Follow the cake recipe here
Kaya (Custard) recipe largely adapted from Kitchen Tigress’s Recipe
Do visit her blog to watch her video which is really helpful
Note: I have doubled up the amounts which is sufficient for an 8″ round cake.
Ingredients:
680 g pandan juice (blend a bunch of pandan leaves with 700g of water, squeeze out the juice and let it sit a couple of hours. Pour away the top clear layer and use the dark residue at the bottom. Add clean water to obtain 680g. This step is to remove the bitterness from the Pandan juice)
2 tsp white agar-agar powder
90 g sugar
50 g unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
240 g fresh coconut milk
70 g white hoen kwe flour
2 tsps pandan paste (I used green liquid color)
2 large drops yellow food colour
Utensil: An 8″ cake ring, wrapped with foil, placed on a cake board or a 8″round normal cake pan or an 8″ round removable bottom cake pan (do wrap with foil first)
NOTE: 1st cake, I used a cake ring, which I need to wrap with foil to prevent leakage, and also I found that the cake ring was too short.
2nd cake, I used back the same normal 8″ round cake pan that I used to bake the sponge cake. If using this method, do the reverse i.e. pour in the custard layer first, followed by the cake layer. Before pouring in the first layer of custard, just rinse the pan and shake off access water. This will enable the cake to drop out easily once it’s set in the fridge for a few hours. Do not be tempted to cut it until it is in the fridge overnight.
1. Bake cake using recipe from here. Allow to cool completely before slicing of the top crust and then slice the cake into 3 layers.
2. Place Pandan juice in a large stainless steel pot and sprinkle agar-agar powder over it. Then add sugar, butter and salt and using a spatula, stir until sugar has dissolved. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
3. In a large bowl place coconut milk and hoen kwe flour and stir to mix into a thick smooth batter. Keep in fridge while you prepare the next step.
4. Once Step 1 is done, heat agar-agar mixture on low heat, stirring constantly until agar-agar powder has dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Once dissolved, remove from the heat and add the prepared coconut milk/hoen kwe batter. Use a spatula to stir until fully incorporated. Add green and yellow colour . Stir again to combine.
5. Return the pot of batter to the heat and continue to cook on medium-low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of your spatula. Remove from heat and continue to stir to cool the mixture a bit so that it thickens slightly but when you lift up the spoon, it can still flow down and merge with the batter in the pot evenly.
6. To assemble cake, place a piece of the cake into the prepared cake ring. Pour 1/3 portion of the kaya into the pan. Use a spatula to even out the kaya, making sure it flows into the sides as well. Place another piece of cake on the top of the kaya and pour another 1/3 portion into the pan. Repeat for the final layer.
7. Leave assembled cake to set before transferring into the fridge to chill until it is firm enough to unmould.
Hi Jeannie, if i dont use cake ring to assemble, does it mean i need to use a larger baking pan? Example i bake the cake on 6″ cake pan and then transfer to 8″ cake pan to assemble? Also, do u think i can substitue coconut milk with something else?
LikeLiked by 1 person
no, use back your 8″ pan that you used to bake your spongecake. I have added some notes to the recipe, please read it again. You can use milk or soy milk.
LikeLike
Hi Jeannie! If I use back the same 8 inch cake pan that i use to bake the cake, will there be enough space for the kaya to flow to the side and coat the sides?
LikeLike
Of course! The cake will shrink a bit, so it would be just nice.
LikeLike
Hi Jeannie, white hoen kwe flour is to make the batter thicker? Any idea what I could use to substitute this as my daughter is allergic to beans.
LikeLike
Sorry to hear that, maybe you can try using corn starch but I have not tried it so don’t know how the outcome is going to be. You can try cooking a small batch to try first
LikeLike
ohh that’s a good idea, thank you jeannie.
LikeLike
Hi..Jeannie how’re you? First of all my big THANKS to you. Today I tried out your recipe pandan layer cake it’s turned out very well. My little two kids really enjoyed n my husband appreciated me for scrumptious cake. Pandan layer cake it’s their favourite only things I don’t know how to make it and all the while thought that pandan layer cake is very hard to do..but with your methods very easy now…keep sending…THANK YOU VERY MUCH..GOD BLESS YOU.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Glad to know your family loved your cakes. Thank you for your feedback:D
LikeLike
hi, Jeannie, so if I use back the pan, first layer is kaya and do I put in the cake immediately or need to wait awhile?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Put in immediately
LikeLike
thanks! Jeannie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jeannie,
Can I substitute the pandan paste & yellow food coloring?
