Coconut and pandan layer cake
A moist, tender, and buttery coconut and pandan cake, layered with coconut Swiss meringue buttercream and coconut-pandan pastry cream.
Perfectly stable as a layer cake, yet soft and flavoursome enough as just a sheet cake (though doesn’t mean you can’t spruce it up with coconut and buttercream!).
I made this as a layer cake for my birthday back in April. The cake itself was such a hit when I first made it (as a sheet cake - basically as a trial run for this spruced up version) that it has been made thrice in my household and even once by a colleague (they confirmed that it was a hit with their kids, so that’s a win in my book!).
Join me in furthering my pandan agenda.
I can’t believe it’s taken me THIS long to make a pandan and coconut layer cake???? As I’ve said before, pandan (imo) is the superior ‘green’ flavour. Matcha? Pistachio? Mint? Yeah, they’re great, but nothing beats the pandan x coconut combo.
I was even thinking of adding some red bean between the layers since it’s part of the classic combination, but I simply did not have enough time. Besides, it works perfectly well without it.
Oh by the way, the pastry cream looks kind of grey because of the coconut cream I used being naturally grey. However, this also means that it naturally made the buttercream less yellow! A win!
I also brushed some gula melaka syrup onto each layer, however I only did this when turning it into a layer cake and not when making it as just a sheet cake, so really it’s optional.
I’d suggest making each element in the order I’ve put them in the recipe, with the pastry cream being made a day in advance because it can be stored easily in the fridge. In fact, I’d go so far as to say you should make the cake a day in advance too (slice in half and level them too, while you’re at it). Then, make the (optional) syrup and buttercream on the day you assemble the cake. If you’re making layer cakes and not making elements of them in advance, I either salute you, or question your sanity (or both? Porque no los dos?).
If you don’t have pandan leaves (fresh or frozen), feel free to use just the pandan extract/paste. In the recipe below, I’ve included this alternative in step 2, using 2tsp instead of 1 1/2tsp to compensate for flavour. This would make the cake greener than in the images, so if you prefer your cake to be less toxic green, stick to just the 1 1/2tsp.
I would highly recommend using pandan leaves if you have access to them though as it gives the cake a better flavour (I’ve tried with and without. If you’ve never tried pandan before or prefer just a light hint of pandan, the paste might be perfect for you, but if you’re a pandan veteran I do think you’d much prefer using the leaves)
For the sheet cake version
If you want to turn it into a sheet cake, I used 2/3 of the cake recipe below (either multiply the measurements by 0.666666 OR divide by 3 then multiply that by 2. For example, for the flour, 525÷3=175 and 175×2=350. To put it into a formula, (amount÷3)×2.)
I used a 30x25cm tray and baked it for 30 minutes.
I then topped it off with some simple coconut buttercream (250g unsalted butter beaten until light and fluffy, then beaten with 450g icing sugar a little at a time, plus 90ml coconut cream, 1/4tsp salt, and just a touch of coconut essence) and a sprinkling of desiccated coconut.
Below are images of the cake as a sheet cake that I brought to share at work.
Recipe
For the coconut pandan pastry cream
Makes approx. 2 cups
INGREDIENTS:
15g pandan leaves, cut into roughly 10-15cm pieces and knotted
500g coconut milk
1/4c corn flour 30g
1/3c castor sugar 60g
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4c castor sugar 50g
30g unsalted butter
METHOD:
1. In a medium pot, heat the coconut milk and pandan leaves until just boiling. Cover the pot and leave to steep for at least an hour or preferably overnight. Strain.
2. In a separate bowl or jug, stir the corn flour and 1/3c sugar. Whisk in the egg and yolks until smooth.
3. Heat the steeped coconut milk with 1/4c sugar until a simmer.
4. Spoon some of the heated coconut milk slowly into the egg mixture whilst whisking to avoid the egg cooking. Continue to add spoonfuls of milk in whilst whisking until you can feel the mixture is warm.
5. Add this mixture back into the pot. Return to the heat and stir constantly until bubbling and thickened. Add in the butter and stir to combine.
