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If you are looking for ways to use leftover egg whites, you have to try this egg white pandan chiffon cake (No, it’s not an angel food cake). The cake is so soft, moist, and fluffy.
What is egg white chiffon cake?
Just like its name implies, it’s a chiffon cake made with egg whites only. Traditional chiffon cake is made with both the yolks and the whites. The whites are made into a meringue and then folded into the yolk batter. For this egg white chiffon cake, there are no yolks in the recipe.
Is it not an angel food cake then?
No, it’s not because angel food cake is made with only egg whites, cake flour, salt, sugar, a stabilizer such as cream of tartar, flavoring such as vanilla, and that is it. There’s no oil in the recipe.
This egg white pandan chiffon cake has oil in the recipe, just like traditional chiffon cake does, except there are no yolks.
Ingredients
1. Egg whites
I used egg whites accumulated from recipes that use only yolks, such as macarons and kaya jam. You can also use carton egg whites. I have tried carton egg whites and it worked for me
2. Sugar
I used granulated sugar. You can definitely use caster sugar
3. Cream of tartar
Cream of tartar is added to stabilize the egg whites. You can also use lemon juice or vinegar
4. Oil
I use any neutral-tasting oil
5. Cake flour
I highly recommend using cake flour for that ultimate softness
6. Cornstarch
The cornstarch is added to help absorb moisture. As we know egg whites are high in moisture
7. Milk powder
Since there are no yolks in this recipe, the addition of milk powder help to add that “richness” aroma to the cake
8. Coconut milk
Coconut milk usually goes well with pandan flavor and that’s what I use
9. Pandan juice
You can make your own pandan juice here
10. Pandan essence (optional)
You can add some pandan essence for a more vibrant green color and stronger flavor
How to bake egg white pandan chiffon cake
1. Let the egg whites comes to room temperature before you start working on the recipe. Preheat oven to 330 F (170 C) for conventional oven. If you have a convection oven, I suggest lowering the temperature by 25 F (15 C)
2. Combine oil, coconut milk, and pandan juice. You will notice they are hard to combine because oil and water just don’t mix
3. Sift in cake flour, cornstarch, salt, and milk powder. Use a whisk to mix the two
4. You will get a thick but flowy batter. Set aside
5. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy, add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip until it turns whitish and air bubbles are fine.
6. Gradually add the sugar as you beat, in 3 batches. I beat them at medium speed (speed 6 on Kitchen Aid). This will take a bit longer compared to beating at high speed. I used to do higher speed (speed 8), but the meringue is smoother and nicer when I maintain the speed on 6. I highly recommend stopping several times to check on the consistency and scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure no sugar left on the side of the bowl
7. Whip until you reach a stiff peak but still have a slight bent on the tip. Then lower the speed to 4 and whip for 1 minute to even out large bubbles and stop beating
8. Gently fold 1/3 of the meringue into the thick batter. Using a whisk, using a cutting motion and fold over to mix. Repeat this motion several rounds
9. Then gently pour the batter into the meringue from the side of the bowl, so we won’t deflate the meringue
10. Use a cut down in the middle and fold over motion to fold gently but quickly. Make sure you don’t see any more white meringue. The mixture should be fluffy and voluminous.
11. Pour the batter into an UNGREASED chiffon cake pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the surface. Gently drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter 2-3 times. Use a skewer to draw a zig zag to pop bubbles inside the cake batter
12. Pop into the oven, middle rack, and let it bake for 80 minutes. Egg white chiffon cake is much higher in moisture content, which makes it more fragile and we want the cake to bake at a temperature that is not too high or too low and it needs to be bake much longer so the cake won’t collapse due to the high moisture content. The cake will rise during baking and then shrink back a bit and this is normal
13. Once out of the oven, drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter several times to prevent shrinkage. Then carefully invert the pan upside down immediately. Please don’t be tempted to remove it from the pan if it’s still warm. It takes about one to two hours to cool down completely
14. Once it’s cool down completely, use a spatula knife to run through the edge and the outer center of the tube to help release the cake
15. Gently push the base to lift the cake out. Use the knife again to run through the base of the pan and then carefully release the cake
How to store egg white pandan chiffon cake
1. Let the cake cool down completely
2. Cover the whole cake with cling wrap and can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days if it’s not humid where you are
3. After that it needs to be kept in the fridge or in the freezer to extend shelf life
4. When ready to serve, simply thaw in the fridge or at room temperature for a few minutes
Did you make this recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag 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!
