Banh Bo Nuong (Pandan Honeycomb Cake)

Pandan Honeycomb Cake. A Vietnamese treat.

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. In a small sauce pan heat coconut milk, sugar and extract until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool completely.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the tapioca starch and baking powder.
4. In another separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs...you do not want bubbles or foam. I have read in many other recipes you should beat just until they look mixed. One tip is to keep your whisk touching the bottom of the bowl while gently mixing.
5. Pour cooled coconut mixture into eggs and gently combine well.
6. At this time put your greased/sprayed cooking vessel (bundt pan) into the oven to preheat.
7. Gradually add the tapioca mixture to the egg/coconut mixture and quickly, but gently, beat until just dissolved/combined.

NOTE...I have found that tapioca starch is a hard one to combine. I sifted it in and quickly, but gently whisked until very few lumps were left. Then, when I strained the batter into the pan I pushed through the remaining lumps.

1. Remove hot baking pan from the oven. Strain batter through sieve into the hot baking pan and put in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. I let mine sit in the bundt pan for about 10-15 minutes...then turned it over. I read that might help it from falling. I was anxious and removed the cake from the pan after about 20-25 minutes with a little tap on the counter. YAY, no sticking.

In conclusion...there are so many different recipes and methods for this cake. I have tried 2 so far and this one seems to work well. I'll let you know if I find a new easy one. But for now...I'm very pleased with this unique Vietnamese treat!

As you can see, I opted for the heavy Nordic Ware bundt pan. This would be my suggestion for a first try. I think I'll try the 9 inch cake pan next time with this same recipe.

Above is my first encounter with Banh Bo Nuong that I purchased in Little Saigon a few weeks ago. I had never seen anything like it. I was fascinated. I did a little research and gave it a go...

DON'T LAUGH! The first try?...an obvious failure....the middle was...let's just say...gummy bear-ish? I am not a quitter, so I gave it another try. HONEYCOMB! YAY!