Bite-Sized Kueh Is Good, But This Giant Pandan Coconut One Is Even Better

There’s so much to love about kueh puteri ayu, those mini bundt-shaped morsels of steamed pandan cake topped with grated coconut. Well, except for the effort of pressing grated coconut into multiple little moulds and filling them with batter individually. And then painstakingly unmoulding them one by one. “There must be an easier way to make this lovely confection”, we thought. Which is how we found ourselves pottering in the kitchen and filling our large bundt pan with the jade-hued batter.

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Puteri ayu, by the way, translates from Bahasa Indonesia to mean “pretty princess”. It is said to have originated in Indonesia and is now found across Malaysia and Singapore (we like the ones from old-school bakery Galicier). In our larger format, it is infinitely easier to make and, might we add, just as easy to eat. Perfect for fuss-free gatherings of five for Hari Raya Puasa, Mother’s Day or a random Sunday at home with the family.

Photo: JooC Tarts

We are glad to report that a large puteri ayu is as satisfying to eat as its smaller, albeit cuter cousins. We also infused part of the grated coconut with gula Melaka to give it a caramel colour and flavour contrast. We prefer not to use essences or food colouring if we can avoid it, which is why we’ve used a higher ratio of pandan leaves to coconut milk. This helps give the batter a richer fragrance and greener hue. However, if the pandan leaves you have on hand don’t seem to yield the colour and aroma that you want (perhaps because the leaves are older), then feel free to add a drop of essence and colour to enrich the batter. At the end of the day, what you want is a cake that exudes the alluringly delicate scent of pandan.

A silicon mould (we used a 23cm one from Shopee) will also make your life much easier when it comes to unmoulding this cake. Because it is steamed and contains no fat like butter or oil, a metal tin that needs greasing will mess with the texture of your cake. Silicon bundt moulds are easily and cheaply available online.

Makes one 23cm cake; feeds 6 to 8 pax​​​​​​​

INGREDIENTS:

120g fresh grated coconut

50g gula Melaka, roughly chopped

½ tsp salt

For the cake layer:

120ml fresh coconut milk

10 pandan leaves, cut into 4cm pieces

150g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

2 eggs (weighing 60g each in its shell)

100g caster sugar

Optional:

A drop of pandan essence

A drop of green colouring

1. Place 60g of grated coconut in a bowl and the remaining 60g of grated coconut in a small saucepan with the gula Melaka and salt. Over medium-low heat, fry the grated coconut and gula Melaka mixture till the latter melts and evenly coats the grated coconut. Set aside to cool.

2. Place the coconut milk and pandan leaves in a blender. Blitz for about 30 seconds, till the leaves are slightly pulverised. Transfer the mixture to a muslin bag and squeeze to extract all the liquid. If you find that you have less than 120ml of liquid, top it up with a little more coconut milk. Discard the leaves and set the infused coconut milk aside.

3. Preheat your steam oven to 100°C. If steaming over a stove, have your steamer pot or wok ready and start bringing your water to a boil over high heat.

4. Place your bundt mould on a heatproof plate or tray so that it will be easier for you to transport it to the steamer later on.

5. Arrange the grated coconut and gula Melaka-infused grated coconut on the bottom of your bundt mould, alternating them to form a brown and white ring. Then press them in with your fingers as tightly as possible to adhere to the bottom of the mould.

6. To make the batter, sift flour and baking powder into a bowl.

7. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

8. Add the pandan-infused coconut milk and beat on low speed till well combined, about 30 seconds. At this point, add a drop of pandan essence and/or colouring if you feel your batter needs it. Stir to mix.

9. Add the flour mixture and mix over low speed until just incorporated and smooth.

10. Pour batter into the bundt mould and steam for 18 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch.

11. Remove and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before unmoulding.

12. This cake is best eaten straight out of the steamer. Leftovers can be reheated in a steamer for 5 minutes or for several seconds (covered with a damp paper towel) in a microwave oven.

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Photos: Kelvin Chia