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You might be wondering why I’ve been baking so many cakes lately. Well, the reason is that the monkeys in our garden destroyed the pandan plants. To avoid wasting the remaining pandan leaves, I’ve been using them to make pandan juice for my cakes.

A few years ago, I shared a Pandan Butter Cake recipe on my blog and YouTube, using a slightly different method. In that version, I used the egg separation method and omitted fresh grated coconut. The egg separation technique results in a finer crumb, though it requires extra steps.

For this Pandan Coconut Butter Cake, the process is simpler as the whole eggs are beaten directly into the butter. The texture is slightly more crumbly, partly due to the grated coconut.

Both recipes are equally aromatic and delicious.

It is recommended to read the following notes before baking.

GENERAL NOTES

Butter

When the recipe requires room temperature butter it refers to a soft and pliable butter that is melted. The butter should not look shinny or greasy. It should still be cool to touch and not warm. During the creaming stage of butter and sugar, the mixing will create air pockets in the butter and this will result in a soft and fluffy cake.

If the butter is too warm it will not create the desired air pockets and this will result in a dense cake. Conversely if the butter is too cold, the butter won't expand easily and is also unable to create the desired air pocket s for a fluffy texture. Ideally, the butter needs to be soft and pliable but still cool to the touch.

Creaming Butter and Sugar

The beating (butter, sugar and egg) process has to be done slowly at a low medium speed and not more than a medium speed. The slow speed needs to be maintained when the flour is added. The flour needs to be mixed at a low speed as a high speed would develop additional gluten that will cause the cake to rise in the oven, but sink as soon as you remove it from oven. The sinking causes the cake to be dense. In short, over creaming will make your cake dense too. Sources from here.

Oven temperature and Baking Time

Do note that the baking temperature and timing provided are what works for my oven and should also be regarded as a guide only. Every oven behaves a little differently, so please adjust accordingly for your oven.

It would be good to use an oven thermometer when baking. This will help you understand and know the actual temperature you are baking at. The actual temperature in the oven may not be the same as the oven’s setting. Leave the thermometer on the same rack where you place your baking.

I usually bake cakes with top and bottom heats setting. I don’t encourage baking cakes with fan-forced mode as this setting uses a fan to circulate the hot air for quick baking or cooking at high temperature and may result in cracks on the cake. However, if fan mode is used, it is recommended to reduce the temperature setting by about 20C if using a fan-forced mode.

If you have any questions regarding this recipe or any other post, please leave me a comment in the “LEAVE A COMMENT” link and I will reply you as soon as possible. Do tag me on Instagram @Bakewithpaws if you attempt on this recipe.

How To Make Pandan Coconut Butter Cake

Yield: 7 inch square cake

INGREDIENTS:

250g butter (room temperature)

140g caster sugar (please increase to 180g or more if you prefer sweeter) please read notes below

5 eggs (large size-60g, room temperature)

20g milk or coconut milk

40g pandan paste (concentrated pandan juice), please refer here

250g plain flour/cake flour

1 heaped tsp (5.2g) baking powder or double action baking powder

¼ tsp salt

50g fresh grated coconut

Utensil:

7" X 7" Baking Pan

METHOD:

Preparation:

Allow the butter to reach room temperature, which takes about 30-45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease the baking pan or line it with non-stick baking paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the salt, and set aside.
Combine milk and pandan juice in a jar and set it aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk all the eggs.

Cake Batter:

Cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer on low to medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5-10 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Gradually add the whisked eggs in several batches, beating until the mixture becomes creamy.
On low speed, mix in half of the sifted flour mixture. Then add the pandan and milk mixture, mixing until fully incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix well.
Gently fold in the grated coconut with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles.

Baking:

Bake in the preheated oven at 170°C for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan.

Note:

If you don't have ready pandan paste (concentrated pandan juice) and wish to bake last minute. You may blend 10 pandan leaves together with 100g milk till fine in a food processor. Squeeze out the juice through a sieve. You need only 60g of mixture for the cake.
I used light brown sugar and blended it slightly so it dissolves more easily, like caster sugar.

Preparation