The PanDan Bakery - Malaysian Inspired Baking
The PanDan Bakery is a small, family run baking business based in West London, aiming to introduce delicious Malaysian-inspired cakes and bakes to Londoners.
The key ingredient used by the bakery is the fragrant pandan leaf. But what is 'pandan' exactly?
What is Pandan?
The pandan flavour comes from the pandan leaf, a grass-like tropical plant related to the lily family that is commonly found in South East Asia. Its leaves are long and thin (about 40cm by 2cm), giving off a delicate fragrance as they grow.
Much like vanilla, pandan leaves can be directly added to dishes to infuse their distinctive flavour, or be ground down into an essence form. In the kitchen it can be used to flavour rice, fish or meat. In fact, pandan is sometimes referred to as the 'Asian vanilla'; although, some would state that "to compare pandan to vanilla is like comparing cotton to silk".
By infusing pandan into their cakes, The PanDan Bakery not only introduces a unique aromatic flavour into their products, but also adds a brilliant vibrant green colour!
Baking with a Malaysian twist
The PanDan Bakery's 'star product' is the pandan chiffon cake, an extremely light and airy sponge infused with pandan. This cake is extremely popular throughout Malaysia due to its flavour, texture and moreishness, and we’re sure you'll love it too! But as well as pandan, The Pandan Bakery offers the chiffon sponge in a range of flavours - including lemon, coffee and, orange.
Chiffon sponges are baked fresh to order and, being preservative free, will keep for 3 - 5 days when kept in a cool, air tight container. As an added bonus, these chiffon sponges are also dairy free as they contain no butter, perfect cakes for those that are lactose intolerant!
Pandan Cupcakes are also produced by The PanDan Bakery. The classic family favourite has been given an exotic twist with the addition of pandan, and the bakery offers three varieties - pandan, pandan and chocolate chip, and mint choc' pandan.
All the cupcakes are topped with a delightfully creamy pandan buttercream icing. Again, these can be kept for 3 - 5 days.
Another pandan-infused classic are Pandan Brioche. When biting into these freshly prepared sweet buns, you are also hit by a burst of so-called 'kaya', a Malaysian coconut curd. This tantalising homemade kaya is made of a combination of coconut, sugar, eggs, and the all-important pandan leaf.
Another treat for coconut-lovers are The Pandan Bakery's Kaya Tartlets. These kaya filled tartlets are encased by a delicate coconut pastry, and topped off with a thin sponge layer - the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea!
The PanDan Bakery Team
Being a small family-run bakery, the team is made up of just four members, who run everything from the baking to the website.
The PanDan Bakery team were inspired to establish this bakery due to their Malaysian connections, with the main baker being Malaysian-born.
The flavour of pandan is enjoyed by most in South East Asia, but rarely seen in the UK. So, the team decided it was time for a change and for pandan to become a flavour known to more in London.
The team continue to experiment with the use of pandan in a variety of cakes and bakes and hope to build on their product range in the near future, with the possibility of also producing the coconut curd, kaya, for retail also.
For a more comprehensive listing of what The PanDan bakery has to offer, please visit www.thepandanbakery.com, and remember to like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter