Eggless Pandan Kaya Butter Bundt Cake
I have been craving cake these days, not quite sure if it’s due to work stress, anxiety or something else. I don’t know, do you bake when you are stressed? I’ve never thought I’d derive immense pleasure from sifting flour and whisking egg whites. It’s a nice kind of rush when the very act of baking forces you to focus and put your consciousness in the present. Somehow, the routine, mundane act of preheating the oven, measuring ingredients and following recipes makes for a good distraction away from the phone and computer. I want to be in control again, so I allow my sense of smell, touch, taste and sight to take over just in this precious sacred space of an hour and a half. And towards the end, when the oven door opens to envelope you in a warm hug, you’re rewarded with something so tangible, you feel like you’ve carried a child inside you for nine whole months and that child is now fully baked and ready to come out and meet you.
Here’s a recipe for an easy eggless Bundt cake you can make for yourself this week.
Eggless Pandan Kaya Butter Bundt Cake
If you're craving an airy, moist and eggless cake, this pandan kaya butter Bundt cake is super easy to make. Why pandan kaya? Because I'm Malaysian, and we're obsessed with pandan and kaya (a type of coconut jam)! And you know what's even better? It's got mocha buttercream frosting! I'm not a fan of heavy, rich and cloyingly sweet frosting, so you're in luck because I definitely toned down the amount of icing sugar I used for this recipe. If you're vegan, you can replace butter with coconut oil, and whole milk or yoghurt with non-dairy milk like soy or almond milk.
Equipment
- Electric cake mixer
- Hand whisk
- Measuring cups
- Digital kitchen scale
- Oven (with top and bottom heating function)
- Baker's Joy Baking Spray (with flour)
- A Bundt pan
- A cooling rack
- Some piping tips and piping bag
Ingredients
FOR THE BUNDT CAKE
Dry ingredients
- 360 g cake flour sifted, (highly recommended instead of all purpose flour; you'll get a softer cake)
- 2 tsp baking powder (please verify the freshness of your baking powder; for best practice, use within 6 months to 1 year)
- 2/3 tsp baking soda (please verify the freshness of your baking powder; for best practice, use within 6 months to 1 year)
Wet ingredients
- 161 g salted butter softened to room temperature then chopped into smaller pieces
- 129 g fine sugar
- 315 g plain yoghurt (I used non-fat; you can use whole milk or low fat too)
- 100 ml pandan kaya paste feel free to increase the amount as you like if you prefer a richer, pandan kaya taste
To make pandan kaya paste, see link in the instructions below.
FOR THE MOCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- 227 g salted butter softened to room temperature then chopped into smaller pieces
- 1 packet 27g Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Caffè Mocha with Cocoa
- 5 tsp hot water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 16 g cocoa powder
- 301 g icing sugar sifted
Instructions
For the Bundt cake
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Set aside.
- To make the pandan kaya paste, check out these tips by Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover.
- To help your cake release easier from your pan post-bake, grease your Bundt pan with some oil and then dust with flour and tap out any excess. Or you can speed things up with a non-stick baking spray. Hold it 6 inches from your pan and spray an even, light coating on the inside of your pan.
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Put softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl that comes with your cake mixer, then using a paddle attachment, cream both ingredients for one minute at a high speed of 5 or 6. Alternatively, an electric hand mixer does the job too on medium speed. Once both ingredients have come together nicely, lower the speed to 4 then add yoghurt and mix until combined.
- Switch your mixer to low speed. Add the dry ingredients, alternating two tablespoons each with the pandan kaya paste. Mix until well incorporated, achieving a thick batter. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the Bundt pan, then smoothen the surface with a spatula. Lightly tap the Bundt pan on a smooth surface covered with a cloth (to avoid damaging your Bundt pan) to break any air bubbles. Put the pan into the preheated oven, on the 3rd rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake; if it comes out clean, your cake is fully baked.
- Remove cake from the oven. Once the pan has cooled down slightly, gently invert it on a cooling rack to release the cake. At this point, you can prepare your buttercream frosting.
FOR THE MOCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- Dissolve one packet of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Caffè Mocha with Cocoa in 4 teaspoons of hot water. Let cool.
- Mix softened butter, coffee mixture and vanilla in a cake mixer on medium speed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk cocoa powder and icing sugar together until well combined.
- Add cocoa powder and icing sugar mix to the butter, coffee and vanilla combination earlier. Mix well until sugar is incorporated.
- Decorate your cake however you like, using the piping tips and piping bag.
Notes
Best practices for storing your cake:
- You can store it at room temperature up to 3 days in an air-tight container. Alternatively, leave it whole or cut it into smaller slices, then cling wrap and store in an air-tight container and it goes into the fridge for one week maximum. Avoid storing it longer than a week, otherwise the cake will loose its moisture.
- The cake may harden once it's in the fridge. To soften, place it at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour before serving. Or you can reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds.
If you made this dish, let me know by tagging @saveurmalaisie on Instagram!
