Pandan cupcakes
Pandan cupcakes bring a very Vietnamese flavor to a pretty little butter cake: a pale green, soft and fine crumb, fragrant with pandan and lightly rich with coconut milk. The frosting is whipped from cream and cream cheese, so it is light and not too sweet, finished with a sprinkle of desiccated coconut. They are perfect for birthday parties or an afternoon tea with friends.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rising or chilling
- 45 min
- Total time
- 1 hr 40 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Cupcake batter
Pandan frosting
Coconut topping
Instructions
Step 1
Take the butter and eggs out of the fridge about an hour ahead, preheat the oven to 170°C and line twelve muffin cups with paper liners. Butter and eggs at room temperature cream up well and blend smoothly together. You are ready when a fingertip pressed into the butter leaves an easy dent and the oven is fully hot.
Step 2
Sift 180 g cake flour with 6 g baking powder and a pinch salt into a small bowl. Sifting aerates the flour and breaks up lumps, giving a finer crumb. The mixture is ready when it is as fine as powder and no small lumps are left in the sieve.
Step 3
Beat 115 g softened unsalted butter with 160 g granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed for about four minutes, stopping now and then to scrape down the bowl. Beating long enough lets the sugar cut into the butter and create thousands of tiny air pockets that make the cupcakes rise light. The butter is ready when it is fluffy, ivory white and noticeably increased in volume.
Step 4
Add 150 g beaten eggs to the butter in four or five additions, beating well after each one before adding more. Adding the eggs slowly keeps the mixture from splitting and keeps it smooth. The mixture is ready when it is glossy and silky, as even as frosting, with no curdled look.
Step 5
Mix 80 g coconut milk with 40 g pandan juice, plus 2 g pandan extract if you want a deeper color, then add the flour and the liquid alternately to the butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold gently with a spatula after each addition. Alternating helps the flour absorb the liquid evenly without turning tough. The batter is ready when it is evenly green, smooth and no streaks of white flour remain.
Step 6
Spoon the batter into the twelve cups, filling each about two-thirds full, then tap the tin gently on the counter twice. Not overfilling lets the cupcakes rise with flat tops that are easy to frost. You are done when every cup holds the same amount of batter and the tops are level.
Step 7
Bake at 170°C for about 18 to 22 minutes; the slightly low temperature keeps the cupcakes a fresh green instead of browning. Place the tin on the middle rack so they bake evenly. They are done when the tops are dry, spring back when pressed lightly and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Step 8
Move the cupcakes to a rack and let them cool completely for about forty minutes before frosting. Whipped cream melts very easily on a warm cake. They are ready when the bottoms feel cool with no warmth left.
Step 9
Beat 100 g cream cheese with 50 g powdered sugar until smooth, then gradually pour in 200 g very cold whipping cream and 1 g pandan extract and whip on high speed for about four minutes. The cream cheese helps the whipped cream hold its shape longer without needing butter. The frosting is ready at stiff peaks, standing straight up when you lift the whisk.
Step 10
Spoon the frosting into a piping bag with a star tip, pipe a swirl from the outside in on top of each cupcake, then sprinkle with 15 g desiccated coconut. Piping from the edge to the center covers the top completely and makes a pretty peak. The cupcakes are finished when the frosting is evenly tall, the pattern is crisp and the coconut clings to the top.
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
- Hand mixer
- Spatula
- Sieve
- Piping bag
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Wire cooling rack
- Refrigerator
Tips
- To make pandan juice, blend about ten pandan leaves, cut into pieces, with a little water and strain through cloth; let it settle for a few hours and use the thick part at the bottom for a deeper color.
- If you only have pandan extract and no juice, replace the pandan juice with the same amount of milk.
- Chill the cream and the mixing bowl for about fifteen minutes beforehand so the cream whips up quickly and smoothly.
Storage
Frosted cupcakes must be kept in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten within two days. Unfrosted cupcakes keep for two days at room temperature; before eating, take them out of the fridge for about fifteen minutes so the crumb softens again.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The cupcakes turn a dull brown instead of a fresh green.
- The oven was too hot or they baked too long, which made the chlorophyll change color. Lower the temperature, bake on the middle rack and use fresh, settled concentrated pandan juice.
- The frosting slumps after piping.
- The cream was not cold enough or the cupcakes were still warm. Chill the cream and your tools before whipping, and frost only once the cupcakes are completely cool.
- The butter and egg mixture looks curdled like tofu.
- The eggs were too cold or went in too fast. Add a spoonful of the sifted flour mixture and keep beating; the mixture will turn smooth again.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
