Destination
Ayutthaya
The story
Pandan chiffon cake is Bangkok's most-loved coffee-shop cake: a light, ultra-airy chiffon sponge dyed a bright green from fresh pandan juice, scented with coconut milk and a whisper of vanilla. Baked in a tall angel-food tin (with a hollow centre and "legs" for cooling upside-down), then sliced into wedges and served plain or with a dust of icing sugar. Sold at every Bangkok Chinese-Thai bakery (Boonprasit, S&P) and at every Thai coffee shop. A single slice with a glass of Thai iced tea is the classical Bangkok afternoon break.
Method
Cut pandan leaves into pieces. Blitz with water in a blender. Strain through a fine sieve — you want 100ml of deep green juice.
Set oven to 160C.
In a large bowl, whisk yolks, 80g sugar, oil, coconut milk, pandan juice and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk gently until smooth.
In a stand mixer, whip egg whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add 120g sugar and whip to stiff, glossy peaks.
Fold a third of the meringue into the yolk mixture to lighten. Then fold in the remaining meringue in two additions, working gently to avoid deflating.
Pour batter into an ungreased tube pan (do not grease — the batter needs to cling to the sides to rise). Smooth the top gently.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the top springs back.
Immediately invert the pan onto its legs (or over a bottle neck if no legs). Cool completely upside-down (2 hours) — this prevents collapse. Once cool, run a knife around the edge to release. Slice into wedges. Serve with a dust of icing sugar and a glass of Thai iced tea.
Tips
- Fresh pandan juice. Extract gives you colour but no flavour. Fresh pandan is essential.
- Ungreased tube pan. This is the classical chiffon-cake tin. Do not grease.
- Cool upside-down. Non-negotiable — chiffon cakes collapse if cooled right-side-up.
- Fold gently. Meringue is fragile; over-folded batter deflates and the cake doesn't rise.
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