Soft & Fluffy Pandan Pancakes

I've been hooked onto fresh pandan extract ever since returning to Malaysia. Well, let me tell you how it all started...

I was checking out the back of my garden one afternoon only to find such a humongous pandan plant.

I was so excited, I called out to my helper who then helped me snip away at those leaves.

As I am working with a mini blender, I cut them as small and thinly as I can. I like to make one huge batch (about 15-20 leaves) at a time and I just estimate 1 cup of snipped pandan leaves with 50ml of water.

Blend until finely blitzed then strain over fine sieve and store in jar.

This is how it looks on the first day. Leave it in the fridge for a couple of days to allow the chlorophyll to sink to the bottom.

Mine usually takes 2-3 days. See that thick green layer at the bottom of the jar? That's the concentrated pandan extract that you'd want to keep for this recipe!

You may also reserve the remaining bits of the extract for other recipes such as mantou's.

You can use the pandan extract for lots of different recipes; cakes, bread, buns or even fluffy pancakes. ;)

I've received a number of requests for the pandan pancake recipe since posting this shot of my pancake stack on Instagram, so here you go!

Pandan Pancakes
Recipe by The Bakeanista; yields 12 thick pancakes

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs, separated 
• 230g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 200ml milk (you may try using coconut milk too)
• 6 tbsp of concentrated natural pandan extract 
• Pinch of sugar

Method:

1. First separate the eggs, putting the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another.
2. Add the flour, baking powder, milk and pandan extract to the yolks and mix to a smooth thick batter.
3. Whisk the whites with the sugar until they form stiff peaks. Fold into the egg yolk batter – it is now ready to use.
4. Heat a good non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to look golden and firm. When you start to notice bubbles, loosen pancake with a spatula and flip it over. Continue frying until both sides are golden.
5. Stack the pancakes up, then top or layer with whatever tickles your fancy before digging in. ;)

I reckon caramelised banana and roasted desiccated coconut or coconut chips even would go really well with pandan. Finally, drizzle with a generous dash of maple syrup or gula Melaka syrup.

If you do not have access to pandan leaves to make your own extract, you may replace with the store-bought ones. Maybe start with 1 tsp of the Koepoe Koepoe pandan extract first, then add more for a more intense colour/flavour.

You could also use the concentrated extract to bake this fragrant pandan butter cake. Oh, the kitchen smelt so absolutely good as I took the cake, fresh and warm out of the oven. If you'd like to give it a go, I used this recipe from Nasi Lemak Lover. :)

As you can tell, I really love pandan a lot, and have blogged about it in the past as well. You can check out these other recipes if you're interested but note I used store bought pandan extract back then:

• Pandan Chiffon Cake
• Pandan Layer Cake
• Pandan Sponge Cupcakes
• Pandan Swiss Roll
• Steamed Pandan Bolu

I just made another batch of pandan extract and I'm planning to make pandan bread next! I'll update you with how I go. Happy baking! :)