Pandan Angel Cake – Recipe
Pandan chiffon cakes are a staple of most Chinese and Malaysian bakeries, and I've always been meaning to make one. However, since I ended up with a shedload of egg whites after making my birthday cake with 22 egg yolks I decided to use some up by making a pandan angel cake instead.
Yes, there is a significant different. Do you know what it is?
Both are super-fluffy and super-light. The difference between a chiffon and an angel cake is the angel cake's lack of added fat: it's made with egg whites only, while a chiffon cake includes the yolks of the eggs, as well as oil. Ergo angel cake = a perfect way to use up spare egg whites that's not meringues.
I adapted Mary Berry's recipe for angel food cake because sometimes there's just no messing with the classics. My way of whipping up the egg whites and folding them in is a little different though, but that just works for me. The only real changes I made were to swap the lemons for a few teaspoonfuls of pandan paste, split the cake in half lengthways to spread kaya (coconut jam) inside and topped with strawberries.
I also made some tempered chocolate decorations, but alas, I chose the wrong transfer sheet. There was a lot of pretty pale green in it, but I think it would have been better suited to a darker chocolate: it just didn't show up on the white chocolate. Lesson learned.
Ready? Let's go.
Ingredients:
10 egg whites
300g caster sugar
125g plain flour
For Filling and Topping:
3tbsp kaya
300ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks
200g strawberries, sliced
White chocolate decorations (optional)
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and move the oven shelf to the lowest position.
2) Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and whisk in the sugar, salt and cream of tartar until stiff and glossy. Whisk in the pandan paste.
3) Sift the flour in and carefully fold until just incorporated (most people use a metal spoon or thin spatula, but I actually use a large balloon whisk: you just have to have a very light hand).
4) Spoon into an UNGREASED 10" angel food cake pan, run a knife around the middle a couple of times to break up any large air pockets and bake for 40–50 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean (it only took mine 40 minutes).
4) As soon as you take it out of the oven, invert the pan and let the cake sit upside-down for at least an hour to cool (if your pan doesn't have 'feet', balance the central spout on the neck of a bottle of wine to allow for airflow). Since you haven't greased the pan the cake won't fall out, and hanging in that way stops it from collapsing.
5) Carefully run a palette around the edge of the pan and the central spout and pop the cake out, and run it under the base to completely free the cake. Invert it onto a serving plate and let cool completely.
6) Use a bread knife to split the cake in half, spread the kaya onto the bottom half followed by about 1/3 of the cream, and sandwich the cake back together, Cover with the rest of the cream, top with strawberries and decorate with chocolate.
7) Slice, serve and enjoy.
I actually made this cake last weekend alongside my birthday cake, but I'm posting it now as I'll have no time to bake this weekend because of a K-Pop dance show I'm performing in. If you're lucky, I'll post a video at some point...
Have fun!
Yes, there is a significant different. Do you know what it is?
Both are super-fluffy and super-light. The difference between a chiffon and an angel cake is the angel cake's lack of added fat: it's made with egg whites only, while a chiffon cake includes the yolks of the eggs, as well as oil. Ergo angel cake = a perfect way to use up spare egg whites that's not meringues.
I adapted Mary Berry's recipe for angel food cake because sometimes there's just no messing with the classics. My way of whipping up the egg whites and folding them in is a little different though, but that just works for me. The only real changes I made were to swap the lemons for a few teaspoonfuls of pandan paste, split the cake in half lengthways to spread kaya (coconut jam) inside and topped with strawberries.
I also made some tempered chocolate decorations, but alas, I chose the wrong transfer sheet. There was a lot of pretty pale green in it, but I think it would have been better suited to a darker chocolate: it just didn't show up on the white chocolate. Lesson learned.
Ready? Let's go.
Ingredients:
10 egg whites
300g caster sugar
125g plain flour
1tsp cream of tartar
2tsp pandan paste
Pinch of salt
For Filling and Topping:
3tbsp kaya
300ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks
200g strawberries, sliced
White chocolate decorations (optional)
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and move the oven shelf to the lowest position.
2) Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and whisk in the sugar, salt and cream of tartar until stiff and glossy. Whisk in the pandan paste.
3) Sift the flour in and carefully fold until just incorporated (most people use a metal spoon or thin spatula, but I actually use a large balloon whisk: you just have to have a very light hand).
4) Spoon into an UNGREASED 10" angel food cake pan, run a knife around the middle a couple of times to break up any large air pockets and bake for 40–50 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean (it only took mine 40 minutes).
4) As soon as you take it out of the oven, invert the pan and let the cake sit upside-down for at least an hour to cool (if your pan doesn't have 'feet', balance the central spout on the neck of a bottle of wine to allow for airflow). Since you haven't greased the pan the cake won't fall out, and hanging in that way stops it from collapsing.
5) Carefully run a palette around the edge of the pan and the central spout and pop the cake out, and run it under the base to completely free the cake. Invert it onto a serving plate and let cool completely.
6) Use a bread knife to split the cake in half, spread the kaya onto the bottom half followed by about 1/3 of the cream, and sandwich the cake back together, Cover with the rest of the cream, top with strawberries and decorate with chocolate.
7) Slice, serve and enjoy.
I actually made this cake last weekend alongside my birthday cake, but I'm posting it now as I'll have no time to bake this weekend because of a K-Pop dance show I'm performing in. If you're lucky, I'll post a video at some point...
Have fun!
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