Pandan Sponge Cake

1. Cut the strips into small pieces. Add them and water into the blender. Pulse until the juice is extracted. Strain and set aside.

2. Preheat oven at 160°C/320°F.

3. Separate the eggs.

4. In one bowl of yolks, add sugar. Mix vigorously until well combined.

5. Add oil. Mix vigorously until well combined.

6. Add coconut milk and pandan extract. Mix vigorously until well combined.

7. Add the pandan juice. Mix until combined.

8. Sift in the flour in 2 batches. Use a whisk to mix until combined.

9. In another bowl of egg whites, add the cream of tartar. With an electric mixer, mix on low speed until bubbly, then add in the sugar in 3 batches. Continue mixing on high until stiff peaks formed. Stiff peaks is when you see a short tail appear at the tip when you lift up your mixer paddle.

10. Add the whites into the green batter in 3 batches. Use a whisk and gently mix in a circular motion. Mix just until the whites disappear, do not over mix.

11. Transfer the batter into the 7x7x3-inch prepared pan, greased and lined with parchment paper.

12. Use a stick or chopstick to do as shown in video to release air bubbles. Tap pan few times on the table.

13. Bake in preheated oven at at 160°C/320°F for 45-50 min or until the inserted skewer comes out clean.

14. Let cool completely before slicing the cake.

15. For this cake I want to make a 4-layer but yet not a big cake. So I slicing the cake into 2 and cut into halves, that gives me 4 sheets of 1.5 cm layer. Set aside to prepare the frosting.

Coconut Fillings

1. In a bowl, add coconut sugar.

2. Microwave about 30 seconds or until the sugar is melted.

3. Add the hot water into the sugar. Mix until combined. It should have thick liquid consistency.

4. Add the sugar mixture into the desiccated coconut. Mix until incorporated.

Coconut Cream Frosting

1. Coconut cream can be quite tricky. I discovered this way your cream will not be runny and it will be thickened when you do as follows.

2. Chill the coconut cream (usually in carton box or can) overnight.

3. Amazingly, the thick concentrated cream will be on top and the diluted liquid will be at bottom.

4. Gently cut out and open the top container, you’ll notice the thick cream is set on top. Spoon out the cream gently so that you do not mix the cream with the diluted milk. Pour out and discard the unwanted liquid.

5. Mix the cream for about 1 minute, you’ll notice the volume increased slightly. However, it’s still runny.

6. Chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until it’s hardened or thickened.

7. In another bowl of whipping cream and sugar, mix them until stiff peaks formed.

8. After an hour, the coconut cream has thickened and hardened. Mix it a few seconds to get rid of the lumps and reach stiff peaks. Don’t go any further, it may turn runny again. If that happens, pop into the fridge again for another 30 min or so.

9. Fold in the coconut cream into the whipping cream until combined.

Assemble the cake (please refer to video)