Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake

I can say without any doubt that the combination of pandan and coconut results in the most heavenly flavour ever, whether sweet or savoury.  You can find pandan and coconut in Nasi Lemak or Nasi Uduk - that's savoury - or in deserts such as chendol and cake - that's sweet.  I had previously baked pandan chiffon cake but this time I thought I should try making a gula melaka version which puts more emphasis on the coconut.  I adapted my recipe for this gula melaka chiffon cake from the amazing Domestic Goddess Wannabe, Diana Gale.

My Take of The Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake - Galaxy Note 9

So... the work started with melting the gula melaka in coconut milk and a knot of pandan leaves.  I did a bad job of knotting the leaves so they just came off later as I melted the gula melaka. 

Gula Melaka + Pandan + Coconut Milk - Galaxy Note 9

The next step is to strain the mixture.  This is an important step, because if you've used gula melaka before you'll know there are traces of burnt elements and even little stones at times.  So straining the mixture ensures that you'll get a clean gula melaka, coconut milk and pandan essence.  

Those "blackish" stuffs, you don't want them - Galaxy Note 9

Next was separating the eggs.  This time I used a newly acquired egg separator to make the job quicker and cleaner.  

Separating The Eggs - Galaxy Note 9

After I prepared the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt and coconut oil - it was time to get mixing. 😏

Ready to Go - Galaxy Note 9

Baking chiffon cake involves mixing the yolk mixture (which I'll call "Team Yellow") and the meringue batter (which I'll call "Team White).  "Team Yellow" is made up of the egg yolks, gula melaka + coconut milk + pandan mixture, coconut oil, flour, baking powder and salt.  I started by beating the yolks and the coconut oil till pale and light before adding in the gula melaka + coconut milk + pandan mixture, flour, baking powder and salt.  As I didn't have a second bowl for my Kenwood Chefette machine, I had to do that by hand till almost ribbony consistency which required quite some elbow grease.  The key word here is "almost".  If you beat "Team Yellow" till ribbony consistency,  the batter will be too thick and the cake won't rise very high resulting in a slightly dense and dry texture.  So for a softer cake, beat "Team Yellow" till almost ribbony consistency.  Once reached that stage, just stop. 

Started Beating - Galaxy Note 9

Something Like This - Stop; That Was Hard Work Man... - Galaxy Note 9

After that was done, it was time to beat the egg whites.  As soon as the egg white turned foamy, I added in the cream of tartar followed by the caster sugar gradually.  I continued beating until stiff peaks formed.  

Making Meringue - Galaxy Note 9

Once that was done, I took a third of the meringue batter and mixed it with Team Yellow using cut and fold method until the mixture became homogenous and added in the rest of the meringue batter and continued folding till the batter became smooth.

Folding Meringue Into Team Yellow - Galaxy Note 9

Next, I poured the batter into the chiffon cake push pan.  Then I lifted the pan up by a few centrimetres and dropped it onto the  table's surface a few times to remove any large air bubbles.  And for good measure, I also ran a chopstick in the batter to remove smaller air bubbles.  Then the cake was good to go into the preheated oven.   

Removed Air Bubbles by Running a Chopstick - Galaxy Note 9

In You Go - Galaxy Note 9

It was so satisfying watching the cake rise in the oven while the surface browned.  The gula melaka aroma wafted through the house quickly and got the kids excited (me too actually 😝).  

Half an Hour Into Baking Time - Galaxy Note 9

After a good 55 minutes, it was time to take the cake out and cool it by inverting the pan.  

Cooling Down The Cake - Galaxy Note 9

After a good one hour, I took the pan off and it was time to enjoy the cake.  

Yumm! - Galaxy Note 9

Very Very Yummy - Galaxy Note 9

Recipe for a 23 cm chiffon cake pan: 

Team Yellow

- 180 gram gula melaka 

- 3 pandan leaves (more is better - Diana used 6, you can knot the leaves or cut to small pieces whichever is convenient)

- 200 ml coconut milk (Diana's recipe uses 100 ml)

- 100 ml coconut oil (Diana's recipe uses 60 ml) 

- 6 egg yolks 

- 140 gr cake flour 

- 1/4 teaspoon salt 

- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (Diana's recipe does not call for this, but I added in for insurance)

Team White

- 6 egg whites 

- 40 gr caster sugar 

- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar  

Note:
I used more coconut milk and coconut oil because I prefer my cake moist.  This is very handy as I refrigerate and reheat my cake in a toaster oven.  If you like yours slightly drier or intend to finish in one serving, Diana's recipe will work very well.  If you use Diana's recipe, you won't need to beat Team Yellow till almost ribbony consistency because the amount of flour will make the mixture thick enough already.

Method: 

1. Melt the Gula Melaka in the coconut milk and pandan leaves mixture over small heat, make sure the mixture does not come to a boil.   

2. Strain the mixture and set aside to cool down.

3. Once the mixture is cool enough to work with, start by beating the egg yolk with the coconut oil till pale and light, almost ribbony consistency.  

4. Add in the flour, salt and baking powder.  Mix well and set aside.   

5. Beat egg whites till foamy and add in cream of tartar. 

6. Once soft peaks form gradually add in the caster sugar 

7. Continue beating till stiff peaks formed.  

8. Take a third of the egg white batter and fold into Team Yellow until homogenous.  

9. Take the rest of the egg white batter, fold into Team Yellow and fold until no white streaks remained.  

10. Pour batter into a 23 cm ungreased chiffon cake pan 

11. Lift the pan up several cm and drop onto table a few times

12. Gently run a chopstick or skewer to remove smaller air bubbles 

13. Bake at 170 degrees C for 55 minutes.   

14. Once baked, invert the pan to cool completely before removing the pan

Here's a closing shot for this sweet entry: 

Spongy, Moist and Satisfying 😋 - Galaxy Note 9

~ Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy Note 9 ~