Treat yourself to this super-moist, delicate, and bouncy Japanese sponge cake with a hint of honey! Made with only four ingredients, Castella Cake is a very popular tea-time confection in Japan that makes the perfect holiday or hostess gift, too.
Japanese Castella Cake, or Kasutera (カステラ) in Japanese, is a popular Japanese honey sponge cake that Portuguese merchants originally introduced to the Nagasaki area in the 16th century. The name derives from the Portuguese Pão de Castela, meaning “bread from Castile”. To make Castella, we use just 4 basic ingredients: bread flour, eggs, sugar, and honey.
A dark brown top and bottom crusts with a creamy yellow center give a beautiful contrast to the sponge cake. This delicate cake is very moist, smooth, bouncy, and has just enough sweetness with a fragrance of honey.
The difference between Japanese honey sponge cake and regular western sponge cake is that Japanese Castella is more delicate and bouncy in texture. It is raised solely by egg foam. There is no butter, oil, or any leavening agent like salt or baking powder. It also uses bread flour (higher gluten content) instead of regular flour to achieve the result. The flavor is very light with mild sweetness. Therefore the cake is delightful to enjoy green tea or iced coffee during summertime.
You can tell by its popularity as Castella is being sold everywhere in Japan, from departmental stores, and specialty sweet stores to convenience stores. They often come in a slim rectangle box in simple plastic packaging for an everyday snack or fanciful packaging for gifting.
Traditionally, Japanese Castella cake is baked slowly in a wooden frame to create a soft smooth texture for the sponge. A metal baking pan would transfer the heat too fast and it would become too dry. I assume most of you would not have a wooden frame readily available, so my Castella recipe uses a standard 1-lb loaf pan.
I searched for Castella recipes in Japanese and found hundreds of recipes available online. The majority of them use just the same 4 ingredients with slightly different measurements for each recipe. I started to experiment with measurements for each ingredient for my 1-lb loaf pan. Then I increased to two pans as my family really loves this light and moist Japanese Castella Cake for oyatsu (snack).
Before I move on to the recipe, I want to mention that it took me a very long time to finalize this recipe. Since then, I have been using this exact recipe many times and it worked each time. However, please understand that everyone’s oven works differently and you may need to adjust the recipe according to your oven.
Japanese Castella Cake Baking Notes:
The key to a successful Castella is in the beating of the eggs and baking time. Even after trying many times, I still wish to improve the slightly wrinkled top (Any tips, anyone?). Otherwise, the texture and flavor is just perfect!
Before I realized that I needed to create my own recipe that works for my oven, I had tried many other Castella recipes I found online. However, I failed miserably despite the beautiful pictures shared in those recipes. Here are some of the tips I learned from my experience in achieving the perfect texture:
Failure 1: A hard and dense layer formed at the bottom of the cake although the top layer turned out beautifully.
Tips:
- There needs to be enough air beaten into the batter for the cake to rise. Make sure to beat the eggs based on the time specified. The texture will be thick and the color will be pale yellow. When you stop the mixer and lift the whisk attachment, the mixture should fall into ribbons.
- Sift the flour two times to loosen.
Failure 2: The cake sank in the middle during the baking, or after I pulled it out from the oven.
Tips:
- Bake it longer until the cake is firm and fully cooked inside.
- Do not over-mix the batter when you add the flour mixture.
- Must use bread flour.
A lot of recipes suggested to bake at a higher temperature and covering the cake with aluminum foil to prevent the cake from browning further and finish baking. However, this made the cake start to sink immediately and it didn’t work for me… Therefore, I couldn’t bake at a higher temperature than 320 ºF (160 ºC).
Some recipes suggest baking it at a higher temperature to brown the top first, then changing to a lower temperature to continue baking. But being unable to cover the top with aluminum foil, my only option was to bake at 320 ºF (160 ºC) and slowly brown the top without overcooking inside of the cake.
You may need to tweak my recipe in order to get the perfect result. I have also seen some recipes that require extra steps and ingredients, but I made this recipe as simple as possible without losing authentic flavor. I hope my recipe works for you and you will get to enjoy Castella with your family and friends.
I’ve also included a 3-minute Japanese Castella Cake recipe video above, so I hope you will check it out.
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Japanese Castella Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cup bread flour (weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 2½ Tbsp water (warm)
- ⅓ cup honey
- 6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature—very important!)
