Easy Putu Ayu (Indonesian Steamed Coconut Pandan Cakes)
This Putu Ayu recipe is fool-proof, and my Indonesian and Malaysian recipe testers especially LOVE it! These little vegan pandan and coconut cakes are surprisingly easy to make, and are great to serve with your favorite tea.
Servings: 12 (makes 12-18 depending on the size of your molds)
Calories: 197kcal
Cost: $4
Ingredients
Coconut Topping:
- 2 pandan leaves cut into 1 cm. pieces
- 2 cups coconut freshly grated, or desiccated
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar or coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Pandan Cake:
- 1 ¼ cup coconut milk
- 3 pandan leaves cut into 1 cm. pieces
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat a large steamer over medium heat.
- Place the pandan leaf into a blender or spice grinder and blend until it is in tiny bits.
- Add grated coconut to the blended pandan, along with your choice of sugar, and pulse a few more times in the blender to combine. Set aside.
- Place the coconut milk and pandan leaves into a blender and blend for 90 seconds until completely pureed.
- Pass the pureed pandan-scented coconut milk through a wire mesh strainer and compost the remaining pandan pulp.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the strained pandan milk along with flour, baking powder, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk until smooth.
- If you are using metal cake molds, lightly oil them using any neutral-tasting oil you prefer. There is no need to oil silicone molds as they are naturally nonstick, and easy to get the cooked cakes out of.
- Place a tablespoon of grated coconut topping into the bottom of each cake mold.
- Spoon the cake batter into molds, filling them two-thirds full.
- Steam the cakes for 30-35 minutes until firm. Unmold after they cool for ten minutes and serve!
Notes
🧴 To oil or not to oil? Silicone molds will not need to be oiled, but metal ones should be lightly greased with a neutral-tasting oil.
🌀 Pandan Leaf Blending: Pandan can challenge even the best blenders. Its fine fibers can wrap around blades. Snip pandan into 1cm sections with scissors for better blending.
🧖♀️ Important steamer hack: I like to use a large bamboo steamer, because it lets some moisture escape. If you are using a steamer with a solid metal or glass lid, make sure to stretch a clean kitchen towel over to the top of the steamer directly under the lid to absorb the steam. That way, beads of steam won’t pool on the bottom side of the lid and rain down onto the cakes as they try to rise.
⏳ Steaming Precision: Nail the perfect texture. Steam until the cakes are firm but not overcooked. Check doneness with a toothpick or fork. It should come out clean from the center.
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg