi
4 years ago

Miss Happi

Could you advise how much pandan juice should be extracted ?

Honey Poh
4 years ago

Honey Poh

Hello! Can I check if you are using the conventional setting or the fan mode setting? My cake browned very fast & cracked at 150 degree celsius conventional setting. (placed it on lower tier) I used an oven thermometer to monitor. I baked it for 50mins and it was still undercooked. Trying to find out what is the issue. Thanks! :)

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hi Honey, this recipe uses conventional settings. Sounds like the temperature is too high. Lower down the temperature to 140 degrees next time and place a layer of aluminium foil if it begins to brown too soon.

Honey Poh
4 years ago

Honey Poh

Ok thank u so much for your advice!! :)

Peck Gillian
4 years ago

Peck Gillian

Hi Grace! Thanks for sharing this recipe, my family likes it so much when I baked this cake for breakfast. Looking forward for your next recipe soon.

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

That's wonderful. Upload a food snap next time!

Peck Gillian
4 years ago

Peck Gillian

Hi Grace, so sorry that I realised that you actually indicated all sugars for egg yolk and egg white mixture in your recipe. Thank you.

Peck Gillian
4 years ago

Peck Gillian

Hi Grace, I think your recipe list miss out 20g of sugar for the egg yolk batter.

Jay See tho
4 years ago

Jay See tho

Yes ,it was. Shld hv segregate it for our easier reference and preparation.

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hi Jay, the ingredients are segregated in the individual steps.

Elysia
4 years ago

Elysia

Hello. Can someone help with how much pandan essence can be substituted in? It can be a challenge to get fresh leaves but essence is readily available. The recipe says it can be substituted but i dont know what quantity

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

It is highly dependant on the brand. Usually, 1/2 teaspoon will do.

Jay See tho
4 years ago

Jay See tho

The 1st attempt,the cake rised very high while baking but collapsed terribly. I use a 8" removable chefmade sponge cake pan ( hole in middle). I let it rest upside down on a wire rack. The taste is very dense and tasty. Love it. The 2nd attempt today. I put it on a bottle,upside down but bcos it is non stick, the cake drop off tearing it in the middle before i can put it back. Now i jst put it on table top overturned. Its already dropped off.I would like ask what is best way to overturn this non stick pan ( it drop off when overturned) to cool?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

It will fall off since it's a non-stick pan. Use a cooling rack. That should do the trick.

Jay See tho
4 years ago

Jay See tho

You mean remove it completely but still upside down on wire rack?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Place the cooling rack over the cake mould. Hold them tightly together and do a quick flip. By the way, you might want to use a non-stick mould for this recipe. It helps the dough to cling on the sides and rise higher.

Jay See tho
4 years ago

Jay See tho

You mean better use normal pan so that it stick to the pan to hold it's shape? In that case,is it necessarily to have pan that have a hole in the middle? What is it for? To cool the cake faster? Can i use corning ware instead?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Yes, it's best to use a tube pan (with the hole in the middle). This will allow the cake to cling onto the pan as it expands. Corning ware doesn't give the same effect as a tube pan.

Joanna
4 years ago

Joanna

Hello and thanks for the recipe. I don't have the proper tin, just a regular round springform (only afterwards I measured it and it turned out to be 25 cm in diameter :) The cake has a lovely taste but is only 2 cm high (same as raw batter) and has a rubbery bottom layer (it's tasty, too, it's not a sad layer) but I guess this layer stopped the cake from rising (of course the big tin size is also to blame). My Indonesian friend says this happens to him if he doesn't mix the batter long enough. Am I supposed to mix in the eggwhite carefully, just with a spoon? That's what I did but maybe I should have used the blender on a gentle setting? Will the cake rise better when it's in a more narrow tin? Thank you

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Seems like the air bubbles in the meringue have flattened. Check out the tips above under "dented chiffon cake" and see if they can help you. In step 6, you're supposed to fold the batter and not use the mixer. The cake will rise higher in a smaller mould.

