PANDAN LAMINGTONS

SERVES 6 / PREPARATION 40 MINUTES PLUS COOLING / COOKING 15 MINUTES

A signature bake at Folds and perfect for someone who doesn’t love too much cream.

PANDAN SPONGE

125g plain flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon pandan extract (I use Koepoe Koepoe

brand which can be found in Asian supermarkets)

25g butter, melted

25ml sunflower oil, or any flavourless oil

5 eggs

135g sugar

Heat the oven to 160℃ fan bake. Grease and line a 21cm square tin.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together. In a separate bowl, mix the pandan extract, butter and oil together.

Whip the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. When you stop the mixer, the mixture should hold its shape.

Continue mixing on a low speed and slowly add the flour to the eggs and sugar. Once all the flour has been added, pour in the butter/oil mix in a steady stream. Stop the mixer once everything has been added. Check it is mixed by gently folding the mixture with a spatula – there should be no streaks of butter or lumps of flour.

Pour into the baking tin and shake the tin slightly to make sure the batter is spread out evenly. If you see a streak of butter or oil, gently use a knife or chopstick to swirl it around into the mix. Tap the tin onto the table to pop any large air bubbles. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a knife poked in the centre comes out clean. Flip out from the tin onto a cooling rack, remove the tin and baking paper and leave to cool. Once cool, cut in half horizontally.

COCONUT JELLY

1 pandan leaf (can be found frozen in

Asian supermarkets)

50g sugar

2g agar agar

250ml coconut milk

Line a 21cm square tin with baking paper and place onto a tray. Put the pandan leaf, sugar and agar agar in a pan with 250ml water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the coconut milk and continue to stir until the mix reaches a gentle boil. Do not let the mix boil too much as it can overflow and cause the layers to split once set. Place a sieve over the baking tin and pour the jelly in. Leave the jelly to cool down and set slightly, for 5-10 minutes. Place one half of the sponge over the jelly and leave to set completely.

TO ASSEMBLE

300ml coconut cream, chilled (see Baker’s Note) 300g kaya (pandan and coconut jam, available

from most Asian supermarkets)

300g fine desiccated coconut, toasted and cooled pandan leaf, to garnish

Whip the coconut cream to stiff peaks. Add the kaya and mix until fully combined. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Once the sponge and jelly have set, gently flip the cake so that the jelly sits on top. Remove the baking paper and spread a thin layer of kaya cream onto the jelly. Place the other half of the sponge on top of the jelly so that the jelly is sandwiched between the pandan sponges. Trim the edges and cut into six rectangles. Put the toasted coconut onto a tray and take the kaya cream out of the fridge. Reserve some kaya cream for piping on top, then spread the remaining kaya cream on all sides of each cake and roll in toasted coconut. Gently shake or tap the cake to remove any excess coconut and put onto a plate. Put the remaining kaya cream into a piping bag with the piping tip cut on a 45-degree angle. Pipe along the top of the slice. Garnish with a cut pandan leaf.

BAKER’S NOTE: Keep coconut cream in the fridge overnight. This allows the coconut cream to stay thick and firm making it easier to whip to a pipeable consistency. ■

Visit Folds Patisseries at 297 Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Auckland or go to foldspatisserie.com.