Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake Recipe and Video (Complete Guide)

How To Make Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon cake

Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake Recipe and Video (Complete Guide)

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Southeast Asia

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 1 5

Eggs at room temperature: 30

Total Time: 1 5

Servings: servings (20 cm chiffon tube pan)

Calories: 245kcal

Author: Marvellina

Learn how to make super soft and fluffy pandan chiffon cake (or basic chiffon cake) everytime at home. All the tips to make sure you can replicate this recipe at home successfully.

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US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

Please use digital kitchen scale to weigh ingredients (Cup measurement is not recommended):

PANDAN JUICE (you will have leftover):

70 g pandan leaves about 15 large pieces of pandan leaves
100 g water

RECIPE FOR 15 CM (6 INCHES) TUBE PAN:

Dry ingredients:

60 g cake flour
8 g cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder optional

Wet ingredients:

60 g egg yolks (room temperature) 3 large eggs (yolk is 18-20 grams each)
11 g sugar
15 g pandan extract see notes 1
½ tsp pandan essence
38 g cooking oil
53 g canned coconut milk well-shaken before opening the can

Meringue:

90 g egg whites (room temperature) 3 large eggs (white is 28-30 grams each)
¼ tsp cream of tartar or use 1/2 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar
45 g sugar

RECIPE FOR 18 CM (7 INCHES) TUBE PAN:

Dry ingredients:

80 g cake flour
10 g cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder optional

Wet ingredients:

80 g egg yolks (room temperature) 4 large eggs (yolk is 18-20 grams each)
20 g pandan extract see notes 1
¾ tsp pandan essence
50 g cooking oil
20 g sugar
70 g canned coconut milk well-shaken before opening the can

Meringue:

120 g egg whites (room temperature) from 4 large eggs (white is 28-30 grams each)
½ tsp cream of tartar or use 1 tsp of lemon juice
60 g sugar

RECIPE FOR 20 CM (8 INCHES) TUBE PAN:

Dry ingredients:

100 g cake flour
13 g cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
¾ tsp baking powder optional

Wet ingredients:

100 g egg yolks (room temperature) 5 large eggs (yolk is 18-20 grams each)
25 g pandan extract see notes 1
1 tsp pandan essence
63 g cooking oil
25 g sugar
88 g canned coconut milk well-shaken before opening the can

Meringue:

150 g egg whites (room temperature) 5 large eggs (white is 28-30 grams each)
½ tsp cream of tartar or use 1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar
75 g sugar

RECIPE FOR 22 CM (9 INCHES) TUBE PAN:

Dry ingredients:

120 g cake flour
15 g cornstarch
⅓ tsp salt
¾ tsp baking powder optional

Wet ingredients:

120 g egg yolks (room temperature) 6 large eggs (yolk is 18-20 grams each)
30 g pandan extract
1 ¼ tsp pandan essence
75 g oil
30 g sugar
105 g canned coconut milk well-shaken before opening the can

Meringue:

180 g egg whites (room temperature) 6 large eggs (white is 28-30 grams each)
½ tsp cream of tartar or use 1 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar
90 g sugar

RECIPE FOR 26 CM (10 INCHES) TUBE PAN:

Dry ingredients:

160 g cake flour
20 g cornstarch
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder optional

Wet ingredients:

160 g egg yolks (room temperature) 8 large eggs (yolk is 18-20 grams each)
40 g pandan extract see notes 1
1 ½ tsp pandan essence
100 g oil
40 g sugar
140 g canned coconut milk well-shaken before opening the can

Meringue:

240 g egg whites (room temperature) 8 large eggs (white is 28-30 grams each)
¾ tsp cream of tartar or use 1 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar
120 g sugar

Instructions

Important things to note before you start baking:

I think it's helpful to read my blog post entirely to understand the basic of chiffon cake if you are new to baking chiffon cake or want to bake better chiffon cake. Check out the table of contents above that covers lots of tips, troubleshootings, FAQ, etc.
If you want to bake chiffon cake as cupcakes, the baking temperature and instructions are different. Please follow this recipe instead
Make sure your chiffon cake pan does not have a non-stick coating or your cake will not rise. The cake needs to cling to the side of the pan to rise tall
I use large size egg that weigh about 56-58 grams each when weighed with the shell. The yolk is about 18-20 gram each and the white is about 28-30 grams each
I also decided to provide the weight of the egg yolks and egg whites for consistency. Each country has slightly different definition on size of eggs, etc. It's best if you use the weight instead of just going by the number of eggs. Sometimes you may need less or more eggs to get to the weight provided in the recipe, for example the eggs you use maybe smaller or larger than the ones I use.
Before you start making the recipe, make sure eggs, pandan juice, and coconut milk (if you keep in the fridge) are at room temperature. Separate the egg yolks from the whites when they are still cold. It's easier that way. Then let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before whipping the meringue.

