Mum's birthday: Pandan Chocolate Zebra chiffon cake

It was my mum's birthday earlier this month. I always find it hard to buy presents because I don't know what she wants.. and usually she doesn't like the things we buy xD and gives it back to us. So I thought the best thing would be to bake a cake =) Priceless right? haha I saw this recipe on Sweet Samsations blog (Really liking her blog atm!!) and the cake looked SOOO COOL!! so had to make it!! 

I love the zebra stripe effect of the pandan and chocolate :) and this time I used REAL pandan leaves so the flavour was more pronounced ^^" The only thing was I didn't have a smaller round chiffon cake tin so the height wasn't there.
 

Pandan Chocolate Zebra Chiffon cake

Recipe adapted from Sweet Samsations

Ingredients

5 egg yolks
1/4 cup castor sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup pandan juice (10 pandan leaves blended withabout 6 tablespoons of water)

1 tsp pandan essence (i only used one)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
pinch of salt
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
5 egg whites
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar in until pale in colour and sugar has been completely dissolved.

whisking egg yolks and sugar

Pandan leaves soaking...they were thawing after being in the freezer ><

2. Mix in coconut milk, pandan juice, essence, vegetable oil, and salt.
3. Sift in plain flour and baking powder, fold until combined.


Green pandan-ness ^^

4. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites till frothy, adding a third of the sugar and all of the cream of tartar in. 
5. Continue to beat and gradually add the remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.


Egg whites whisking away.. thanks Kenwood ^^

6. Fold in 1/3 of the meringue to egg yolk mixture, fold till just incorporated. Repeat the same for the remaining meringue.


Fold egg white meringue into pandan mix

7. Divide the batter into half and mix in cocoa powder with one half.


the chocolate part =p

8. Add 1 tablespoon of each batter on the same spot in chiffon pan, piling them up on top of one another, until they are both used up. Bang it on tabletop twice to release air bubbles.


Green and brown mix~

9. Bake in preheated oven at 175oC for about 40 mins.
10. Invert the cake immediately once taken out from the oven. Cool completely before removing from mould.

I think the pandan flavour was stronger the next day! But really love this cake :)