Recipe: Japanese Castella (Kasutera カステラ) Cake

Castella (カステラ Kasutera) is a popular Japanese sponge cake made from 4 basic ingredients - sugar, eggs, bread flour and honey. A speciality of Nagasaki, Portuguese merchants introduced this cake to Japan in the 16th century. The name is derived from Portuguese Pão de Castela, meaning "bread from Castile". It looks similar to a Madeira cake (also associated with Portugal) - the same dark brown crust and pale golden cake but Castella contains no butter at all.

Castella (カステラ Kasutera)

I had my first taste of Castella, all the way from Japan, many years ago when a friend gifted it to us. I always remember the cake because it had a distinctive honey taste on the upper top layer. When I saw Nami's recipe for Castella cake, I  was very excited and quickly bookmarked it on Pinterest. Last week, I finally made it at home.

This is very easy to make - the key is to beat the eggs until it is thick and pale golden and falls in ribbons when the whisk attachment is lifted. For Castella, bread flour is used to achieve the right texture. I baked the cake in a 180°C oven for 30-35 minutes without the fan setting. The top is a glorious dark brown when it is ready and slightly spongy to the touch.

Castella is a cake which you need to have patience with. Despite it smelling very good right out of the oven, you need to wrap it up with cling film and place it in the fridge overnight for it to develop a fine, moist texture. Try it right out of the oven, and I promise you it's not very nice. Leave it in the fridge for 12 hours and the texture has transformed and it will be moist and delicious. When I took the first bite, I knew this was the taste I remembered from many years ago, so thank you Nami for this amazing recipe! Delighted that this recipe worked on my first attempt.

Look at the beautiful cake!

As mentioned earlier in the post, Castella has a distinctive honey taste, especially on the upper layer where honey is applied after it is taken out of the oven. My kids call this "honey cake", and my boy especially loved it very much.We enjoyed having this during our tea time break. 

Awww... Baby C says "I heart mummy's Castella" too;)

Japanese Castella Cake
Recipe adapted from Just One Cookbook

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

For the cake:
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (218 g) sugar
1 cup + 2 1/2 Tbsp (200 g) bread flour
5 tbsp honey
2 ½ tbsp warm water

To glaze:
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp warm water

You will require:
2 1-lb loaf pans (8.50 x 4.50 x 2.75 inch / 22 x 11 x 7 cm)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (no fan). Base-line the loaf pans and grease the sides well.

2. Sift the bread flour twice. Set aside.

3. Mix the honey and warm water together. Set aside.

4. In an electric mixer, add the eggs and whisk until combined and frothy (Speed 2). Then, add the sugar and beat the eggs on medium speed (Speed 6) for about 6-8 minutes, until the volume of the eggs have increased by 4 times and when the whisk is lifted, the mixture should fall in thick ribbons. The egg mixture will be a pale yellow in colour.

5. Add the honey mixture (from Step 3) and then whisk on low speed (Speed 2) until combined.

6. Add 1/3 of the bread flour, then whisk on low speed (Speed 2) for 15 seconds, until just blended. Then, add another third and whisk for a further 15 seconds. Add the remaining portion and whisk for about 1 minute, until well combined. Do not overmix.

7. Divide the batter between the two pans, filling to about 80% full.

8. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. The top of the cake will feel spongy when pressed with finger.

9. Mix the honey and warm water for the glaze in a bowl and apply the honey mixture on top of the cake with a pastry brush.

10. Important Step: Place a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter top and invert the loaf pan onto the plastic wrap. Gently peel off parchment paper on the bottom. Immediately wrap the cake to keep the moisture in and place in the fridge while it's hot for at least 12 hours; this will help the cake's flavour develop and also improve the texture. I kept it in the fridge for 24 hours, before slicing.  Store in the fridge with the top side facing down. 

11. To serve, slice off the sides of the cake with a sharp bread knife and cut into 3/4 to 1 inch thick
slices (you get 8-10 slices in total). Bring the cake to room temperature before serving. The cake can be frozen for up to a month or keep in the fridge for 5 days.

*Speed indicated is from KitchenAid mixer.

A short video I posted on Instagram

*I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest #1 Oct 2013 : Japan hosted by Alan from travelling-foodies.



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