Castella (カステラ):
Soft Japanese-style Sponge Cake

October 31, 2022

Castella (カステラ, kasutera) is a kind of soft sponge cake that orginated in Japan, brought in the 16th century via Portuguese merchants, so it's name is derived from the Portuguese phrase "Pão de Castela" (“bread from Castille"). It is a specialty of Nagasaki, as at the time, it was the only port open to foreign trade. The cake is baked in square or rectangular molds and cut into individual slices. It gets it's volume from whipped eggs and uses a sugar syrup called mizuame, a sweetener for wagashi, and it can also be flavored with other things, such as matcha or honey.

Equipment

  • whisk/stand mixer/hand mixer (for beating eggs)
  • 9" x 9" (23cm x 23cm) square baking tray
  • parchment paper
  • sieve

Ingredients

7
room temperature eggs
1 ½ cups (200g)
bread flour
1 ¼ cups (250g)
sugar
1/3 cup (80g)
honey
1/4 cup (60g)
water or milk

Directions

1
Preheat oven to 356F (180C). Line cake pan with parchment paper.
2
Place eggs in a stand mixer (or bowl) and beat until the egg mixture has frothed up and thickened (4-10 minutes), slowly adding the sugar in in equal parts as it beats.
3
Stir milk (or water) and honey together in a separate bowl and heat to lukewarm until the honey is dissolved.
4
Sift the bread flour and set aside.
5
Add half of the milk and honey mixture to the eggs and mix by hand with a spatula until incorporated. Add half of the bread flour and repeat the mixing process. Repeat with the rest of the milk and honey mixture, then the rest of the bread flour.
6
Pour the cake batter into the pan and tap to remove air bubbles. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 320F (160C) and bake for another 30-40 minutes.
7
Take the cake out from the oven and drop the pan onto a solid, flat surface from a height of about 5" (12.5cm) to release the air from the cake to avoid collapsing.
8
Spread plastic wrap on a flat surface, and flip the cake upside down and out of the pan onto the plastic to let cool. You may choose to eat the cake immediately, but it is best to leave the cake in the plastic wrap for half a day before eating for a more moist and delicious cake. You may slice off the edges of the cake, slice in half, and then cut each half into 1-inch slices before serving.
9
Store any excess in an air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator. The cake may stay fresh for up to a week.

Photo Gallery

For a decadent chocolate flavored castella, just mix 1 tablespoon of cocao powder into your milk and honey mixture, making sure it is well incorporated.

To make a matcha flavored castella, just add 2 teaspoons of matcha powder to your milk and honey mixture and make sure it is well incorporated.