Pandan Custard Cake. A soft creamy custard pandan cake that will melt in your mouth. With crispy edges but a very soft and luscious interior. A great idea for dessert if you enjoy pandan and custard!
What is Pandan Custard Cake?
Pandan Custard Cake features a delicious custard-like interior with a slightly crispy exterior packed with sweet pandan flavor! It's such an incredible dessert. If you love fragrant pandan flavors, you will love this cake. If you're not familiar with how pandan tastes like, it almost has a vanilla taste with a hint of grass and coconut. Pandan is commonly used in South-East Asia for many desserts.
This cake was inspired by my KUIH SERI MUKA which is more like a mochi cake with different layers but one layer contains pandan. I decided the pandan layer needed to be a cake on its own and that's how this recipe was born. This recipe is pretty simple with minimal ingredients.
Ingredients
- Eggs
- White granulated sugar
- Water
- Pandan Leaves
- Unsalted butter
- All purpose flour
- Lukewarm milk
- Icing sugar
How to make Pandan Custard Cake
Preheat the Oven
Preheat oven to 325F/160C. Grease a 8" x 8" square cake pan.
Create Pandan Liquid
In a blender, add chopped pandan leaves and ¼ cup water. Blend on high. Run the pandan liquid through a sieve to remove the pulp to discard. Reserve the liquid for later.
Mix Egg Yolks and Sugar
In a large mixing bowl, add egg yolks and sugar to a bowl and beat until it turns pale yellow.
Add Melted Butter
Then add the melted butter and beat until well combined.
Add Flour
Next add flour and only beat until just combined.
Mix & Warm Pandan Liquid + Milk
Whisk together your milk and pandan liquid. Microwave for 60 seconds until lukewarm.
Add Pandan Milk to Egg Mixture
Gradually add pandan milk to your egg mixture (about ¼ cup at a time). Beat until well combined.
Beat Egg Whites
Now beat egg whites until you reach stiff peaks.
Fold in Egg Whites
With a spatula, fold ⅓ of the egg whites into the batter at a time until incorporated. The batter will be very runny and there will be lumps, which is fine.
Pour Batter into Pan
Pour the batter into you square cake pan.
Bake & Cool
Bake for 60-65 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, cover loosely with aluminum foil. To check if it is cooked, insert a toothpick to check if it comes out clean. If its clean, then remove it from the oven. If not, leave it in the oven covered for another 10 minutes.
Allow to cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
To serve, sprinkle icing sugar over top, slice and enjoy!
Other recipes you may like!
- Kuih Seri Muka
- Hawaiian Butter Mochi
- Pandan Pancakes
- Rose Pandan Coconut Sago
- Vegan Pandan Coconut Jelly
- Pandan Crepes
📖 Recipe
Pandan Custard Cake
Ingredients
- 4 eggs yolks and whites separated
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 pandan leaves cut into 3 inch pieces
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk lukewarm
- Icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F/160C.
- Grease a 8" x 8" square cake pan.
- In a blender, add chopped pandan leaves and ¼ cup water. Blend on high. Run the pandan liquid through a sieve to remove the pulp to discard. Reserve the liquid for later.
- In a large mixing bowl, add egg yolks and sugar to a bowl and beat until it turns pale yellow.
- Then add the melted butter and beat until well combined.
- Next add flour and only beat until just combined.
- Whisk together your milk and pandan liquid. Microwave for 60 seconds until lukewarm.
- Gradually add pandan milk to your egg mixture (about ¼ cup at a time). Beat until well combined.
- Now beat egg whites until you reach stiff peaks.
- With a spatula, fold ⅓ of the egg whites into the batter at a time until incorporated. The batter will be very runny and there will be lumps, which is fine.
- Pour the batter into you square cake pan.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, cover loosely with aluminum foil. To check if it is cooked, insert a toothpick to check if it comes out clean. If its clean, then remove it from the oven. If not, leave it in the oven covered for another 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- To serve, sprinkle icing sugar over top, slice and enjoy!
Natassia McNicholas
Made this today and it came out really eggy, soft and delicious! It's also not very sweet. I increased the amount of pandan leaves (5 leaves in the 1/4 cup) as other commenters suggested which was perfect to me and still not too strong.
How do you suggest it be stored?
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe and for leaving a positive review, Natassia! So glad you enjoyed it with more pandan. As for storage, it can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days in the fridge and you can reheat it in the microwave for 60-90 seconds it to warm it up so it becomes chewy again. I don't recommend freezing this as it will turn rock hard. Hope this helps!
Heather
Wow, can't say enough good things about this. Beautiful silken middle, unique flavors, a little texture around the edges. Don't miss the comments Christie includes because I would have been concerned about my runny lumpy batter that turned into heaven. So glad I had some pandan juice left over or I would have never searched on what to make with it. Totally a keeper!
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for the very kind and raving review, Heather! I'm so glad it all worked out very well 🙂 I hope you continue to enjoy my recipe!
Zee
Great recipe! Turned out beautifully. I did double the amount of pandan but only because I love the flavour!
Christie Lai
Amazing! I am so thrilled to read this and glad it turned out beautifully 🙂 I appreciate the kind review!
Vanessa Geisenhoff
Incroyable !!! Je rajoute quelques feuilles en plus de pandan . Délicieux !!!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! I'm so happy to read that you enjoyed and I appreciate this kind review!
Judy
Sooooo good, I’m making it again today. The perfect treat for pandan lovers. I love it so much I double the pandan dose.
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe Judy! I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much to make it again today 🙂
Liana
Hi, I tried to make this but it turned out to be more fluffy and cake like than a custard. I'm not sure what I did wrong and I followed the measurements.
christieathome
Hi Liana, I am so sorry to hear it didn't work out for you! Wondering if it could be the oven since all ovens have a slight fluctuation in temperature? To help with that, I usually use an oven thermometer to help reach the exact temperature.
I hope it was still delicious with the cake-like texture even though I'm sure you were looking for a custard like texture. Again, sorry to hear this!
- Christie
Dshala
I don’t have a microwave. What do you suggest I do instead?
christieathome
I would recommend heating the liquid in a small pot over the stove on low heat until it's lukewarm to touch.
Jenny Nguyen
Hi Christie, I have pandan essense. Do you think I’d still need to add water? TIA
christieathome
Hi Jenny, I haven't personally tried the essence myself but I would substitute with 2 tbsp pandan essence and 2 tbsp water. Pandan essence is usually very strong and stronger than the liquid from the leaves so I would suggest diluting it with the water amount specified just to be safe 🙂 Hope this helps. Let me know how this works out as I'm curious!
nikki hodges
Hi. Wondering if I can use coconut milk or coconut cream in place of milk in this recipe?
christieathome
Hi Nikki, I haven't personally tried that myself but if you'd like to try, use a light version of coconut milk that isn't too thick like coconut cream. It should be thin and runny like milk. Let me know how it turns out with the coconut milk. Thanks!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Your Pandan Custard cake looks so totally scrumptious... what a totally fun treat!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
Those contrasting textures of crispy outside and creamy inside look and sound incredible! Thanks for another great recipe Christie!
Rosemary
Mmm you had me at melt in your mouth. I've been making so many desserts lately I'll add this to the list hehe
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Looks so creamy and delicious!! Love pandan flavour!