8 Days - November 02, 2017

48

8 DAYS

EAT

It’s

Pandan-monium

Kitchen goddess Nigella Lawson recently declared pandan the

new ‘It’ ingredient. That’s all good for them angmohs, but we

have loved pandan since, well, forever. Especially in a chiffon

cake. Here are six versions to try — including one baked by

the cousin of former actor James Lye.

There’s something intoxicating

about the  avour of pandan.

It’s got a creamy sweetness similar

to vanilla, but with faint vegetal

undertones which give it a bright

freshness. And it’s also got an

alluring lemak quality that’s almost

coconutty. We folks in Southeast

Asia have been using it in desserts,

especially those involving coconut

milk or oil (those two go together

like Fann and Chris) almost since

time began. But it’s just starting

to take off in the West. “I think

it’s going to be the new matcha;

I noticed more and more people

in America baking with pandan

essence,” opined Nigella Lawson.

CNN highlighted the pandan chiffon

cake with a “radioactive hue”

earlier this year as Singapore’s

representative in their ‘Cakes of the

World’ feature. And why not? There’s

nothing more local, or irresistible

than a  uffy cake perfumed with rich

pandan and coconut.

What makes a good pandan cake?

According to respected local

cookbook author and cooking

instructor Christopher Tan, who has

created his own pandan chiffon

cake recipes, including one that

was printed in American food mag

Saveur, the chiffon cake recipe

was invented by, oddly enough, an

American insurance agent. It made

its way to Singapore in the late

’70s, when the local media  rst

mentioned it. Christopher, who also

teaches pandan chiffon cake-baking

classes at cooking school The

Kitchen Society, reckons that a fab

version must have “good fragrance

from freshly-squeezed pandan leaf

!

Cake walk:

(Clockwise from top)

Pandan chiffon cakes

from Mad About

Pandan Cake, Pure

Pandan, Cheng’s @ 27

and PrimaDeli.