Soft and Fluffy Egg White Pandan Chiffon Cake
Ingredients
Meringue:
- 250 gr egg white (room temperature) about 8 egg whites
- 100 gr granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp lemon juice/vinegar
Cake batter:
- 107 gr cake flour
- 7 gr cornstarch
- 7 gr milk powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 75 ml oil
- 45 ml coconut milk
- 60 ml pandan juice
Instructions
- Let the egg whites comes to room temperature before you start working on the recipe
- Preheat oven to 330 F (170 C) for conventional oven. If you have a convection oven, I suggest lowering the temperature by 20 F (15 C)
Prepare the cake batter:
- Combine oil, coconut milk, and pandan juice. You will notice they are hard to combine because oil and water just don't mix. Sift in cake flour, cornstarch, salt, and milk powder. Use a whisk to mix the two. You will get a thick but flowy batter. Set aside
Prepare meringue:
- Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy, add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip until it turns whitish and air bubbles are fine. Gradually add the sugar as you beat, in 3 batches. I beat them at medium speed (speed 6 on Kitchen Aid). This will take a bit longer compared to beating at high speed. I used to do higher speed (speed 8), but the meringue is smoother and nicer when I maintain the speed on 6. I highly recommend stopping several times to check on the consistency and scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure no sugar left on the side of the bowl. Whip until you reach a stiff peak but still have a slight bent on the tip. Then lower the speed to 4 and whip for 1 minute to even out large bubbles and stop beating
How to check if meringue is ready:
- If you beat until the meringue clumps on the whisk attachment in one HUGE chunk/lump, you know you've gone too far beating the meringue. If you use it, the meringue will separate when you fold it into the cake batter and won't hold much air and your cake will deflate later
Combine meringue and cake batter:
- Gently fold 1/3 of the meringue into the thick batter. Using a whisk, using a cutting motion and fold over to mix. Repeat this motion several rounds. Continue on with the second 1/3 of the meringue again to mix. For the last 1/3 of the meringue, use a rubber spatula instead to ensure you get all the batter at the bottom of the bowl mixed in as well. Use a cut down in the middle and fold over motion to fold gently but quickly. Make sure you don't see any more white meringue. The mixture should be fluffy and voluminous.
- Pour the batter into an UNGREASED chiffon cake pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the surface. Gently drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter 2-3 times. Use a skewer to draw a zig zag to pop bubbles inside the cake batter
Baking:
- Pop into the oven, middle rack, and let it bake for 80 minutes. Egg white chiffon cake is much higher in moisture content, which makes it more fragile and we want the cake to bake at a temperature that is not too high or too low and it needs to be bake much longer so the cake won't collapse due to the high moisture content
- The cake will rise during baking and then shrink back a bit and this is normal
- The top should be springy and dry to touch. You can insert a cake tester into the cake and it should come out clean with maybe a few crumbs, but it shouldn't be wet. If it's still wet, bake for another 5 minutes and check again. I need a total of 80 minutes with my conventional oven
- It is safer to overbake a bit than underbaking. Underbaking will cause the cake to shrink and collapse when you take it out from the oven
Invert to cool down immediately:
- Once out of the oven, drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter several times to prevent shrinkage. Then carefully invert the pan upside down immediately.Please don't be tempted to remove from the pan if it's still warm. It takes about one to two hours to cool down completely
- Once it's cool down completely, use a spatula knife to run through the edge and the outer center of the tube to help release the cake. Gently push the base to lift the cake out. Use the knife again to run through the base of the pan and then carefully release the cake.
6 comments
If I try a different flavour (pandan is hard to find here), do I remove the coconut milk and pandan juice and replace with equal quantities of an alternate flavour?
Hi Jade, yes, you can replace the quantity of coconut milk and pandan juice with just milk and add other flavoring extract of your choice. Alternatively, I also have a basic vanilla chiffon cake. The recipe is here if you want to take a look: https://whattocooktoday.com/vanilla-chiffon-cake.html. It’s slightly different recipe, but also very soft and fluffy.
Can I omit or replace the milk powder?
Hi Serena, yes you can. It’s more for flavor!
Tried this recipe was awesome the chiffon cake!!
I’m glad you like it Adhi! It’s a good use of leftover egg whites too 🙂