Reny agustini
5 years ago

Reny agustini

Hi! I follow your recipe , but my chiffon is wet . Can i know why ? Thanksss

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

It could be undercooked. Bake a little longer. Otherwise, temperature might be too high if cake has already browned outside but is still wet inside.

Germaine Koh
5 years ago

Germaine Koh

I like this recipe and tried this twice! The main issue is that the cake ends up sticking to the mould and so it becomes a bit ugly. Tried greasing the pan the second time but still faced the same problem. What can I do about this?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Use a very sharp knife to go around the mould before removing the cake.

Linda
5 years ago

Linda

If no oven, can we use stovetop to bake?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

We haven't tried. Might be really tricky with stovetop.

v
5 years ago

v

hi i have a 8 x 4 inch angel cake pan. will that do ? is a 4 inch depth enough ? that's about 10cm

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Yes, sounds good!

Ching Ching Chin
5 years ago

Ching Ching Chin

First time trying out the recipe and it was fantastic! cake turned out really well, though might be a bit sweeter because I failed to pay attention that the first part of sugar to egg is only 20g and added all the sugar. Will definitely make this again. Thank you for the recipe.

Tracy Lee
5 years ago

Tracy Lee

My pandan cake top part cracked. How come?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Have you tried the tips above? I think a reason why the cake cracks is the temperature being too high. This causes the crust to develop quickly while the cake continues to rise.

Tracy Lee
5 years ago

Tracy Lee

May I know what kind of vinegar?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Standard vinegar.

Tracy Lee
5 years ago

Tracy Lee

Ok . Thank you

Deborah Ann Miller
5 years ago

Deborah Ann Miller

We did this recipe and it tasted lovely. I had to swap out leaves for extract, and then add green food colouring (we're under lockdown so couldn't get to Chinatown to buy the leaves). Otherwise I followed the directions to the letter. The cake turned out nice and airy, but it was baby-chick yellow due to all the egg yolks used -- no matter how much green food colouring we added, it remained yellow. Also, although it did rise a fair bit, it did not rise as high as the one in your video. We are going to try again. I've heard chiffon is a tricky one to master!

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

It is a tricky cake. I'm trying to master my craft too. We will get there ;)

Sam
5 years ago

Sam

Hi! Just saw this recipe, about to try it again. Few questions: 1. I don’t have coconut oil, can I replace it with melted unsalted butter, or olive oil? I don’t have other oil at home. 2. I already blended my pandan leaves so only have pandan sediment. How much of it should I use? Also, should I keep same total amount of coconut milk? 3. I don’t have chiffon cake pan but round tin pan or Bundt cake pan. My last attempts were using Bundt cake pan but epic failed (so densed!) how many mins of baking time if I use round tin pan of 25cm? Many thanks!

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hi, looks like you're going to make quite a few changes to the recipe. Chiffon cake is very sensitive and may need some experiments to succeed if you are planning to make changes. 1. Avoid butter, otherwise the cake will not be as light. You can use olive oil. The cake will not be as fragrant compared to when using coconut oil. 2. This is tricky because the recipe calls for blended pandan leaves along with water and coconut milk. I'm assuming that you need ca. 4 tablespoons of pandan extract/sediment. 3. We've never baked in a round tin pan but Jojo, who did so, uploaded a food snap above. It should take about the same time. Do note that the cake will not raise as much as it should.

Sam
5 years ago

Sam

Thanks Mira, guess I don’t have choice but to use sediment this time :( should have started searching for recipes in English as those written by HKers all use extract with water! Will let you know how it goes with 4 tbsp... almost 60g (my 30 leaves gave me 75g sediment)!

Sam
5 years ago

Sam

I just made it with round tin. I used 38g of sediment which was equivalent to 15 leaves for your same level of flavour. Then I kept same amount of coconut milk and used olive oil. The cake rose so much while baking but collapsed once it’s out of oven. Texture is still lovely and airy, though I stupidly forgot to cool the whole cake in the pan until room temp before removing it from the pan...it collapsed further! Will make it again next two days! Thanks for the recipe!

Jaime Hoi
5 years ago

Jaime Hoi

I will be using pandan essence instead of leaves. Can I ask how much essence to use to replace the 15 pandan leaves?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Depends on the pandan essence. Usually 1/2 teaspoon is sufficient.

