Pandan Chiffon Cake with Gula Melaka Buttercream

Ingredients : for 8" square pan
5 egg yolks
5g sugar
40g coconut oil
1/8 tsp salt
45g cake flour
15g coconut powder
30g rice flour
70g coconut milk
30g pandan extract*

5 egg whites
35g sugar

30g gula melaka, break into very small pieces

* blend 20 blades of pandan leaves with some water, squeeze out the juice. Chill the pandan juice overnight and use the bottom thick layer


Method :
1. Sift cake flour and rice flour twice.

2. Mix egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, whisk till sugar has dissolved.

3. Add in salt, homemade pandan extract, coconut milk, coconut oil and mix well.

4. Sift in flour and whisk well.

5.In another bowl, beat the egg whites and lemon juice/vinegar till frothy. Add in sugar gradually and beat until approaching stiff peaks (meringue stand straight with a little curve at the tip) or till stiff peaks (this stage is a bit difficult to fold with egg yolk mixture).

6. Use whisk to loosen the egg yolk batter a bit, then take 1/3 of meringue and use a hand whisk to mix well with egg yolk batter.

7. Add in gula melaka bits and mix.

8. Fold in 1/2 of meringue and use a silicone spatula, gently fold with egg yolk batter till slightly combined. Fold in the balance meringue and gently fold till well combined.
9. Pour the batter from a considerable height into cake pan, lightly shake it left and right to level the cake, then gently bang the cake pan on the table top to release air bubbles.

10. Bake at pre-heated oven at 100C at center rack for 25 mins and 160C for 15-20 mins. (I off the top heat element and on it back during the last 15 mins)

11. Remove the cake pan from oven, drop it from high side to prevent the cake shrink too much during cool process.

12. Turn the cake pan upside down and cool completely before remove from the cake pan. 

13. Once the cake is cooled, slice into half and apply gula melaka buttercream and chill in the fridge before serve.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (Whole Egg)
210g eggs (4 eggs)
250g sugar
500g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method :

1. Lightly whisk the egg and sugar in a mixing bowl until sugar dissolve, place it over a pot of simmering water (double boil / bain marie). Keep whisking the mixture.
2. Remove from heat once reach 72C to kill the Salmonella.
3. Pour the mixture to KA mixing bowl, whisk the mixture to thick and glossy, ribbon stage.
4. Keep whisking until the mixing is cooled. (use cold towel to keep dapping the mixing bowl).
5. Change to K beater, put in the cubed butter, one by one, ensure each addition is incorporated before add in next one.
6. Beat until the mixture become smooth and silky. Dun worry is the mixture become curdle, continue to beat or use spatula to fold.

Gula Melaka Buttercream:
200g buttercream 
50g gula melaka
20g coconut milk
2 pcs pandan leaves