Method
- Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl, whisk coconut milk, oil, egg yolks, 60g sugar, pandan extract and vanilla until smooth and pale green.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet; whisk until just smooth — don't over-beat. The batter should be uniformly green and slightly thick.
- In a clean, completely fat-free bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Add the 100g sugar gradually while beating. Beat to stiff but not dry peaks — when the whisk is lifted, the peaks should bend slightly at the tip.
- Fold a third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture vigorously to lighten. Then fold in the remaining whites in two additions, gently and thoroughly. The final batter should be uniformly green with no white streaks.
- Pour into an ungreased 23cm chiffon pan. Tap on the counter once to release air bubbles. Bake at 165°C for 50 minutes — a skewer should come out clean and the top should be deep green-brown.
- Invert the pan immediately upon removing from oven (chiffon pans have feet for this purpose). Cool completely upside down — about 90 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and pull out the cake. Slice and serve plain. Some Singapore variations add gula melaka glaze; the classic is unadorned.
Common questions
Can Pandan Chiffon Cake be made ahead?
Pandan Chiffon Cake is best made and eaten the same day, but the components can be prepped earlier — chop and measure the ingredients up to a day ahead, refrigerated separately. Final cooking takes about 50 minutes.
Is Pandan Chiffon Cake spicy?
Pandan Chiffon Cake as written is mild to mildly warming — the heat comes from aromatics rather than chili. Add fresh sliced chili or chili oil at the end if you'd like to push it spicier.
Is Pandan Chiffon Cake vegetarian or gluten-free?
This recipe is suitable for most diets. If you have specific restrictions, the substitutions section in each ingredient note covers the most common swaps.
How hard is Pandan Chiffon Cake to make at home?
Pandan Chiffon Cake sits at intermediate difficulty — total time about 75 minutes. The ingredients are not unusual but the timing requires attention.
Can Pandan Chiffon Cake be scaled up or down?
This recipe is written for 8 servings. To scale, multiply each ingredient proportionally; the cooking times stay the same up to about double the volume. Beyond that, expect to cook in batches because of pan size and heat distribution.
Cultural Note
Pandan chiffon cake is essentially the Singapore birthday cake — every supermarket and bakery sells one, and home bakers consider it a benchmark recipe. Bengawan Solo, the Singapore Peranakan-bakery chain, made the dish nationally famous. The chiffon technique came from Hong Kong via mid-century Singapore baking schools; pandan was the local addition. The bright green colour — sometimes natural, sometimes enhanced — is the visual signature. The cake is cloud-light when made well; a dense pandan chiffon means the egg whites were over-beaten or the batter was overworked.
