As a tourist to the Freetown Christiania commune in Copenhagen, I came across the drømmekage, which translates literally to "dream cake". Traditionally, this Danish cake is a fluffy vanilla sponge topped with sweet, sticky caramelised coconut. At Raya, we of course put our Malaysian twist on this cake, replacing the vanilla with freshly squeezed pandan juice and making the caramelised coconut with palm sugar. We hope the Danes approve.

Serves: 8 to 10

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
23 cm (9 inch) square or round cake tin, stand mixer with whisk attachment, pastry brush
Melted butter, for greasing

INGREDIENTS
For making pandan juice, the preferred ratio of pandan leaves to water is 1:1. To be on the safe side, the quantity in the ingredients list makes a little more than you will need.

Pandan juice
125g pandan leaves
125g water

Cake
225g plain (all-purpose) flour
22g baking powder
2g salt
150g oz pandan juice
150g coconut cream
3g pandan essence
3 large eggs
200g caster (superfine) sugar
150g vegetable oil

Coconut topping
150g butter
135g dark brown sugar
135g gula Melaka (palm sugar)
75g milk
8g salt
85g desiccated coconut
50g shredded coconut

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional). Use a pastry brush to brush the bottom and side of a 23 cm square or round cake tin with melted butter and line the bottom with baking paper.

For the pandan juice, wash and cut the pandan leaves to about 2.5 cm long pieces and blend with the water. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Always stir the pandan juice before using, as it tends to have sediment.

For the cake, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. In a separate medium bowl, mix the pandan juice, coconut cream and pandan essence. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and sugar on medium speed until pale yellow. Turn the speed to low and gradually add the vegetable oil until emulsified.

Gently fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the pandan juice mixture, until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Prepare the coconut topping while the cake is baking. Melt the butter with the dark brown sugar, gula Melaka and milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until the sugar is just dissolved. Fold in the salt and desiccated and shredded coconut and stir until the coconut is completely coated. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Once the cake is cooked, spoon the coconut mixture over the top and spread out evenly. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until the coconut is toasted and crisp. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Images and text from The Baker's Book edited by Ruby Goss, photography by Rochelle Eagle, illustrations by Beci Orpin. Murdoch Books RRP $45.00.