- 1 cup sugar
For the Honey Syrup
- 1 Tbsp honey
- ½ Tbsp water (warm)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires a resting time of 1 day.I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- Gather all the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 320ºF (160ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the oven temperature by 25ºF (15ºC) to 295ºF (145ºC).
- Cut the parchment paper to fit the baking pans (see the video for this process). You will need two loaf pans (8½ x 4½ x 2¾ inches, or 22 x 11 x 7 cm). If your pans are smaller, add the excess batter to another smaller pan and use a shorter bake time.
To Make the Batter
- Sift 1⅔ cup bread flour twice with either a sifter or fine-meshed strainer. Holding the handle of the strainer with one hand and tapping it gently with the other, the flour will gradually sift through the strainer. Tip: Bread flour gives the cake an elastic, bouncy texture that you cannot achieve with all-purpose flour.
- Add 2½ Tbsp water to ⅓ cup honey (5 Tbsp + 1 tsp) and whisk well.
- Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Crack 6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) into the bowl of the mixer and vigorously whisk until combined.
- Add 1 cup sugar.
- Beat the eggs and sugar on high speed (Speed 10) for 5 minutes. If you beat the eggs with a handheld mixer, it will take more time. The beaten eggs will quadruple in volume. The texture will be thick and the color will be pale yellow. When you stop the mixer and lift the whisk attachment, the mixture should fall in ribbons.
- Add the honey mixture into the egg mixture and whisk on low speed (Speed 2) until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add the bread flour in three parts. Add one-third of the bread flour and whisk at low speed (Speed 2) for 15 seconds. Then, add another third and whisk for another 15 seconds. Finally, add the last remaining portion and whisk until just combined for about 1 minute. Do not overmix.
To Bake
- Spray the loaf pans with oil and distribute it evenly with a pastry brush.
- Put the parchment paper in the pans and make sure the paper sticks to the pans. If is does not, apply more oil to the pan, spread it evenly with a brush, and place the parchment paper again.
- Pour the batter into the pans about 80% full.
- Using a skewer, draw a zigzag line through the batter to remove the air bubbles in the batter.
- Level the batter by holding each pan 2 inches above the counter and dropping it flat onto the counter. Do this several times to release the air bubbles.
- Bake at 320ºF (160ºC) in the middle rack of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes (I bake my cakes for 35 minutes), or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn off the oven, at which point I open and leave my oven door ajar for a few minutes. Then, I take out the cakes. When done, the cake sides will pull away from the pan slightly; the top will be flat and feel spongy when pressed with a finger.
To Apply the Syrup and Chill Overnight
- To make the honey syrup, mix 1 Tbsp honey and ½ Tbsp water in a bowl. Immediately apply the honey syrup over the tops of the hot cakes with a pastry brush.
- For each cake, place a sheet of plastic wrap on the countertop. Take out the hot cakes from the pan and place them top down on the plastic wrap. Gently peel off the parchment paper.
- Immediately wrap the cakes with the plastic film to retain moisture. Bring the cake to room temperature. Then, put the wrapped cakes in the refrigerator and store them overnight (or at least 12 hours), keeping the top side facing down. This will help the cakes develop a fine and moist texture.
To Serve
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Bring the cake to room temperature. Slice off the four sides of the cake with a sharp bread knife. Then, cut the cake into ¾- to 1-inch-thick slices (you will get 7–8 slices total). Serve it with tea or coffee, if you‘d like.
To Store
- To save for later, wrap individual pieces with plastic wrap. You can store at room temperature for up to 3–4 days, 5–7 days in the refrigerator, and 1 month in the freezer.
I watched your video many many times until I was sure on how to make the Castella cake.Finally I tried to bake it and it turned out well. So I decided to make six cakes for the church lunch and the following week another six cakes for the senior center.They all loved them! They did not turn out as beautiful as yours but tasted delicious.Thank you.
Hi Dorothy! Thank you so much for watching the YouTube video! I’m SO impressed that you made 6 cakes!!! That’s amazing. I’m really really happy that your friends at the church liked them. Thank you very much for your feedback. 🙂
I failed ogura cake 8 times so I never thought I could succeed in baking a castella on my first try! Thanks to your detailed recipe and instruction! It is sooooo delicious but I have a small problem. When I slice the cake, there is a lot of crumbs, do you know why? I’ve watched your video and you sliced the cake without any falling crumbs. Anyway, I’m really thankful to find your blog, there are so many lovely recipes that I wanna try!
