[1][2] The cake is popular in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, and also the Netherlands.

[2][13] The other variants are actually derived from other cake recipes, with any similarity only in the usage of green pandan flavouring extract.

European colonists brought their cuisine along with them, with the most obvious impacts in bread, cake, and pastry-making techniques.

[14] In Southeast Asian cuisine, the pandan leaf is a favourite flavouring agent used to give off a pleasant aroma, and added to various dishes ranging from fragrant coconut rice, traditional cakes, to sweet desserts and drinks.

[3] The colonial Dutch and Indo peoples combined cake-making techniques from Europe with the available local ingredients like the pandan leaf as flavouring and colouring agents.