Choose thick, dark green pandan leaves. Blend about 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of fresh pandan leaves with 1 cup (250 ml) water to make pandan juice. Chop the leaves, blend half the leaves with 1 cup water, then strain to get the juice. Add the remaining leaves and the strained juice back to the blender, blend again, and strain to get more juice.

Refrigerate the pandan juice for at least 6 hours to enhance the color. After 6 hours, pour off the clear liquid on top and keep the concentrated juice at the bottom for the cake. If you let it sit for 2 days and pour off all the clear liquid, you'll get pure pandan extract. If you're short on time, you can use the juice right away, but the color won't be as vibrant.

Rinse the mung beans and soak them in hot water for 2 hours until they expand and soften. Drain the soaking water. Add 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) water and cook the mung beans until the water is absorbed and the beans are very soft. Let them cool slightly.

Mix all the pandan layer ingredients together and strain through a sieve to remove any lumps. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.

Once the mung beans have cooled, blend them with the remaining mung bean layer ingredients until smooth. Strain through a sieve once, then let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.

While the mixtures are resting, bring water to a boil. When boiling, reduce to low heat and place your greased molds in the steamer for 5 minutes to preheat. I use large ramekins (flan cups) as molds. This recipe makes 12 small round cakes with 5 layers each.

After preheating the molds for 5 minutes, scoop 12 tablespoons of the pandan mixture into a separate bowl, add 1 teaspoon of pandan juice, mix well, and pour evenly into each mold. The first layer takes the longest to steam and can get dry and dark, but adding extra pandan juice helps prevent this.

Steam the first layer for 4 minutes until set. Tilt the mold to check that it doesn't run. Then pour 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mung bean mixture on top and continue steaming. The mung bean layer is thicker than the pandan layer, so use a bit more to keep the layers even. Wait for each layer to set before adding the next.

Each time you add a new layer, increase the steaming time by 1 minute. Alternate the layers, and after pouring the fifth layer, steam for an additional 15 minutes to fully cook the cakes.

Once done, remove the cakes from the steamer and place them in an ice water bath to cool. This helps the cakes stay chewy and cool down faster.

When cooled, the cakes will easily release from the molds. For clean slices, use a plastic knife or wrap a knife blade with plastic wrap before cutting. The cakes taste great chilled. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Re-steam before eating to restore their soft texture.

For the coconut milk sauce, simply heat coconut milk with sugar to your desired sweetness, then mix in a little tapioca starch to thicken. Let cool before serving.