Thanks.
LikeLike
sure you can
LikeLike
Hi, may I know what is pandan paste? Is it the bottled thick pandan paste? If so, will it be too pandan taste since you are using green coloring? Thanks!
LikeLike
If you are using the paste, then you do not have to add any coloring. Also you only need a tsp or even 1/2 tsp of the paste. Replace the balance with coconut milk or water to make up of any shortage of liquid weight.
LikeLike
Hi dear. Fresh coconut milk is hard to be obtained where I live. Can I use the boxed coconut milk? Will it affect texture etc?
LikeLike
Won’t affect the texture. Sometimes I use box ones too.
LikeLike
Thank u mucho for feedback. N in the event i can’t find pandan leaves to make the juice, how can i modify this recipe? Been wanting to make it but my area is terrible to get all these ‘fresh’ items. Hope you can advise.
LikeLike
use water and add 1 tsp of pandan paste.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jeannie, to assemble the cake, did you pour in the kaya custard into the baking pan first, then you place the cut cake into the pan or vice versa? Thanks.
LikeLike
I used a normal seamless pan, so I pour in the custard first then the cake.
LikeLike
hi Jeannie,
my main problem is my sponge cake shrink a lot after taking it out from the oven. why is that so? i have not tried your recipe yet but i need to master the baking of a sponge cake first. can you let me know how to make a perfect sponge cake? can i add pandan
juice to the sponge cake for this recipe?
LikeLike
The sponge cake is pandan flavored so why cannot add pandan juice? You need to bake the cake until cooked and do not over beat your meringue.
Too stiff, the cake rise very high while baking but will shrink a lot when cooled.
LikeLike
Thanks Jeannie for your reply. Yesterday I had baked using your recipe. It was better than my previous recipe but my cake still came out unsuccessful. Please advise me of my mistakes..
1) my sponge cake rises very high up and broke into two (top and bottom like a mushroom). Could it be my meringue too stiff? Which is the best way to know that my meringue is ready to use?
2) my pandan batter didn’t came out well. It was lumpy? Was it becos i had heat up too thick or my agar agar was not well dissolve? Must I use a stainless steel pot or can I use non stick pot? If it is too thick what shall I do in the future?
Thank you so much…really love your blog alot!
LikeLike
1) temperature too hot, need to adjust lower. Meringue is firm peaks, not stiff.
2) Batter thick probably you are cooking it on too high heat and you have overcooked it. Should be just thick enough to coat the back of your ladle. Cook on low heat, stirring all the time.
LikeLike
Hi! Jeannie, first of all, thank you for sharing all your lovely recipes!
May I know do you have the ingredients list of this Pandan Kaya cake for 10″ round mould? I might be able to roughly calculate the kaya portion (doing some multiplication :p) but not on the cake recipe cos I don’t bake enough to calculate that.. I would like to make this for my 80+ year old mother in-law birthday.. It’s my first attempt though I’ve tried making yr pandan sponge cake & it turned out soft & moist..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi LY, I have a conversion page that you can refer to.
LikeLike
Many thanks, Jeannie.. After the conversion, the 10″ sponge cake turned out dry & after waited 15 mins, I tried to unmould the cake & the lower part didn’t came out nicely but fall apart with crumbs..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry to hear that. Keep practising and you will get it right. I have not tried baking a 10″ cake with this recipe. Not sure if it’s the prolong baking time that makes it crumbly.
LikeLike
Many thanks, Jeannie.. Just finished baking the 10″, it was a disaster.. Sponge cake turned out dry, not enough kaya to cover whole cake, although followed the conversion of 1.56 (from 8″ to 10″)
Anyway, my cake top more brownish than yours & the side of my cake turned brown too.. Cake raised tall & didn’t shrink much.. 190 for 22mins, 140 for 80mins.. Tried unmould after 15mins out of oven, the side came out with crumbs, not clean & neat like yours..
LikeLike
Hi Jeanie,
How do you make the design on the top of the cake? Eg. wait for the cake (with the kaya) to firm up before piping the design using the remainder kaya? Thanks in advance 🙂
LikeLike
yes, just wait a few minutes will do.
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
For second cake you use back 8in pan that you baked your cake to make pandan layer, it is removable base pan or normal pan?
LikeLike
Hi Jeanie, for the pandan sponge cake,do u use a removable bottom cake pan or a springform pan? When you said lined the tin with foil , is it lined the whole interior cake pan to prevent leakage of the custard when u assemble it? Won’t the crippling of the foil show on the set custard when u unmould it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I served this cake right side up. Not a very good solution though. I prefer the one using normal cake pan and invert to serve with the smooth bottom up.
