Cocopandan Cake

Adapted from TiffinBiru

I saw this cake long ago, but not from TiffinBiru. I forgot where I saw it before, but I remember the name being cocopandan cake, and it uses desicated coconut for the cake.

I had some fresh grated coconut, not exactly fresh, but frozen from the fresh coconut. I couldn’t finish the coconut, and I forgot what I used it for before this and it was kept frozen until the day before I made this. I planned for this cake cos I need to wait for the pandan juice to separate.So, when I see the juice is almost ready, I brought the frozen coconut from the freezer down to the fridge to thaw overnight. The next day, the juice is ready and the coconut thawed, I’m ready to make this.

I reduced the liquid used cos I used moist grated coconut and I increased the volume of the coconut used, cos this is not dry. You see when anything dry is reconstituted with liquid, it expands, so, I used more in volume for fresh coconut. If you want to use dessicated coconut, please use half cup of it and increase both pandan juice and evaporated milk to 125ml EACH.

If you cannot find fresh pandan juice, and would want to use pandan paste/flavouring, please do not use evaporated milk but substitute the combined amount (125+125) of evaporated milk and pandan juice with fresh milk (250ml).

Any butter cake I do, that uses the egg white separation method, always gives me a"holey" cake, but, it's softer than cakes made with creaming method.


Cocopandan Cake

(A)
200gm self raising flour, sifted
100gm fresh grated coconut (about 1 cup)
75ml concentrated pandan juice
75ml full cream evaporated milk (Ideal brand)
125gm butter
100gm sugar
2 egg yolks

(B)
2 egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar
50gm sugar

1. Preheat oven at 160/180C. Prepare 2 loaf pans (3X6) or one 7 inch square pan or 1 8 inch round pan. Line the base.
2. Combine pandan juice and evaporated milk, set aside.
3. Beat (B) until stiff enough to defy gravity when overturned, but still has droopy peaks. Set aside.
4. With the same beaters, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Put in egg yolks one after the other, beating well and scrape the bowl after each addition.
5. Put in ½ of (2) and beat until well combined, it’ll only take a while. Put in half of the sifted flour and mix.
6. Put in balance of (2) and mix. Put in balance of flour and mix.
7. Put in grated coconut and mix.
8. Put 1/3 of beaten egg whites into batter and FOLD.
9. Put in another 1/3 and FOLD.
10. FOLD in final batch of egg whites.
11. Pour batter evenly onto prepared pans and bake for 40 minutes (loaf pans) or 50-60mins for single pans, or until skewer inserted comes out clean.

My 2 loaf pans gave me a 3 inch cake (the middle dome), so if you like higher cakes, just make one huge loaf.

I’m a coconut and pandan lover, and guess what? I super “not hate” this cake :)
I love this cake more than my Pandan Butter Cake which was adapted from Aunty Yochana.

But I think I'll definately put in more grated coconut the next time I make this, so that it'll be like what Tiffinbiru describes it as, a "coconut candy-like" cake. It's hard to get a bite on the coconut bits, or maybe I should've stuck to the dessicated coconut thingy.

Anyway, this cake's a true keeper. I'll make this the next time I'm craving for something pandan and coconutty.