Hi Anna! Is Ogura Cake like a sponge cake? I like anko and that sounds delicious. I’m so happy to hear your Castella was successful! YAY!
About slicing the cake…. I use a very sharp knife! I love this knife… no crumbs when I cut bread etc. This should help you!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DJYF3/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000DJYF3&linkCode=as2&tag=jusonecoo-20
Yes ogura cake is like a sponge cake but it is very light, cottony and soft. Do give it a try and share with us! Thanks for the tips, I’ll try again next time, cheers!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Luckily for me you posted this right before my cookery lesson where I had to make a decorated sponge cake from another country, and both the recipe and the cake were great: the cake tasted amazing and was, I thought, really unusual. So thank you for the recipe! 🙂
Hi Abbey! Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi Nami!
I tried this recipe yesterday and just got it out of the fridge today and it tasted delicious! Itˊs got a light sweetness to it which I really enjoyed! One question though, the texture of the cake came out a little bit my crumbly then I think it should be, so do you have any suggestions maybe? Thanks for the awesome recipe 😀
Hi Michelle! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m glad you liked the flavor. Now about the texture. So it was crumbly instead of spongy, right? Hmm… For all my trials, I never had “crumbly” texture and texture was always correct (besides the time that bottom of castella wasn’t cooked). I wonder if reducing dry ingredients will help the texture more moist. But I’m afraid that cake may sink by changing the ratio. How about the length of baking time. Do you think you can cut down and keep it a little more moist? Make sure to wrap the cake ASAP to keep the moist as well. Hope this helps… 🙂
Ah I see! I didnˊt wrap the cake straight away but Iˊll definitely wrap it it asap next time I make it again. I also gave some to my Mom today and she loved it! She said it reminded her of something she used it eat when she was little so thanks again!! 🙂
hi Nami, i have tried this recipe and it works, thank you, it’s such a delicious cake! but when i made another experiment that i put matcha powder together with the flour, the batter sink and when i bake it in the oven, it won’t rise. what do you think the problem is?
Hi Quinn! I’m so happy! Yay! I started to get more positive responses from readers (not just me!) and I feel like I can finally breathe! Thank you for letting me know.
I wonder if wet vs dry ratio didn’t work out. I’m not sure if you tried my original recipe or updated recipe (I added 1 1/2 Tbsp more bread flour) but maybe you can adjust the green tea powder/bread flour amount – it’s easier than reducing wet ingredients?
What do you think?
I’ve tried your original recipe, (1 cup + 1 tbs flour) and i added 2.5 tbs of matcha powder, and suddenly the fluffy egg batter sink, not sure if i added to much matcha. i might give it another try. However, the honey castella is really good. thank you for the recipe! one of the easiest recipe for castella yet so good..waiting forward for another yummy recipe 🙂
Hi Quinn! Eventually I want to make green tea version too, and thank you for trying it and letting me know your experience. How about adding green tea powder into water? I wonder if that helps as I saw it in some other recipes before. But I’m super happy to hear you think the regular one is good!! Thank you!!!
Nami,
Thank you for the hardwork to develop the castella recipe. On the recipe, it said 200 g bread flour. In the video, it showed a different number ( less flour). Does it make it softer by using less amount indicated in the video? I bake a batch with 200 g. Just wondering??
Hi Lily! Thank you for reminding me. As I noted in the post, I updated the recipe just recently after trying with readers’ suggestion (to add more flour). Yes, 200 g is updated version. It’s too bad I cannot fix the video… I think I can make a note of it in the YouTube. I’ll try to update it soon. I hope your Castella turned out well. 🙂
I tried making this cake yesterday and it turned out really really well. I just think that its a tad too sweet. So the next time i make it, i’ll put in less castor sugar. Great recipe!! Thank you so much for the step by step photos and video. Much appreciated!
Hi Sally! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear the cake turned out well. Yay! Hope you find the right amount of sugar for your preference next time. 🙂 Thank you for writing feedback!
Your Castella is beautiful! I agree with you, each oven works differently and even the different brand of ingredients would make a difference in the end result of the baked goods too! Guess we all have to give it a try and make the adjustment, if any.