LikeLike
Hi Jeanie
Would u say using a normal 8″ round pan & line the bottom with parchment is better than using an aluminium removable base pan or even a springform non stick pan for this sponge cake.
If I do not use a water bath , what temperature do I bake it & for how long? Appreciate a reply, thanks
LikeLike
I baked my sponge cakes in normal aluminium pans with the base lined. You can bake without the bath at say 20C lower? you have to use your own judgment. I don’t know your oven.
LikeLike
Hi Jeannie,
1) You’ve mentioned for 2nd cake, “before pouring in the first layer of custard, just rinse the pan and shake off access water.” But won’t that mean there’s cake crumbs left from baking the cake? Won’t that affect the unmoulding later?
2) I’m baking for someone that’s lactose intolerant and can’t use butter. What can I use for replacement?
Thanks in advance.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I meant you use a clean cake pan of course. I assumed that you would have cleaned and dried your pan already.
you can use olive spread or better yet if you can find it, coconut spread.
LikeLike
Thanks for your prompt replies, Jeannie. Looking forward to tasting it! 🙂
LikeLike
May I know the pandan layer texture is more to agar-agar texture or custard/kaya texture?
LikeLike
It’s more like custard.
LikeLike
Dear Jeannie, how did you achieve the criss-cross patterns at the first few pics? I tried both your pandan and corn custard cake! It was fantastic, so yummilicious! thank you!
LikeLike
put the balance in a piping bag, cut a tiny hole and pipe it out 😀
LikeLike
Jeannie, thank you for your recipe. It’s very nice, though the kaya layer is soft, I added a slight pinch of Agar2 but still soft. Do you think jeanother 1/4tsp will make the kaya firmer. We loved the cake & want to make again soon.
LikeLike
Yes, add more if still too soft.
LikeLike
Thank you for your reply, Jeannie. Will bake again this weekend.
LikeLike
Hi Jeannie,
My custard turned out jelly after it set. I wasn’t able to get hoen kwe flour where i live but i found mung bean starch so i thought it would be similar. I wonder if the jelly texture was due to not using the correct heon kwe flour or did i over cook my custard batter.
LikeLike
did you use agar-agar powder? must cook that until fully dissolved. Try using potato starch instead of mung bean start.
LikeLike
you are such a NEAT baker… beautiful cakes all the time .. bravo
LikeLike
Thank you! I can be messy too 😛
LikeLike
Hi Hi..
My pandan kaya cake WOULD NOT come out of the pan
What can I do?
LikeLike
sorry for the late reply, your cake should be gone by now 😛 If you ever tried this cake again, wrap the cake with a hot towel for a minute. This should release the cake from the pan easily.
LikeLike
Hi jennie, how to store this cake? Can i leave the cake in room temp after the kaya set?
LikeLike
NO! you have to keep it in the fridge in a covered container and finish it in 2-3 days.
LikeLike
Thank you for replying
LikeLike
I’m trying to make this cake dairy free. Can I replace butter with cooking oil? Or perhaps I should omit it all together? If replaceable how much to use please? Thank you in advance
LikeLike
Yes replace butter with oil..same amount in weight.
LikeLike
Hi Jeannie, if I am using a 6 inches mold, do I need to half the kaya recipe?
LikeLike
Yes
LikeLike
Hi jeannie,
Thanks for the recipe!
I am wondering how do I apply the crisscross pattern on the cake after pouring jelly onto the cake mould without cooking another batch of jelly? Cos I suppose I can only do it after the cake has set in the fridge and unmould from the cake pan.
Appreciate your advice. Thank you!
LikeLike
For this design, you do the reverse way using a removable bottom pan and then pipe the crisscross on the top after the final layer is poured in.
LikeLike
Thanks for your quick reply! But how do i remove the cake from the removable bottom pan? Thanks
LikeLike
Hi Jeannie , I made the Pandan layer cake but the side r not well cover by the kaya. I use back the same time that I baked the sponge but there isn’t much room for the kaya to flow down the side although I spread it the side after each layer. Do I use a bigger tin?
Please comment , thanks .
Mama Mia
LikeLike
I don’t have that problem at all. You can use a bigger pan and increase your custard accordingly.
LikeLike
Hi jeanie, do I need to wait for the kaya to set before I put the first layer of cake. My sponge cake keeps floating on top of the kaya no matter how much I press the kaya cake down.
LikeLike
you need to cook the custard longer to make it thicker but still flowing.
LikeLike