6. Pour into a heat-proof bowl. Leave to cool a little, then cover with cling wrap, ensuring the cling wrap touches the surface of the pastry cream. Leave to cool at room temperature until the bowl is no longer too hot to the touch, then transfer to the fridge.
For the coconut pandan cake
Makes 2 20cm cakes
INGREDIENTS:
375ml coconut cream
45g pandan leaves blended with 150g milk (see step 2 for alternative)
1 1/2tsp pandan extract/ paste
3/4tsp salt
525g Self-raising flour
375g castor sugar
375g unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
6 eggs
METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and line 2 20cm round cake pans.
2. Strain pandan leaves. Mix in coconut cream. Add 1tsp pandan paste. Set aside. (Alternatively, mix 90g milk with the coconut cream and add 1 1/2 - 2tsp pandan paste)
3. Sift flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and beat until evenly combined. It should look like a paste.
4. Beat in half of the milk/ pandan mixture.
5. To the remaining pandan mixture, beat in the eggs. Beat this mixture into the batter, in 3-4 batches.
6. Pour into the prepared cake tins and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
7. Once cooled, level (horizontally slice off any doming on the top of the cake) and halve each cake horizontally to get 4 layers of cake. Set aside in an airtight container or the fridge. Slide a layer of baking paper between each layer to ensure they don’t stick in the fridge and for easier assembly later.
For the coconut Swiss meringue buttercream
INGREDIENTS:
8 whites
450g castor sugar
620g butter, softened at room temperature, cut into cubes
150g coconut cream
METHOD:
1. Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large heatproof bowl and hand whisk to roughly combine. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water or a double boiler, ensuring the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
2. Gently hand whisk the egg whites and sugar over the heat until it feels hot and no longer gritty or grainy when you rub it between your fingers OR until it reaches 72°C (this will pasteurise the egg whites).
3. Remove from the heat and place the bowl back onto your stand mixer or onto your benchtop. Start beating on a low to medium-low speed with the whisk attachment or with your hand-mixer. When making meringue, the lower speed ensures the bubbles are smaller and more compact. Keep beating until you have reached soft peaks, then increase speed to medium to medium-high until stiff peaks form. This step may take a while. Feel free to give your mixer a rest from time to time.
4. Swap to the paddle attachment. With the mixer running on a medium-low speed, spoon in the butter, roughly a tablespoon at a time. Ensure the butter is fully combined before adding the next tablespoon. After adding all the butter, increase speed to medium-high or high and beat until it is thick and smooth. If it looks broken or loose, just keep beating it! It will come together eventually. It's like an emulsification. If it's still not coming together, place it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes then take it out and beat it again.
5. Add in the coconut cream a little at a time, beating well. Optionally, once fully incorporated, reduce mixer speed to low to beat the air bubbles out of the buttercream OR fold and press with a spatula.
For the gula melaka syrup
INGREDIENTS:
180g water
180g gula melaka
METHOD:
1. Boil for 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
To assemble
INGREDIENTS:
1 batch coconut pandan cake
1 batch coconut Swiss meringue buttercream
1 batch coconut pandan pastry cream
1 batch gula melaka syrup (optional)
Desiccated coconut (optional)
METHOD:
1. Place a bottom layer of cake (the bottom half of one of the cakes) onto a plate, cake stand, or cake board.
2. (Optional) Brush the layer with a generous amount of gula melaka syrup.
3. Dollop some buttercream on top and spread out. Spread the middle of the buttercream layer a little thinner to create a wide well. Fill the centre of that well with pastry cream. (See picture above for a visual)
4. Place a top layer of cake (the top half of one of the cakes) on top. Repeat steps 2-3.
5. Repeat step 4.
6. Place the final layer of cake on top, bottom side facing up. Brush with syrup. Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream and place in the fridge to chill until the buttercream is firm to the touch (crumb coat).
7. Remove from the fridge and spread another thicker layer of buttercream around the whole cake. Use any remaining pastry cream and buttercream to decorate the cake. I mixed the pastry cream with a little bit of pandan extract to colour it. I did the same with some desiccated coconut. I also toasted some more desiccated coconut to sprinkle on.
That’s it!
Store covered in the fridge. Enjoy fresh at room temperature, perhaps with a cup of tea or coffee.
