Pandan Honeycomb Cake (Banh bo nuong)
Welcome back to an UPDATED Pandan Honeycomb Cake recipe! This honeycomb cake also known in Vietnamese as Bánh Bò Nướng and in Indonesia as Bika Ambon. Pandan honeycomb cake is a very popular Vietnamese dessert, while in Indonesia it’s known as Bika Ambon, though it’s made slightly different from the Vietnamese version. After baking, the cake has a beautiful honeycomb like crumb. The texture is spongy yet soft on the inside, with a chewy and slightly crispy exterior. It’s sweet, coconutty, and has a subtle hint of pandan flavor, making it a truly unique but pleasant dessert.
Equipment
- 1 9x3inch Aluminum Bakeware Round Cake Pan
Ingredients
- 14 oz coconut milk [Aroy D brand] (396 milliliters)
- 214 grams sugar
- 6 grams salt
- 6 grams pandan extract/flavoring
- 6 whole MEDIUM sized eggs (260 grams) [ROOM TEMP]
- 270 grams tapioca flour
- 34 grams rice flour
- 15 grams baking powder
- 22 grams melted coconut oil (or you can use any neutral oil of your choice)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325'F with the round baking pan inside to heat up.
- In a small pot, add in the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and pandan extract. Cook on medium until the sugar is JUST dissolve. DO NOT BOIL. Once you feel no grittiness at the bottom, take it off the heat. Let it cool if it's really hot. You can cool it over ice water if needed for faster preparation (I like the coconut base to be at around 98'F or at ROOM TEMP before pouring it into the eggs). Set aside.
- In another bowl, crack 6 MEDIUM size eggs. With a fork, gently poke the yolks and break it apart along with the whites but do not whisk or create any air bubbles. This will cause too much air pockets in the cake during baking time which causes the cake to deflate once it's cooled.
- Add in the cooled coconut sugar mixture along with the SIFTED flour and baking powder. Mix gently with a spatula so the starches can soak up the moisture. There will be chunks and that's okay. The batter will go over a sieve/strainer. You just want to mix the starch well enough into the eggs/coconut sugar mixture just so it's hydrated (again, don't create too much air pocket).
- Pour the chunky batter over a sieve or strainer over a bowl. Use a spatula to break apart any chunky parts. Once it's been well strained, add in the melted coconut oil. Mix gently. Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes before baking! This ensures the starches are fully hydrated and the baking powder is getting distributed into the batter.
- After 10 minutes of resting the batter, give it a gentle stir and pour it into the hot baking pan. You can take the pan out onto your counter and quickly transfer the batter into it and straight into the oven OR you can open the oven and slide out the rack with the pan and carefully pour the batter over and then close. YOU DO NOT NEED TO GREASE THE PAN WITH OIL/SPRAY!!! Just pour the batter, close the oven and let it cook.
- Let it cook for at least 1 hr until the cake is cooked in the middle. I cooked mine for exactly 1 hr. Remove from the oven and immediately turn the cake upside down on a rack and let it cool completely for at least 1 hr before slicing. Aluminum cake pans are great at holding the cake and letting it stick to the pan if you do not spray or line them with anything. If you grease the pan, the cake will slip out easily, which prevents you from flipping it upside down to cool. Cooling the cake upside down helps it keep its shape and prevents it from deflating.
- Once cooled, flip it back up and take an offset spatula and remove the cake from the edges of the pan. Flip out the cake and slice into your desire portions and enjoy! This cake is best at room temp! If you eat it hot, it will taste EGGY. Room temp is best so you can taste the pandan.
Notes
Cover and wrap well any leftovers. If not eaten the day of, place it in the fridge. Heat for 15 sec in the microwave to return to its softness if refrigerated.
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