Soft and fluffy pandan Swiss roll cake filled with fresh cream, cendol and sweet red bean fillings. It is definitely not your average Swiss roll cake. It’s an awesome one.
I know! I did it again! Pandan, cendol, sweet red beans!! I like to incorporate these three of my favorite things into cakes and desserts whenever I can. Not necessarily all three together, but you know what I mean! I “pandanize” lots of thing! After making ice cendol the other day, I have some cendol left over and the kids requested a Swiss roll cake. So, there you have it! It’s almost like eating ice kachang (but without the ice lol!)
How to bake cendol Swiss roll cake
1. Prepare the cendol and sweetened red beans the day before. They can be kept in the refrigerator, but no more than 3 days for cendol
2. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for a conventional oven. Lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C for a convection oven. Spray the baking pan, 9 x 13 x 1 inch, with non-stick cooking spray or brush some oil and then line with a parchment paper on the bottom and the side
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, pandan juice, pandan essence (if using) until combined. Sift in the cake flour and salt. Whisk to mix until combined and no lumps
4. Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature. Place egg whites in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until foamy on medium speed and then add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip again for another minute then and 1/3 of the sugar and continue to add sugar until you use it all up. Whip until the egg white develops a medium-soft peak. When you lift the meringue up it will hold up its shape but the tail will bend. Do not whip until stiff peak. The cake will crack when you roll it later
5. Fold about 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and use a whisk to fold and continue to fold in the next 1/3. Switch to a rubber spatula for the last 1/3. The spatula helps to scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is folded in evenly. The batter should be a pourable consistency
6. Pour the batter into the pan and use a rubber spatula to help to spread evenly. You can use a dough scraper to help you even out the surface too if necessary
7. Gently tap the baking sheet on your working surface several times to pop any air bubbles. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes and then switch to convection mode (fan mode) and bake for another 3-4 minutes or until the top is golden brown and dry to touch. If you don’t have convection mode, bake another 5 minutes and check to make sure the top is golden brown and dry to touch. It is important that the top is dry to touch so this layer won’t peel off when you roll later
8. Remove the cake from the oven and then lift it out from the pan immediately to a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper from 4 sides. This helps to prevent wrinkles on the surface. Let it cools down like this for 5-6 minutes (I use a timer to actually time it)
9. After 5-6 minutes. Place a new piece of parchment paper, larger than the cake, on top of the cake and flip over to the other side. Peel off the parchment paper
10. Pour the heavy cream, icing sugar, and the Jello instant pudding mix into a mixing bowl. Start whipping at medium speed until it reaches a medium-stiff peak, almost kinda a bit soft, but not too soft. It should be able to hold its shape with a slight bent on the tip when you lift the whisk up. The texture will be smooth and glossy. If you whip too stiff, it will be grainy and not smooth. You know you have gone too far. Add the sweetened red beans and cendol pieces. Gently fold them into the whipped cream. Please note that you need to use the cream immediately or it will set if you make ahead and it won’t spread smoothly
11. Use a serrated knife to trim about 1/4-inch of the 4 edges
12. Use a serrated knife to make 4 shallow slits. about 1 inch apart, taking care not to cut through the cake. This makes rolling the cake easier
13. Mound the filling a bit off the middle, a bit more near your side
14. Very gently use one hand to lift the parchment paper up to help you roll the cake up until you reach the other side. Tuck the parchment paper under and use a dough scraper to help you tighten the roll-up
15. Remove parchment paper so the skin of the cake won’t peel off later when you remove the parchment paper. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving them
How to store
1. Put the cake in an air-tight container and keep it in the fridge for no more than 3 days if possible. The longer the cake is in the refrigerator, the drier the texture will be
2. I do not recommend freezing this cake as the filling is not freezer-friendly
Did you make this cendol Swiss roll cake recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made. Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Cendol Swiss Roll Cake
