Steamed Pandan Cake (Banh La Dua Hap) – Instant Pot Recipe

This Instant Pot recipe for Steamed Pandan Cake (Banh La Dua Hap) makes wonderfully fluffy and moist cake and you’ll be so thrilled to know it’s fail-proof. The Pandan Cake is spongy soft and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The best part of this recipe is it’s made in the Instant Pot using a non-pressure cooking program. Some of you Instant Pot chefs may already know about this undocumented cooking feature and it’s pretty nifty. Using the Sauté program, you can turn your Instant Pot into a steamer. Awesome! Right?!? You can make an amazing cake in the Instant Pot, without heating up your house with a hot oven or lugging out the big stove-top steamer. Gotta love that! 🙂

Watch the video for instructions.

Notes on the Steamed Pandan Cake (Banh La Dua Hap) Recipe, Tips and Tricks

Beating the eggs and gradually adding sugar turns them into a thick and pale yellow mixture. When the beaters are lifted, the mixture streams down in a ribbon which slowly dissolves on the batter surface. This egg foaming method gives the cake structure and height and helps the cake to be fluffy and light. In this recipe I am using a hand mixer and it takes about 6 minutes to beat the eggs and sugar. With a stand mixer, this step takes about 5 minutes. Use room temperature eggs as they will take less time to achieve the ribbon stage.

Use cake flour to make a light and fluffy cake. Cake flour has less protein and is lighter than all-purpose flour. Make your own cake flour for this recipe as follows: Sift together 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup corn starch. Keep in mind this isn’t actually cake flour but a simple method to lighten all-purpose flour without impacting the flour quality. Find cake flour in the baking section of your grocery store. My favorite brands are Softasilk and SwansDown.

Use either double or single-acting baking powder. The difference is not crucial for this recipe. Make sure your baking powder is fresh. Check out this post for the quick 10 second test to see if your baking powder is fresh.

Coconut soda is a carbonated beverage. The fizz helps the Steamed Pandan Cake to be light, fluffy and spongy. Substitute the coconut soda with another carbonated beverage such as a lemon/lime soda or use club soda. The coconut soda has sugar in it so if using a sugar-free soda, you may want to add a bit more sugar.

If you don’t know about steaming in the Instant Pot, it’s a useful undocumented feature you must try. The Instant Pot has a “Steam” program but this is actually a pressure cooking mode. In this recipe, you’re using the Sauté program to boil water and steam the Pandan Cake. Steaming in the Instant Pot is an easy and convenient way to cook delicate foods or smaller amounts of food instead of using a conventional stove-top steamer. The 6 Quart Instant Pot Duo Plus” data-eafl-name=”pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 qt” data-eafl-shortcode=”%5Beafl%20id%3D%2212234%22%20name%3D%22pressure%20cooker%2C%20Instant%20Pot%20DUO%20Plus%206%20qt%22%20text%3D%22%3Ca%20href%3D’http%3A%2F%2Frunawayrice.com%2Frecommends%2F6-quart-instant-pot-duo%2F’%20data-eafl-id%3D’9971’%20class%3D’eafl-link%20eafl-link-cloaked’%20target%3D’_blank’%20rel%3D’nofollow%20noopener%20noreferrer’%3E6%20Quart%20Instant%20Pot%20Duo%3C%2Fa%3E%20Plus%22%5D”>6 Quart Instant Pot Duo Plus is the perfect size for steaming small cakes.

I use the 6 inch by 3 inch round Fat Daddio pan. It makes a 4 1/2 inch tall cake and looks gorgeous with the blooming petals. You can also use a 7 inch cake pan which also fits inside the 6 Quart Instant Pot. Steam a 7 inch cake for 38-45 minutes.

Add 5 cups hot water into the inner pot. The water can cover the steam rack and a bit of the cake pan. It’s important to add sufficient water for the entire steaming time. Water evaporates quickly during steaming and you don’t want run out of water and burn your inner pot.

Steamed Pandan Cake / Banh La Dua Hap

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Steamed Pandan Cake / Banh La Dua Hap

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 269 kcal

Author: Trang

This Instant Pot recipe for Steamed Pandan Cake (Banh La Dua Hap) makes wonderfully fluffy and moist cake and you'll be so thrilled to know it's fail-proof. The Pandan Cake is spongy soft and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The best part of this recipe is it's made in the Instant Pot using a non-pressure cooking program. Some of you Instant Pot chefs may already know about this undocumented cooking feature and it's pretty nifty. Using the Sauté program, you can turn your Instant Pot into a steamer. Awesome! Right?!? You can make an amazing cake in the Instant Pot, without heating up your house with a hot oven or lugging out the big stove-top steamer. Gotta love that! 🙂

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs ,at room temperature
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar (also called baker's or caster sugar) + 1/2 Tbsp for sugar X
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp Pandan paste
• 1/2 cup coconut soda or other carbonated beverage
• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Standard - Metric

Instructions

Preparing the Baking Pan

1. Line the bottom of the 6 by 3 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

Making the Batter

1. Add the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs on Low speed (Speed 2) for 30 seconds. Gradually increase the speed to Medium High speed (Speed 4).

