This Pandan- Macapuno cake with a creamy coconut -pandan frosting is based on a basic sponge cake recipe. The original recipe suggests boiling some pandan leaves and using the water from it to flavor the sponge cake. I tried that and it gave us a delicate, tender flavor and aroma. Then I baked the same recipe again, this time using the bottled pandan flavoring essence. Both ways, the pandan cake remains a constant hit at home.*Notes on Pandan: Cookbook author, Ginny Roces de Guzman refers to pandan as the “vanilla” of the east for the fragrance and flavor its elongated blade-like leaves impart to both sweet and savory dishes. She further suggests wrapping, tying and lining pans with pandan leaves for an intense hue and unique flavor. Recipe adapted from the cookbook “Bake Me a Cake” by Ginny Roces de Guzman.