Pandan Chiffon Cake

Ingredients

• 12 fresh pandan leaves (or 2 tsp pandan extract)
• 120ml coconut milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 60g caster sugar
• 80ml vegetable oil
• 130g cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 7 egg whites, at room temperature
• 110g caster sugar, extra
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Before you cook

• Heat the oven to 165C and set a shelf in the lower third.
• Snip the pandan leaves into short lengths and blend them with 80ml of water until pulpy.
• Squeeze the pandan pulp through a muslin cloth and measure out 3 tablespoons of the dark green juice.
• Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt together twice into a bowl.
• Set out a 20cm ungreased aluminium chiffon tin with a removable base.

Steps

1. Whisk the egg yolks with the 60g of sugar in a large bowl until the mixture pales and thickens slightly.
2. Whisk in the oil in a steady stream until fully combined.
3. Whisk in the coconut milk and the pandan juice.
4. Fold in the sifted flour mixture in three additions, stopping the moment the batter is smooth.
5. In a spotlessly clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until they turn foamy and opaque.
6. Add the extra sugar a spoonful at a time while whisking, taking about 2 minutes in total.
7. Keep whisking until the meringue holds a peak that curls gently at the tip, stopping before it turns dry or grainy.
8. Stir a third of the meringue into the yolk batter to loosen it.
9. Fold in the remaining meringue in two additions, cutting down through the middle and sweeping around the bowl so you keep the air in.
10. Pour the batter into the ungreased tin from a height of about 20cm to break any large bubbles.
11. Run a skewer through the batter in a circle and tap the tin once firmly on the worktop.
12. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until the top is springy and a skewer comes out clean.
13. Take the tin out and immediately invert it over the neck of a bottle so the cake hangs upside down.
14. Leave it hanging for at least 2 hours until completely cold.
15. Run a thin knife around the sides and the central funnel, then push the base out and release the cake.
16. Cut the cake with a serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion so you do not squash it.