Pandan Coconut Chocolates

I've got an unusual recipe for you today... Creamy coconut vegan chocolates, flavored with a hint of pandan for an earthy, natural vanilla-like taste and a lovely pale green hue.

This recipe? File this one under a little experimental :P

Since I frequently craft recipes for those with alternative dietary needs, naturally I have ingredient curiosity. And if you follow this website, you know how much I love natural food coloring (think spirulina, beet powder, pink pitaya, etc.).

So when I saw pandan leaf powder from a brand I trust, I thought I gotta give it a try. I ordered, not even knowing what pandan is... I figured I'll just work it out as I go along ;)

When it came time to actually try it in a recipe I realized it was a little complicated!

So what is pandan anyways?

Pandan is a common ingredient in many Asian cuisines, but not so common in North American desserts. And when I went to google how it's best used, I realized that most recipes call for other forms of pandan than the powdered form I got.

And so the only helpful pandan baking hints I got from the internet are:

• It's a type of plant / grass.
• Its flavor profile is like an earthy vanilla, earthy and maybe a little "grassy" like matcha. I found that to be quite accurate.
• Usually other forms of it are used in baking to add a more concentrated flavor and color. With the powdered leaf form, that aspect is a little less intense.
• It naturally pairs well with coconut.

Trying to decide what to use it in first, I settled on coconut cream chocolates. I have a few coconut vegan chocolate recipes I love, love, love on the website already, like:

Both of the above recipes are naturally coconutty, and lend themselves well to a pandan-flavored adaptation. And are super easy to throw together.

A few observations: working with pandan

As I mentioned, these pandan coconut chocolates were more of an experimental recipe for me as I was trying to figure out a way to put pandan to good use. It didn't come out perfect, and I'll admit I love the natural creaminess of the prior two chocolate recipes.

Somehow, the pandan powder produced a drier and more choppy filling, but I did not want to dilute its flavor so I ended up leaving it as is. I really wanted the pandan flavor to come through here!

But it still came out interesting and tasty enough for me share -- I figured those of you reading this, who are ingredient curious like me, might appreciate me sharing my experiments :D

And maybe get some ideas / notes for your own pandan leaf powder use some day.

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