PANDAN KAYA CAKE

Steps:

• TO MAKE CAKE, trim 5 mm thick corrugated cardboard to fit sides of 23 x 15 cm cake pan. Wrap each piece of cardboard in aluminium foil, shining side facing out. Line bottom of 20 x 12 x 7.5 cm cake pan with 2 layers of parchment paper.
• Preheat oven to 160°C. Measure ingredients for cake as detailed above.
• Whisk 10 g castor sugar with egg yolks till dissolved. Add corn oil. Whisk till just combined. Add milk. Whisk till just thoroughly mixed. Add pandan paste, 6-8 drops, to make yolk mixture's colour look like pandan leaves. Mix thoroughly. Sift cake flour and baking powder into mixture. Add salt. Whisk till just thoroughly mixed.
• Separately whisk egg whites till frothy. Add cream of tartar. Whisk till thick foam forms. Gradually add 40 g castor sugar whilst still whisking. Continue to whisk till firm peak stage.
• Thoroughly whisk yolk mixture. Add egg whites in 3 batches. Mix with whisk till almost even after each addition. Scrape down and fold with spatula till just evenly mixed, banging mixing bowl against worktop 2-3 times.
• Pour batter into 20 x 12 x 7.5 cm cake pan, slowly and from about 30 cm high. Jiggle pan till batter is level, tapping pan against worktop 2-3 times.
• Place cake pan holding batter in 23 x 15 cm cake pan. Tuck cardboard between 2 pans. Bake in bottom of oven till middle of cake doesn't squish when pressed gently, 40-45 minutes.
• Remove pans from oven. Remove cardboard and outer pan. Drop pan holding cake from about 30 cm high, once. Invert pan onto wire rack. Leave till just cool. Unmould cake and remove parchment paper.
• Slice cake horizontally with serrated knife into 3 layers.
• Wash and dry cake pan. Line pan with aluminium foil with some overhang.
• TO MAKE KAYA, rinse pandan leaves. Cut 5-6 cm long. Grind in food processor with 30 g water till fine. Press to yield about 40 g pandan juice. Top up with water to make up 340 g.
• Place 340 g pandan water in a small pot that retains heat well. Sprinkle agar-agar powder into water. Add sugar, unsalted butter, and salt. Set aside for 30 minutes or longer.
• Place coconut milk in a bowl. Add hun kwee flour. Stir thoroughly. Refrigerate till ready to use.
• After cutting cake and prepping cake pan as detailed above, heat and stir agar-agar mixture till agar-agar powder dissolves completely. (Mixture is now very hot but not boiling.) Turn off heat. Add coconut milk mixture. Stir thoroughly. Add 5 drops pandan paste and 1 big drop egg yellow food colour. Stir thoroughly.
• Turn on heat to medium-low. Cook and stir agar-agar mixture till thick enough to coat sides of pot thinly. Turn off heat. Stir till residual heat dissipates. (Mixture should now be thick enough to coat sides of pot thickly but thin enough to flow smoothly.)
• TO ASSEMBLE CAKE, place what was top part of cake in cake pan, cut side up. Pour 140 g kaya into pan. Tilt pan from side to side and swirl kaya to form even layer. Wait till kaya layer thickens slightly, about 60 seconds (less if it's cold where you are). Place what was middle part of cake on kaya layer. Make kaya layer as before. Wait 30 seconds or so. Top with what was bottom part of cake, cut side up. Make kaya layer as before.
• Leave assembled cake on wire rack to cool down. Refrigerate, covered, till ready to serve and kaya is firm.
• To serve, unmould cake and trim 1 cm from all edges. Transfer to serving plate. Leave till cake is at room temperature, covered. Cut and serve.