2. Gradually add the fine sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time every 20 seconds, while beating the eggs on Medium High speed (Speed 4). The mixture should get thick and turn pale yellow. (This step take about 5 minutes.) After all the sugar is added, beat on High speed (Speed 6) for 1 minute.

3. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract and Pandan paste. Mix on Low speed (Speed 2) for 30 seconds to incorporate these ingredients.

4. Add the coconut soda to the batter. Sift 1/3 cake flour and baking powder mixture into the batter. Mix together on Low speed (Speed 2) until just incorporated. Sift another 1/3 dry ingredients into the batter. Mix until just incorporated again. Sift the remaining dry ingredients into the batter. Mix on Low speed until just incorporated. (Do not over-mix the batter which may make the cake dense and chewy.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and fold in any remaining dry ingredients by hand.

5. Pour the batter into baking pan prepared earlier. Tap the pan against the counter a few times to pop the bubbles.

6. Sprinkle sugar on the surface of the cake making an X. (This helps the cake to bloom into 4 segments.)

Steaming the Cake

1. Transfer the cake pan onto a steam rack or trivet.

2. Add 5 cups hot water into the inner pot of a 6 Quart Instant Pot. Transfer the steam rack and cake pan into the inner pot. Cover the inner pot completely with a kitchen towel. Cover with a glass lid.

3. Press the "Sauté" button repeatedly and select a cooking temperature of "Normal". In a few seconds, the Instant Pot starts cooking and the display shows "On". After 10 minutes, the water inside should be boiling and you should see steam being released.

4. After 30 minutes, the "Sauté" program completes and switches to standby mode. Activate it again but pressing the "Sauté" button. Continue steaming the cake for a total steam time of 45-50 minutes.

5. Test the cake is done by inserting a skewer into the center of the cake. The skewer should be dry with no batter sticking to it.

6. Press the "Cancel" button to stop the "Sauté" program. Cover the inner pot with the towel and lid again and let the cake rest for 5 minutes. (This resting period helps the cake not collapse or shrink.)

7. Remove the cake pan from the Instant Pot and let rest on the counter for 10 minutes.

8. Run a knife around the cake to loosen it from the pan. Gently roll the cake pan on its side along the counter, loosening the cake further.

9. Invert the top of the cake into your hand and remove the baking pan. Remove the parchment paper from the cake bottom and discard. Transfer the cake onto a cooling rack. Let the cake cool for another 10 minutes before enjoying.

10. To serve, cut the Steamed Pandan Cake into thick slices. Enjoy the fragrant and fluffy cake with fresh fruit, whipped cream or your favorite frosting.

11. Store the Steamed Pandan Cake in a covered cake dish for 1-2 days. After this time, refrigerate for up to 1 week. Freeze the cake for up to 3 months.

Recipe Video

Notes, Tips & Tricks

• Beating the eggs and gradually adding sugar turns them into a thick and pale yellow mixture. When the beaters are lifted, the mixture streams down in a ribbon which slowly dissolves on the batter surface.
• Make your own cake flour for this recipe as follows: Sift together 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup corn starch. Keep in mind this isn’t actually cake flour but a simple method to lighten all-purpose flour without impacting the flour quality.
• Substitute the coconut soda with another carbonated beverage such as a lemon/lime soda or use club soda. The coconut soda has sugar in it so if using a sugar-free soda, adjust accordingly.
• I use the 6 inch by 3 inch round Fat Daddio pan. It makes a 4 1/2 inch tall cake and looks gorgeous with the blooming petals. You can also use a 7 inch cake pan which also fits inside the 6 Quart Instant Pot. Steam a 7 inch cake for 38-45 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Steamed Pandan Cake / Banh La Dua Hap

Amount Per Serving

Calories 269 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Cholesterol 41mg14%

Sodium 19mg1%

Potassium 173mg5%

Carbohydrates 44g15%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 60IU1%

Calcium 65mg7%

Iron 0.6mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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