Make pandan extract: (prepare a day or two before if you can)

Make sure you cut the leaves into little pieces to extract the juice out from the leaves.
Put in a blender and add water and process for a minute or so or until it becomes paste-like. Transfer to a cheesecloth or muslin cloth or use a strainer to squeeze the juice out. Let the pandan juice sit for at least 30 minutes. Preferably 1-2 days before if you plan ahead. The juice will separate and the sediment will sink to the bottom. Pour out the watery portion on top and measure out the amount of pandan extract you need and keep the leftover in the fridge for up to one week
Pandan essence is optional. It does make the color a bit brighter and the flavor a bit stronger but you don't have to use it if you want to

Preheat the oven:

If you choose to do slit-top version: start preheating the oven at 385 F (195 C) for conventional oven. For convection oven,lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C). Position the rack to the lower 3rd of the oven
If you choose to do regular bake without the slit: start preheating the oven at 330 F (165 C) for conventional oven. For convection oven,lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C). Position the rack to the lower 3rd of the oven

Prepare the cake batter:

Whisk the egg yolks, cooking oil, sugar, then add coconut milk and pandan extract and essence. Sift in the cake flour, cornstarch and salt into the batter, there will be no lumps when you do this. Whisk to mix into a smooth batter. Set aside

Whipping the meringue:

Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy for about 30 seconds. Then add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar
Whip until it turns whitish and air bubbles are fine, another 30 seconds.
Gradually add the sugar as you beat, in 3 batches. I beat them at medium speed (speed 4 on Kitchen Aid). This will take a bit longer compared to beating at high speed. I used to do higher speed (speed 6 or even 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.

Check the meringue:

Whip until you reach a stiff peak but still have a slight bent on the tip. When you lift the whisk up, the meringue should stand tall with a slight bent on the tip like a hook. Then lower the speed to the lowest and whip for about 30 seconds to minimize air bubbles

How to know if you have overbeaten the meringue:

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. You will have to start over when you overbeat the meringue. If you use it, the meringue will separate when you fold it into the yolk batter and won't hold much air and your cake will deflate later

Fold meringue into the 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 and pourable consistency
Pour the batter into an UNGREASED chiffon cake pan. Use a skewer to draw a zig zag to pop bubbles inside the cake batter and to even out the batter throughout the 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.

Bake (If you choose to do the slit-top version):

Please note that the baking temperature in the video is slightly different than in this recipe. Please follow the baking temperature in this recipe post and not the video. I haven't had a chance to update the video yet.
Please read my post above why I like the slit-top method if you are curious. You can check out this YouTube Short for how the slit-top method is done.
Bake at 385 F (195 C) for 13–14 minutes,
Then quickly remove the cake from the oven and slit the top lengthwise, about 1/2-inch deep, with a sharp knife (this helps it rise evenly following the slit lines). Wipe the knife after each slit. Try to complete this in less than 1 minute.
Return to the oven, reduce the heat to 330 F (165C), and bake for For 6-inch tube: Bake for 50 minutes, For 7-inch tube: Bake for 55 minutes, For 8-inch tube: Bake for 60 minutes,For 9-inch tube: Bake for 65 minutes, For 10-inch tube: Bake for 70 minutes For convection oven,lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C)

Bake (without the slit-top):

This chiffon cake recipe has higher liquid and therefore we need to make sure it is baked long enough. Pop into the oven and place on the positioned rack. For 6-inch tube: Bake for 35 minutes, For 7-inch tube: Bake for 40 minutes, For 8-inch tube: Bake for 45 minutes,For 9-inch tube: Bake for 50 minutes, For 10-inch tube: Bake for 55 minutes
DO NOT open your oven door during the baking time. The cake will deflate.
Without opening the oven door, increase temperature to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven, If you have a convection oven, I suggest lowering the temperature by 20 F (15 C). Then bake for another 10 minutes.
NOTES on baking time: Please note that the baking time is just for reference. Your oven may bake faster or slower and the type of oven you use may be different than mine.

Test for doneness:

I know this is weird to say, but it's actually "safer" to overbake chiffon cake than underbaking. Underbaking tends to cause the cake to collapse. If you insert a skewer into the cake, it should come out completely clean.
Don't be alarm if your cake has some cracks on top. What you are looking at will become the bottom of your cake. I know many people mind it a lot and make a big fuss when the top of the chiffon cake cracks, but actually it's not a flaw.

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. Your chiffon pan may have the little stands for you to invert. Please don't be tempted to remove from the pan if it's still warm. It takes about three to four hours to cool completely
If the top of the cake is sticky to the touch after it has cooled down, next time you know you can add another 5 minutes to the baking time and see. It does require some experiment on your part as every oven may be different
Once it's cool down completely, use an offset spatula and press it firmly against the pan, sort of angling the spatula a bit and run through the edge as you turn the pan. This will ensure the brown crust won't peel off by the spatula. Some may peel off, but majority should be there. Gently push the base to lift the cake out. Use an offset spatula again, firmly press towards the pan and run through the base of the pan and then carefully release the cake.
For the slit-top chiffon cake, the cake can be placed upside down like usual, or with the slit top on top

Video

Notes

If you don't have pandan extract, just replace it with more coconut milk or milk (dairy/non-dairy for a richer taste) and use the pandan essence instead

Nutrition