This is a very popular Japanese honey sponge cake in Japan and it's specialty of Nagasaki. The cake was
brought by way of Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. The name is derived from Portuguese Pão de
Castela, meaning "bread from Castile".
This
cake has a strong honey aroma. It’s
sweet and has moist texture. It’s made
of just 4 basic ingredients - bread flour, eggs, sugar and honey. There’s no butter at all.
I
had my 1st Castella cake from Japan few years back when my hubby was
there for work. I love its distinctive honey
taste and gracious dark brown top. I’m happy
that I’m able to bake this cake on my own now.
Traditionally,
Castella cake is baked in wooden mould to create an even smoother texture for
the sponge. Next week, my hubby is
travelling to Nagasaki, hopefully he can find the wooden mould for me.
I
chanced upon this recipe from Yen’s blog,
Eat Your Heart Out and Nami’s Just
One Cook. As this is my 1st
attempt, I decided to go for half recipe for a start. Subsequently, I made a full recipe and gave a
loaf to my brother.
Hope
you’ll like the cake too.
INGREDIENTS
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
For
glazing
1
tbsp honey
1/2
tbsp warm water
Pan
size
2 1-lb loaf pans
(8.50 x 4.50 x 2.75 inch / 22 x 11 x 7 cm)
METHOD
(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.
*Speed
indicated is from KitchenAid mixer.
(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.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteWow! Your cake looks fantastic! Very moist, soft and spongy! I have yet to make this cake, it was all the craze a while back.
I can imagine how lovely this is with a cup of tea!
Hello Amy! Such a gorgeous castella! It looks moist, bouncy, and looks perfect! I need to make again. :) Thank you very much for linking back to my post. So happy to hear you liked it!
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, I think your castella looks really spongey and the crumbs so fine! I too love this cake a lot and tried Sonia's version which is really simple!
ReplyDeleteYour castella is so beautifully made. Thanks for the mention. :)
ReplyDelete