Vegan Pandan Pound Cake

Vegan Pandan Pound Cake

Pandan is widely used in South East Asian cuisine, its flavor profile resembling rose, almond, vanilla, and coconut with slightly grassy undertones. It’s coined the vanilla of the South East. This easy-to-make-in-a-jiffy Vegan Pandan Pound Cake is perfectly fluffy and moist and can be topped with whipped coconut cream, your go-to frosting, or left as it is to shine on its own.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups flour or whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon coconut cream powder
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raw cane sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan or regular butter, or coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon natural pandan paste (recipe coming soon)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175°C.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, coconut cream powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
3. In another mixing bowl combine the butter, coconut milk, water, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and pandan extract. Make sure there aren’t any coconut milk solids.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and using a rubber spatula, mix until just combined. Make sure not to over-mix.
5. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil, butter, or olive oil and thinly coat with desiccated coconut (what I did) or flour. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. I suggest checking at 35 minutes with the toothpick test and keeping a close eye for the last few minutes, the time will vary slightly depending on your oven.
6. Your Vegan Pandan Cake is ready! Let it cool, and if you so desire, frost that green baby with some coconut whipped cream or another frosting of choice.

Notes

• If you’re avoiding gluten this recipe works just fine with a gluten-free flour mix.
• If you don’t have any coconut milk on hand, use 1 ½ cups of any other plant-based milk and remove the ½ cup of water.
• If you don’t have any vinegar I recommend using the same quantity of lemon juice instead.
• I generally prefer when cake isn’t too sweet, but if you’re looking for a sweeter baked good you can add up to 1/2 cup more sugar.
• If you don’t have coconut cream powder or cornstarch and happen to have instant pudding mix then that will work as a perfect 1:1 substitute.