SPECIAL PUTO PANDAN CAKE

Puto might be a bad word to some nationalities but its music to the ears of many Filipinos. When you say Puto, we will definitely say Yum! Puto or Filipino Muffins is our favorite snack and commonly served on parties or special occasions. There are so many variations of Puto but this kind is my favorite. I've made the plain version of this Special Puto Cake before and many of my followers on Facebook and YouTube have already tried it. For a change, I thought of making Pandan Flavor. Pandan smells so good and really adds flavor to puto. 

What is Pandan?
Pandan is a tropical screwpine plant with fragrant leaves which are widely used for flavoring in Asian cuisines. Its taste described as a grassy vanilla with a hint of coconut. 
To make Pandan Water for this recipe, I cut the 2 leaves into small pieces and blend it together with 3/4 cup water for about 1 minute then I strained and squeezed the juice. If you do not have access to pandan leaf, Pandan Flavor is widely available in the market. 

This cake is soft and moist and to achieve the same texture make sure not to over-steam or it becomes dry.  The salted egg is perfect for this cake so do not omit. If you happen not to find salted egg in your area, you can make your own but you can also top it with cream cheese and omit the cheese required in this recipe. For the cheese, I used Eden brand. You can also use Queso or Magnolia brands. 8-inch square or round pan is perfect for this recipe. Just make sure to line with ungreased parchment paper so you can easily pull it from the pan and you'll achieve smooth sides if the sides are lined too.

​After steaming, let cool for few minutes, remove from pan, peel off the parchment paper and transfer to a wire rack. If you leave it in the pan, the bottom will be soaking wet and you do not want that. The heat needs to be released so transferring to a cooling rack is highly recommended. More recipe notes below, so make sure to read them. 
Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Enjoy! 

SPECIAL PUTO PANDAN CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients:
Cake Batter

• 1-1/2 cups cake flour 
• 1/2 cup  + 1/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup  water
• 1/2 tsp or more buko pandan flavor

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

• grated cheddar cheese 
• Salted egg, sliced

​Cake Flour Substitute:

• Measure out 1 cup all-purpose flour.  
• Remove 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour and place it back in your flour canister.  
• Replace the removed all-purpose flour with 2 tbsp cornstarch.
• Sift flour 5 times.

​*Sifting the flour and cornstarch together will help thoroughly combine the mixture and help to lighten and aerate the flour.

video

Procedure: ​

• In a large bowl, sift together flour,  1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. 
• Add water and pandan flavor. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
• Note: Instead of water you can also make pandan water by blending together 1/2 cup pandan leaf (about 2 pandan leaf cut into small pieces) and 3/4 cup water. Blend for one minute. Use a cheesecloth to strain and extract the juice. 
• In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.
• Add cream of tartar and beat until it foams up.
• Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff. 
• Carefully fold in the egg white mixture (meringue) to the cake batter. ("Folding" is a more gentle mixing technique than "stirring" and "mixing". Carefully cut through the mixture with the edge of a rubber spatula, working in a gentle figure of eight.)
• Transfer the batter to an 8" pan lined with ungreased parchment paper. 
• Add grated cheese and salted egg on top.
• Prepare the steamer by boiling the water. Place the cake pan on the steamer pan. Wrap the steamer lid with clean cloth to avoid water drips
• Steam over medium heat for 18-20 minutes. Do not over-steam. Cake is ready when toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Slice, serve and enjoy.

RECIPE NOTES

• As mentioned above, you can use plain water or make your own pandan water. Just adjust the pandan flavor if you are not  using pandan leaf. 
• I used Eden brand for the grated cheese. 
• Make sure not to overmix the cake and follow the folding technique. ("Folding" is a more gentle mixing technique than "stirring" and "mixing". Carefully cut through the mixture with the edge of a rubber spatula, working in a gentle figure of eight.). Overmixing will cause the cake to deflate or your cake will be too heavy or compact. ​
• ​After steaming, let cool for few minutes, remove from pan, peel off the parchment paper and transfer to a wire rack. If you leave it in the pan, the bottom will be soaking wet and you do not want that.

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PRINTABLE RECIPE

Special Puto Pandan Cake by PinoyCookingRecipes