SINGAPORE - The humble pandan cake has made headlines recently, after being named one of the world's 17 best cakes by the travel website of US news outlet CNN.

Perhaps more surprisingly, it was listed as Singapore's national cake, an accolade it shared with neighbour Malaysia.

Describing the cake as "essentially a chiffon cake" infused with green-coloured juice from the pandanus palm, the April 2 article said: "The radioactive hue of this cake belies its natural woodsy flavor.

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"When married to fluffy-yet-moist chiffon cake, it's a revelation."

Local bakeries Pine Garden and Bengawan Solo also received a mention, with Pine Garden's version of the pandan cake praised as being one of the best.

Meanwhile, kueh lapis, which CNN identified as lapis legit, was named Indonesia's national cake.

The popular red bean pancake dorayaki was named Japan's national cake, while Hong Kong's was "mai lai go", the traditional Cantonese steamed brown sugar sponge cake served in dim sum restaurants.

Other notable mentions included Turkey's baklava, victoria sponge from Great Britain, tiramisu from Italy, pavlova from New Zealand and cheesecake from the US.