pandan chiffon cake, strike one

I have an insane gadget obsession, and most especially when it has any sort of connection to baking and cooking. no real surprise then, that when I found out that the happy call pan could also be used for baking, I immediately sourced the ingredients needed.

you non-asians (and men in general) probably have no idea what this pan is. It’s a two-sided saucepan wonder marketed very heavily in asia at housewives; it’s designed to be two-sided so that instead of flipping your food you flip the pan, and it’s sealed between both sides to prevent splatters and also keep steam in that keeps the food moist. this isn’t a paid advert, y’all.

I suppose the title of this post doesn’t really bode well; the pan seemed to pop open in the middle (which it isn’t supposed to do) despite its strong magnetic clasp, and the pandan chiffon cake ended up flat, shrunken and dense. tasted good, but not a cake by any means. you’ll also see that this top portion was burnt despite the fact that I used the lowest heat setting on my smallest gas range – and that’s one of the things I don’t really appreciate about this pan. I tend to bake without timings, watching out for visual cues to determine if things are cooked but you obviously can’t do that here.

I thought I’d share my experience with you – and if you’ve had a better one than I, please let me know. I don’t really know what went wrong since this was my first time using it, but needless to say I’m much more comfortable with my oven.

I’ll share a good recipe for chiffon cake with you in a bit (I had to bake a proper one to show myself I could do it), as well as let you know what pandan is (if you don’t already know). hint: it’s the green colour you see up there!