HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my favorite GrandmaKWAN

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MAMAS IN THE WORLD! YOU HAVE BEEN GREAT AND AWESOME! Please give yourself a PAT on the shoulder and appreciate yourself! Ever since i promoted to being mother, i understand the difficulty to be working and showering tender, loving and care to the child. Work is important but being there for the family is a priority for me instead.

This year, i gave myself a challenge which is to create a whole cake to celebrate for the event. It is meant as a surprise for grandmaKwan. Chanced upon my colleague's ondeh ondeh cake and decided oh yes, this is what my mama will like. Googled for recipe and decided to adapt bakewithpaw's recipe on the Pandan cotton cake with Gula Melaka Swiss Meringue Buttercream :) 

PANDAN COTTON CAKE
Adapted from Butter, Flour & Me with some modifications from Bakewithpaws and followed the method of Jeannie Tay’s Pandan Sponge Cake. 
Two 7″ Round Cakes Recipe
Ingredients:
174g cake flour or all purposed flour
½ tsp double action baking powder
½ tsp salt
8 egg yolks
106g corn oil
66g fresh milk
66g pandan juice (screw-pine leaves juice), very thick and concentrated juice.
8 egg white
106g caster sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Shift flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Combine fresh milk and pandan paste. Set aside.
4. Heat corn oil in sauce pan over low heat until it bubbles, then add in the shifted flour mixture and mix well. Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl. Then add in milk and pandan mixture, mix with spatula until all incorporated. Gradually add in the egg yolk and whole egg mixture, stirring with a spatula or hand whisk until smooth. Set aside.
5. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg white until frothy before adding cream of tartar and continue to beat until foamy. Gradually add in sugar and whisk until firm peaks formed (firm peaks is between soft peaks and stiff peaks).
6. Mix 1/3 of meringue with yolk batter with a spatula. Add another 1/3 portion and fold gently. Then pour in balance of meringue. Fold gently using a spatula until well incorporated.
7. Pour the batter into the 2 prepared round tin and tap tin lightly to remove air bubbles.
8. Baked in water bath at 170C for 30 to 35 minutes. Then another 40 minutes at 150C.
9. Remove from the oven and drop the pan at a height of 10 cm onto a table top. This will prevent cake from sinking.
10. Unmould as soon as you can. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and invert the cake on non stick baking paper. Peel off baking paper from the base and re-invert onto a rack to cool.
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    GULA MELAKA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
    Adapted from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Dreamer Loft with some modifications.
    Ingredients:
    Gula Melaka Caramel:
    50g gula melaka, crushed or chopped
    2 pandan leaves, tied a knot
    1/8 cup (25 ml) of water
    Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
    3 large egg whites
    80g caster sugar
    150g butter, room temperature
    ¼ tsp vanilla extract
    ¼ tsp salt
    Method:
    To prepare Gula Melaka Caramel:
    
    
11. Combine gula melaka, pandan leave and water in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Keep on stiring until all the sugar has melted and reduce slightly. Remove from heat, strain & discard the pandan leaves. Keep aside to cool. The syrup will thicken as it cools.
12. To prepare Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
    
13. Cut the butter into cubes. Set aside to room temperature.
14. Combine egg white and sugar in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the base of the bowl is not touching the water. Whisk with hand whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Rub between your fingers to check if there is any unmelted sugar.
15. Transfer the egg white mixture to a bowl of mixer. With Whisk attachment, beat over high speed until stiff peaks and the mixture has cooled to room temperature.
16. Turn down the speed and add in the butter cube gradually then turn to high speed. Beat until the mixture comes together. You may change to Paddle attachment. But, I did not.
17. Add in salt and vanilla extract until well incorporated.
18. Turn down the speed and in gula melaka one teaspoon at a time. Scrap the bowl with spatula and beat until all well combined. I used all the gula melaka caramel.
19. To Assemble the cake:
    
20. Cut the dome off from the cake and place on a cake board. Spread a layer of Gula Melaka Swiss Meringue Buttercream (GMSMB) on top of the cake. Then stake the second cake on top. Coat the entire cake with GMSMB. Sprinkle some chopped roasted cashew nuts on top of the cake and pipe swirls.

I actually added grated coconut in gula melaka as fillings to create the ondeh ondeh feel. What i did is to melt the gula melaka and add in pandan leaf while i pan fry the grated coconut. Add in the melted gula melaka to the grated coconut and mix it up! Super yummy! And for the sides, i added salt and pan fry the grated coconut to create some sweet salty taste while eating :D