Cover Joe Leong, the pastry chef of V-Zug Singapore and its V Dining restaurant

Create this homegrown favourite in your kitchen using this cake recipe shared by Joe Leong, the pastry chef of V-Zug Singapore and its V Dining restaurant

The fluffy, moist pandan cake is a familiar treat for most Singaporeans, chef Joe Leong included. “​My wife personally loves my chiffon cake and is constantly asking me to do it every time,” shares the chef. “Chiffon cake is a recipe that most people fear because of its success rate, but it is delicious to eat and the texture is amazing!” 

As the son of celebrated celebrity chefs Sam and Forest Leong, it seemed only natural for Joe Leong to dive into the world of gastronomy. Now appointed as the pastry chef of V-Zug Singapore, the young chef oversees the creation of pastries at its V Dining restaurant as well as bespoke recipes for the kitchen brand’s catering arm.

This pandan cake recipe is adapted from An Asian Touch, a cookbook published by Swiss appliance brand V-Zug. Featuring recipes contributed by 21 Singapore-based chefs, the cookbook was edited in partnership with Singapore Chef’s Association. The Swiss brand will also share demonstration videos of selected recipes on its Facebook page; the cookbook is also complimentary for owners of V-Zug ovens. 

(Related: Here Are 9 Ways To Minimise Food Waste In Your Home)

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Above Pandan chiffon cake recipe by Joe Leong, adapted from An Asian Touch, a cookbook published by V-Zug Singapore and edited in partnership with Singapore Chef’s Association

If you’ve had your fill of baking banana breads and are up for a bigger challenge, why not give this pandan chiffon cake recipe a go? This recipe by Leong takes 10 minutes to prepare and an hour to bake.

“There will be two main challenges: the folding of the egg whites (into the meringue batter), and the quality of the oven used, as poor quality ovens will not circulate heat well and affect the end result,” says Leong. “Practice makes perfect! Make sure that you do not fold the meringue batter too much. As the egg-white mixture is folded in one-third portions, the folding should be done as efficiently as possible by using a rubber spatula. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through and press it back down into the mixture. If done correctly, you would only have to do less than 10 folds.”

Leong also recommends using pandan paste instead of pandan essence for this recipe to improve the taste and appearance of the cake. “The taste of the pandan essence is usually stronger and the colouring is more intense, making it appear artificial,” he says. “Therefore, you might want to consider using pandan paste instead of pandan essence.”

 

Pandan Chiffon Cake recipe

By Joe Leong of V-Zug Singapore and V Dining

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

Pandan Mixture

• 6 egg yolks

• 20g castor sugar

• 40ml coconut oil

• 160g coconut milk

• 10g of pandan paste or 4g of pandan essence (4g is equivalent to 1 tsp)

• 120g plain flour

Meringue

• 6 egg whites

• 1⁄4 tsp cream of tartar

• 80g castor sugar

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Above Ovens from Swiss brand V-Zug

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to around 145 to 155 deg C.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix egg yolks, sugar, coconut oil, coconut milk, pandan essence and flour well with a whisk.

3. To prepare meringue, whisk egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks are achieved.

4. Fold one-third of the meringue mixture one at a time into the pandan mixture using a rubber spatula until well combined.

5. Pour mixture into a cake mould and gently tap the mould to release air bubbles.

6. Bake for 1 hour.

7. To serve, allow the cakes to cool, then turn over and unmould onto a wire rack.

 

Watch the pastry chef demonstrate the steps in more detail via the video below:

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