Of Baking and Pandan Chiffon Cake

Assalamualaikum.

Alhamdulillah masih bernafas lagi hari ini. Dapat menggunakan nikmat oxygen yang Allah bagi free. Teramat sombong bagi hamba Allah yang tak bersyukur.

Lately, saya sangat passionate utk memasak especially baking. Setiap kali surf internet, mesti akan tengok resepi2 kek yang boleh dicuba. Selagi xbuat kek tu, memang akan teringat2 je dalam kepala ni. This thing started after I got married to my lovely husband. Selepas berkahwin duduk di rumah mentua. And mak mentua (mama) memang suka memasak. Even petang2 lepas balik kerja penat2, mama akan buat something utk minum petang. Dalam pukul 7, mama terus masak utk dinner plak. Pagi2 mama bangun awal utk buat breakfast. Walaupun bekerja, mama memang x miss masak.

So, saya rasa peluang di Adelaide ni boleh digunakan utk mencuba pelbagai masakan dan bile dah balik Malaysia nanti, boleh la masakkan utk suami tercinta. Kalau boleh, busy2 mcm mane pon, saya nak suami saya makan hasil air tangan isteri dia sendiri. And lepas tu, saya try masak pelbagai jenis masakan yang saya mampu buat. Xdela sampai tahap masterchef, but i challenge myself utk masak something yang tak pernah try before.

Awal2 semangat utk masak dan baking ni, tak terfikir nak ambil gambar pon. Tapi lately rajin pulak ambil gambar sebagai kenangan sendiri, usually sebab nak tnjuk kat suami. I have been a bit too passionate this month to cook. Teringat husband pernah kata dia suka makan kek pandan chiffon yang beli kat kedai kek/jusco, so saya pon try la buat sendiri.

Inilah hasilnya selepas dipotong. 

Memang sedap la kek ni. Ringan dan lembut. 

(Sorry gambar tak cantik)

So, this time nak share recipe utk kek pandan ni, memang tak rugi buat. Saya buat utk berbuka puasa. Sekali makan jea, habis separuh kek ni. Resepi ni ambil kat internet jea. Tapi tengok review orang, semua kata jadi ok, saya pon try la. Ok, here it goes:

Ingredients of batter 
5 egg yolks
20 gm caster sugar
100 gm cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 ml coconut milk
2 Tbsp pandan juice (see below for making pandan juice)
a few drops pandan essence/pandan paste, optional
3 Tbsp olive oil

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 170C (338F)
2. Beat the egg yolks with a balloon whisk and mix in 20 grams of sugar
3. Add coconut milk, pandan juice, and a few drops of pandan paste (if desired). Combine well.
4. Sift in cake flour and baking powder in three batches into the egg yolk mixture. Mix well.
5. Lastly, add olive oil. Set aside.


Ingredients of egg whites
5 egg whites
60 gm caster sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Ingredients of pandan juice:
10 pandan leaves, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 Tbsp water

Method
1. Use a large clean bowl, making sure there’s no water or oil in it.
2. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form.
3. Add the cream of tartar. Mix well.
4. Add the 60 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions. 5. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form
6. Spoon out 1/3 of the beaten egg whites and fold into the egg mixture. Lightly fold in the rest of the beaten egg whites with a spatula, until just combined.
7. Pour into the cake pan and bake in preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes
8. After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find your cake gets browning, reduce heat to 150C（302F）, continue to bake until cooked through. A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
9. Remove cake from the oven. invert the pan immediately. Allow it to cool completely (very important step to make sure your cake does not drop)

To make pandan juice
1. Chop pandan leaves into chunks, pop in a food processor/blender and add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Process to small pieces.
2. Place pandan leaves in a muslin bag and squeeze out the juice. You need about 2 tablespoons of it to make this cake. If you don’t have a muslin bag, just use your clean hand to squeeze out the juice

So, it is not that difficult actually to make a chiffon cake. I think the most important steps are beating the egg until stiff peaks form and fold the beaten egg whites and batter gently but confidently to maintain the light texture.

Ok, next time nak share pulak cara nak buat cotton-soft japanese cheesecake yang delicious. Kat bawah ni gambar dia. Memang yummy.. :)

Cotton-soft japanese cheesecake.. 

Selamat mencuba ye resepi kek pandan chiffon tu! 

Breakfast di Hotel Grand Lexis. Terbangun lambat pagi tu. 

Tu yang sembap je mata masing-masing.