Pandan Cupcakes with Gula Melaka Frosting

As I've mentioned yesterday, I made a couple dozens of pandan cupcakes with gula Melaka frosting for my aunt last week. She had seen my post & requested that I made for her family. I used the same recipe that I posted before but this time, I adjusted the amount of granulated sugar & gula Melaka syrup for the frosting. I also made salted gula Melaka caramel & drizzled it on the frosting. 

(UPDATE: Go to this post for the sliced version of this pandan cake.)

Pandan Cupcakes with Gula Melaka Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

PANDAN CUPCAKES

Ingredients:
200g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (double acting)
125g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla paste / essence
200g granulated / castor sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
75g coconut milk (from a box) + 25g water
2 tbsps pandan juice (refer below)
a few drops of green colouring

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line muffin pan with cupcake liner or, if using cupcake paper cups, place cups onto a baking pan.
2. Combine flour & baking power. Sift & set aside.
3. Combine coconut milk, water, pandan juice & colouring. Mix & set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, combine butter, vanilla & salt. Cream until smooth.
5. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
6. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the coconut milk mixture. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, taking care not to over beat.
8. Fill paper cups or muffin pan with batter, 3/4 full.
9. Place baking or muffin pan on the middle rack of the oven & bake for about 25 minutes.
10. Cool cakes completely on a wire rack before icing.

GULA MELAKA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Ingredients:
50g gula Melaka, crushed
2 pandan leaves, torn lengthwise & tied a knot
1/8 cup water

3 large egg whites
60g granulated sugar (Reduced from 110g in original recipe.)
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla paste
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. To prepare gula Melaka syrup, combine water, gula Melaka & pandan leaves in a heavy-based saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until all the sugar has melted. Then continue heating up the syrup & let it reduce slightly, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, strain & leave aside to cool completely to room temperature. The syrup will thicken as it cools. If it becomes too thick, thin out with a little bit of water before using.
2. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk frequently, keeping it over the heat, until the mixture reaches about 70°C and the sugar has dissolved (rub some between your fingers - if it feels grainy, it hasn't dissolved).
3. Transfer the mixture to a mixer with a whisk attached and beat on medium-high for about 5 minutes, until stiff peaks have formed and the mixture has cooled to room temperature.
4. Turn down the speed to medium and start adding small chunks of butter, checking that it has incorporated before adding more. Keep beating until the mixture comes together, this will take about 5 minutes.
5. With the mixer running, add in the gula Melaka syrup, one teaspoon at a time, beating until well combined between each addition. You need not use all the gula Melaka syrup. Just add enough. (Read note no. 2.)

PANDAN JUICE

Ingredients:

10 pieces mature pandan leaves, washed & torn into 1-inch pieces

2 tbsps water

Method:

      With a mortar and pestle or a blender, combine the leaves & water & mash into a paste. Press through a fine sieve or squeeze through cheesecloth to extract the green juice only. Let it sit for a while. The green extract will settle at the bottom. I used 2 tbsps of the extract.

SALTED GULA MELAKA CARAMEL (To drizzle on the frosting.)

Ingredients:

50g gula Melaka
1 tbsp water
15g salted butter
30 ml whip cream

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Combine gula Melaka & water in a saucepan cook until the gula Melaka has melted. Remove from fire & strain the mixture. Rinse the saucepan & pour back the strained gula Melaka syrup into the saucepan. 
2. Stir the butter into the syrup until it is completely melted, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Drizzle in whip cream while whisking & allow the mixture to boil. 
4. Remove from heat and stir in salt. Allow to cool down before using.

Notes & modifications:

1. This recipe makes about 12 standard size cupcakes. I don't remember the exact number & I didn't record it. Sorry about that.
2. This time, I reduced the amount of granulated sugar used for the frosting & used more gula Melaka syrup.
3. I wanted to experiment using salted gula Melaka caramel instead of gula Melaka syrup for the frosting. After adding a few tablespoons of  the caramel, I found the frosting lacked the gula Melaka oomph. The frosting had the gula Melaka intensity only after I added the gula Melaka syrup. So I would advice you to just use the syrup for the frosting & reserve the salted caramel for drizzling on the frosting.