Jaime Hoi
5 years ago

Jaime Hoi

Can I check if its ok to skip baking powder? Will it affect the taste?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

No, you can check the explanation above to why baking powder is needed in the recipe ;)

ryker
5 years ago

ryker

I tried this recipe 2 days in a row. My first attempt went terribly bad (probably due to wrong choice of flour, use spongecake flour), ended up with something between kueh and spongecake. It also was dense and collapsed. It was unsightly, so i disposed of that quickly. My second attempt came out fairly good, compared to my first. The outer layer were a little crusty, probably due to over baking (followed the recipe’s suggested time of 60mins). Also, the cake collapsed a little albeit the inner layer’s texture is that of a regular pandan chiffon cake. Any idea what caused that?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

It always very tricky with chiffon cake. Glad you didn’t give up. The cake may collapse due to many factors which are listed above. Additionally, the temperature of the oven might be too high or is not stable. Use an oven thermometer to help you.

Fiona
5 years ago

Fiona

I baked it yesterday in an angel cake pan, it turns out really nicely in terms of structure, tall and firm, except some cracks at the top, love the cake very much, thank you for this great recipe!

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Thank you for giving this recipe a try!

Angela Tan Huey Min
5 years ago

Angela Tan Huey Min

If my tin is 25cm how to.increase the ingredients

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

We haven't tried it with 25cm. I suggest sticking to the original recipe. At most, the cake will not raise as much since the pan is bigger. That way, you can see if you need to increase the recipe by 1/2 or 1/3 when you make it again.

Fiona
5 years ago

Fiona

I have 25cm tin too, i baked 1.5 times recipe for 60 min, worked very well ;)

Eunice
5 years ago

Eunice

Hi, how much pandan essence should we be using to replace 15 pandan leaves?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

It depends on the brand of the Pandan essence. Usually, 4-5 drops are more than enough.

Fiona
5 years ago

Fiona

Hi! I am excited to try this recipe but i only have a normal round cake springform 26cm. So i have few questions: 1) normal round tin is okay? 2) is making 1.5 times portion okay for 26cm? 3) can i grease and line cake tin with baking paper since it's a round spring form?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hi Fiona, round tin is fine. According to the calculations, I think increasing the recipe accordingly will fit the size of 26cm. You don't need to line the cake tin with baking paper. Instead, grease the bottom of the cake pan.

Maryjo
5 years ago

Maryjo

Hello, I just tried baking this. It seemed to go well until the cooling stage where I was cooling it upside down as shown in the picture. However, when the cake reached room temperature and I flipped it around, the cake had already collapsed. Any idea what went wrong?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hi Maryjo, it could be due to under beaten egg whites or the cake hasn't been fully baked and this causes shrinking.

Cynthia Ng
5 years ago

Cynthia Ng

My cake not even need an hour already done. But the recipe said 1 hr baking time ?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Or until golden brown. The time differs slightly, depending on the oven.

STEPHANIE TANG
5 years ago

STEPHANIE TANG

Hi I tried baking it very the very first time and it turns out to be really nice! Would hv preferred it sweeter but love it. But mine turns out to be a little dense. Anyone knows why? Also wat size mould do u use?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hello Stephanie! It could be due to several factors. We updated the information above for you. Feel free to read through them for tips. The size of the mould is between 18-22cm.

Charlotte
5 years ago

Charlotte

Love love LOVE this recipe. Always wanted a slice whenever the smell wafts through supermarkets but now I can make my own! Love the green colour the Pandan gives to this recipe. All natural! Family was impressed and keeps pestering me to make more! Gone in a jiffy every time.. thanks for sharing this!

Lina
5 years ago

Lina

I love this recipe. I have bought a 22 cm chiffon pan and so have doubled the recipe. Does anyone know what cooking time and temp adjustment I should make?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

You don't need to double the recipe for a 22cm chiffon pan. We've tried the recipe in 18-22cm diameter pans. All cakes turned out perfect!

Lina
5 years ago

Lina

Thank you so much. I’ll give it a go👍💕

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