Made with pandan juice and coconut milk, pandan cotton sponge cake (Japanese sponge cake) is full with Southeast Asian flavour, and the texture is as soft as cotton.
Cotton Sponge Cake boasts a texture that’s as delicate and plush as cotton, owing to its high egg-to-flour ratio. Given the low proportion of flour, it’s imperative that the cake doesn’t rise excessively during baking, lest it collapses upon removal from the oven. Therefore, it should be baked at a low temperature and placed in a water bath to ensure optimal results.
CHINESE VERSION: 香兰棉花海绵蛋糕-柔软如绵
Pandan Cotton Sponge Cake (Japanese Sponge Cake) | MyKitchen101en
Yield: 8-inch square pandan cake (24 pieces)
Ingredients:
- 60 g corn oil (or other vegetable oil)
- 50 g thick coconut milk
- 70 g pandan juice*
- 110 g cake flour
- 1 egg (size: L)
- 7 egg yolks (size: L)
Ingredients for meringue:
- 7 egg whites (size: L)
- ⅓ tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 150 g fine sugar
Instructions:
1 Grease and line 8-inch (20-cm) square baking pan with non-stick baking paper. Fold a larger piece of aluminium foil into half to create 2 layers, top with 6-7 pieces of kitchen towels, wrap the bottom of the baking pan with the aluminium foil.
(Reminder: Some moulds have joining parts at the bottom that water may seep in, thus you need to line the outside of the baking pan with a thick layer of paper kitchen towels and wrap with 2 layers of aluminium foil. The paper kitchen towels can absorb any water accidentally seeps in. It can also prevent the baking pan with batter from contacting with the larger pan, so that it is not too hot. You don’t have to wrap with foil if the mould doesn’t have joining parts, just put a piece of cloth at the bottom of the baking pan with batter to replace the kitchen towels.)
2 *For pandan juice: Blend 40 g of pandan leaves with 80 g of water, extract 70 g of pandan juice.
3 Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F.
4 Combine corn oil, coconut milk and pandan juice. Sift in cake flour, mix until combined. Combine egg and egg yolks, add to batter gradually, mix until well combined.
5 Whisk egg whites on low speed until foamy. Add in salt and cream of tartar, whisk until tiny bubbles are formed. Add in sugar gradually, whisk on low speed until soft peak (meringue is shiny with arch shape). (Reminder: Egg whites and equipment used to beat egg whites must be grease-free and water-free, including egg yolk. It is advisable to clean the egg shells and equipment with dishwasher detergent, then dry with a clean cloth. Use a clean small bowl to separate the egg yolk and egg white, if the egg yolk cracks, don’t use that egg white.)
6 Add meringue to egg yolk batter in 4 batches, mix gently with hand whisk.
7 Fold gently with spatula until well mixed. Tap mixing bowl a few times on countertop to burst large bubbles.
8 Pour the batter into prepared baking pan, tap baking pan on countertop a few times.
9 Fill a 10-inch square baking pan with hot water, about 1-inch high (for water bath), put in baking pan with batter.
10 Bake at 150°C/300°F for 1 hour 50 minutes, until fully cooked. (Reminder: If your cake does shrink when out of oven, then your oven temperature is too hot. Try reducing baking temperature to 140°C. The cake should rise slowly during baking to prevent it from over-rising then collapsing when out of oven.)
11 Drop the baking pan from 1 foot high onto countertop to minimise shrinkage.
12 Unmould the pandan cotton sponge cake and cool completely on wire rack (at least 6″ from countertop).
13 It is recommended to use a serrated knife to cut the cake once it has completely cooled.
Pandan Cotton Sponge Cake (Japanese Sponge Cake)
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Equipment
- 1 8-inch (20-cm) square baking pan
- 1 10-inch (25-cm) square baking pan
Ingredients
- 60 g corn oil or other vegetable oil
- 50 g thick coconut milk
- 70 g pandan juice*
- 110 g cake flour
- 1 egg size: L
- 7 egg yolks size: L
For meringue:
- 7 egg whites size: L
- ⅓ tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 150 g fine sugar
Instructions
- Grease and line 8-inch (20-cm) square baking pan with non-stick baking paper. Fold a larger piece of aluminium foil into half to create 2 layers, top with 6-7 pieces of kitchen towels, wrap the bottom of the baking pan with the aluminium foil. (Reminder: Some moulds have joining parts at the bottom that water may seep in, thus you need to line the outside of the baking pan with a thick layer of paper kitchen towels and wrap with 2 layers of aluminium foil. The paper kitchen towels can absorb any water accidentally seeps in. It can also prevent the baking pan with batter from contacting with the larger pan, so that it is not too hot. You don’t have to wrap with foil if the mould doesn’t have joining parts, just put a piece of cloth at the bottom of the baking pan with batter to replace the kitchen towels.)
- *For pandan juice: Blend 40 g of pandan leaves with 80 g of water, extract 70 g of pandan juice.
- Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F.
- Combine corn oil, coconut milk and pandan juice. Sift in cake flour, mix until combined. Combine egg and egg yolks, add to batter gradually, mix until well combined.
- Whisk egg whites on low speed until foamy. Add in salt and cream of tartar, whisk until tiny bubbles are formed. Add in sugar gradually, whisk on low speed until soft peak (meringue is shiny with arch shape).
- Add meringue to egg yolk batter in 4 batches, mix gently with hand whisk. Fold gently with spatula until well mixed. Tap mixing bowl a few times on countertop to burst large bubbles.
- Pour the batter into prepared baking pan, tap baking pan on countertop a few times.
- Fill a 10-inch square baking pan with hot water, about 1-inch high (for water bath), put in baking pan with batter.
- Bake at 150°C/300°F for 1 hour 50 minutes, until fully cooked. (Reminder: If your cake does shrink when out of oven, then your oven temperature is too hot. Try reducing baking temperature to 140°C. The cake should rise slowly during baking to prevent it from over-rising then collapsing when out of oven.)
- Drop the baking pan from 1 foot high onto countertop to minimise shrinkage.
- Unmould the pandan cotton sponge cake and cool completely on wire rack (at least 6″ from countertop).
- Cut with a serrated knife when completely cooled.
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Nutrition (per serving)
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Hi, thank you for sharing your recipe; it was well loved. I would like to know what would the recipe be if I want to get vanilla base? Thank you so much!
Thanks for your support. You may refer this recipe: https://mykitchen101en.com/japanese-cotton-sponge-cake-minimum-shrinkage/
Hello, can i ask if i only have a 6 inch round cake tin, how do i adjust your recipe please? Thanks.
Try using half of the recipe, you may need to adjust the baking time, see how it turns out.