Ingredients
Cake batter: recipe doesn't use baking powder
- 120 gr egg yolks room temperature, about 4 egg yolks
- 55 gr cooking oil
- 55 gr pandan juice
- ½ tsp pandan essence optional, for brighter green color
Dry ingredients:
- 65 gr cake flour
- ¼ tsp salt
Meringue:
- 120 gr egg whites room temperature, about 4 egg whites
- 90 gr sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar or use 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
Stabilize whipped cream filling:
- 150 gr heavy cream
- 1 ½ tsp Jello Instant Pudding Mix vanilla flavor
- 15 gr icing sugar
- 50 gr sweetened red beans
- 80 gr cendol
Instructions
- Prepare the cendol and sweetened red beans the day before. They can be kept in the refrigerator, but no more than 3 days for cendol
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for a conventional oven. Lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C for a convection oven
- Spray the baking pan, 9 x 13 x 1 inch, with non-stick cooking spray or brush some oil and then line with a parchment paper on the bottom and the side
Prepare the cake batter:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, pandan juice, pandan essence (if using) until combined. Sift in the cake flour and salt. Whisk to mix until combined and no lumps
Prepare the meringue:
- Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature. Place egg whites in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until foamy on medium speed and then add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip again for another minute then and 1/3 of the sugar and continue to add sugar until you use it all up. Whip until the egg white develops a medium-soft peak. When you lift the meringue up it will hold up its shape but the tail will bend. Do not whip until stiff peak. The cake will crack when you roll it later
Combine meringue with cake batter:
- Fold about 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and use a rubber spatula or whisk to fold or whisk until mix and continue to fold in the next 1/3 until you use up all the meringue and the batter is smooth . The batter should be a pourable consistency
Pour into prepared baking pan:
- Pour the batter into the pan and use a rubber spatula to help to spread evenly. You can use a dough scraper to help you even out the surface too if necessary
Bake:
- Gently tap the baking sheet on your working surface several times to pop any air bubbles. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes and then switch to convection mode (fan mode) and bake for another 3-4 minutes or until the top is golden brown and dry to touch. If you don't have convection mode, bake another 5 minutes and check to make sure the top is golden brown and dry to touch. It is important that the top is dry to touch so this layer won't peel off when you roll later
Cool down:
- Remove the cake from the oven and then lift it out from the pan immediately to a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper from 4 sides. This helps to prevent wrinkles on the surface. Let it cools down like this for 5-6 minutes (I use a timer to actually time it)
- After 5-6 minutes. Place a new piece of parchment paper, larger than the cake, on top of the cake and flip over to the other side. Peel off the parchment paper
Prepare the stabilized whipped cream filling:
- I like whipped cream stabilized with Jello instant pudding because the whipped cream is extremely stable, have a nice spongy texture, and it won't "sweat" at all when you keep the frosted cake in the fridge or even if you leave the frosted cake out at room temperature for hours.
- Pour the heavy cream, icing sugar, and the Jello instant pudding mix into a mixing bowl. Start whipping at medium speed until it reaches a medium-stiff peak, almost kinda a bit soft, but not too soft. It should be able to hold its shape with a slight bent on the tip when you lift the whisk up. The texture will be smooth and glossy. If you whip too stiff, it will be grainy and not smooth. You know you have gone too far
- Add the sweetened red beans and cendol pieces. Gently fold them into the whipped cream. Please note that you need to use the cream immediately or it will set if you make ahead and it won't spread smoothly
Assembling:
- Use a serrated knife to trim about 1/4-inch of the 4 edges
- Use a serrated knife to make 4 shallow slits. about 1 inch apart, taking care not to cut through the cake. This makes rolling the cake easier
- Mound the filling a bit off the middle, kinda nearer to your side
- Very gently use one hand to lift the parchment paper up to help you roll the cake up until you reach the other side. Tuck the parchment paper under and use a dough scraper to help you tighten the roll-up
- Remove parchment paper so the skin of the cake won't peel off later when you remove the parchment paper
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving them
