Putu Ayu
The combination of sweet steamed pandan cake and savory grated coconut from Indonesian Putu Ayu will surely satisfy your cravings for sweet desserts and salty treats.
Servings: cakes
Ingredients
Grated Coconut
- 2 cups (160 gr) freshly grated coconut, from half coconut
- 3/8 tsp salt
- 1 pandan leaf
Pandan Cake
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup (150 gr) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cake stabilizer/ovalette
- 1 1/2 cups (185 gr) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) coconut milk
- Pandan paste
- Vegetable oil, for greasing the molds
Instructions
Grated Coconut
- In a heatproof bowl, mix coconut and salt together. Add pandan leaf on top. Steam for 10 minutes to prevent the coconut from going bad easily. Set aside.
Pandan Cake
- Grease the molds with vegetable oil. Set aside.
- Preheat the steamer with medium-high heat. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch the condensation.
- With a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and cake stabilizer. Beat on high speed until white and fluffy.
- Sift in the flour and salt. Then, add half of the coconut milk and whisk until well incorporated. Gradually add the remaining coconut milk and whisk until well combined.
- Add a few drops of pandan paste and whisk the batter until well incorporated.
- Pack 1 tablespoon of grated coconut each on the bottom of the molds with your finger or a spoon. Pour the pandan cake batter on top until almost full (leave a little bit of room for the batter to rise)
- Tap the molds on the countertop to get rids of air bubbles.
- Steam the cakes for 10-13 minutes. You will know they are done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let them cool in the molds for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and flip the molds over so that the grated coconut is on the top.
Notes
If you cannot find freshly grated coconut, you can alternatively use desiccated coconut. However, you will need to steam it for 10-15 minutes before using to rehydrate and soften it.
If you want to make your own pandan extract, you can find the recipe at my previous Pandan Extract. But for this Putu Ayu recipe, simply substitute the water with coconut milk.
I used individual 2.8-inch/7cm mini cake molds with flower shapes. You can alternatively use cupcake molds or mini bundt cake molds to get the shape.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cake | Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 34IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
Did You Make This Recipe?I love hearing how you went with the my recipes. Leave a comment below or tag @jacintahalim on Instagram.