I really enjoyed watching your video. You did a nice job and detailed tutorial in lining the cake pan too, love it. 🙂
I know the reason for the winkle cake top! (I bake quite a lot and I noticed this from my experience). If the flour to “wet ingredients” ratio is low, it’s easy to result with a wrinkle cake top as the cake shrink a little when it’s done baking/as it cools. Because the air bubble you beat into the batter is not substantial enough to hold the shape of the cake. That’s why when you open the oven door to add the foil on top, your cake sunk.
Of course, for texture reason, you might not want to increase the amount of flour just to avoid this because that would change the taste and texture of your cake. My trick to solve the wrinkle top is to leave the cake inside the oven to cool after the baking is done, with the oven turn off and oven door ajar. This works like a charm! Give this trick a try, it works on my cakes all the time. 😉
Hi Amy! Sorry about my late response. Thank you for your compliment and great advice!!! Yeah, adjustment is almost necessary when we require an oven. I haven’t been a baker, so I only know my oven and I was hoping my oven acts “standard”…despite it’s pretty old. :/
Thank you so much for letting me know the reason of wrinkle cake top! In fact, I tested again this past weekend by adding a little more flour (1 1/2 tbsp. more) and it worked!!!! I also left the oven door ajar for a little bit too (but I think the trick was the flour).
THANK YOU SO MUCH Amy!! I can finally move on to different recipes after trying this recipe for xx times (you probably don’t want to know. Haha!).
No need to apologize at all. I know we all have busy schedules, especially with the kids. 🙂
I’m glad to hear that adding a little more flour worked for you and solved the issue. And I totally know what you’re talking about when testing recipes for the xx times, especially in baking! It takes a while to perfect a recipe. 🙂 It’s a lot easier in cooking than baking though. Won’t you agree?
Hi Amy! I do agree, and which is why I have been a bit reluctant when it comes to baking. My mom wasn’t a baker and I didn’t grow up seeing someone bake… so I don’t have any common sense knowledge about baking which makes me very… uncomfortable. I seriously consider I need a baking teacher who would bake with me to tell me what I do wrong! 🙂 Thank you again for your great help! xo
Hi Nami, is this recipe already included 1 1/2 tbsp or more flour? Thanks.
Hi Inge! Yes, the recipe was already updated to 200 gram, but please use 1 ½ cup + 2 ½ Tbsp if you’re using a cup measurement. And Please do measure correctly following this method.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-measure-flour/
Dear Ms. Nami
I have tried this recipe for two time but the top of cake always became curved and broken. Could you please offer me any tip to solve it? どうもありがとうございました
Hi Jend! Thank you for trying this recipe! Please read the post – I mentioned about similar issue (under Failure 2″) and wrote some tips. The stage where you beat eggs and folding in flour part is the most crucial part (and I cannot see how you do it so it’s a bit hard to give advice what was wrong or what went wrong). Also adjust the baking time according to your oven. Hope you won’t give up. 🙂 がんばってください!
Hi there, just wondering if I can beat the eggs with less sugar? Will it affect the volume?
Hi Grace! Yes, you can. 🙂 But you really have to test it out as I haven’t reduced the sugar yet. Some recipe uses less sugar but I really think this flavor is just right for Castella. 🙂
Nami-san,
Thank you for this recipe! I never thought I’d make Castella at home! 早速作ってみました。
The flavor was just perfect, but I had some issues with the texture. Actually, the bottom was perfect, but the top was a bit too light, more like a sponge cake. 何ででしょう?
Hi Aya-san! わぁ、早速作ってくれてありがとう! I’ll write in English so others can read. 🙂 I’m glad the flavor was perfect – I believe the taste is very good too. Now about the texture. Did you mean, bottom and top have two different texture, bottom is more like Castella’s bouncy texture (もっちり) and top is more like crumby like typical sponge cake (ぼそぼそっとした感じ?)? I assume you followed my recipe precisely without adapting. The texture of the cake is different on the first day before storing in the fridge and next day after 12 hours. The texture becomes more refined than first day. I have to ask if you store enough hours in the fridge. When I first tried Castella, I couldn’t resit to eat on the first day…but completely amazed how the texture and flavor improved the next day. Maybe the moisture in the wrap does great magic. What do you think?
Nami-san,
thank you for your reply! My observations are based only on the first slice I had after leaving it in the fridge overnight 🙂
The bottom (when it was baking, not when it was cooled in the fridge) is very nice and very typical Castella texture (もっちり、しっとり)while the top is much lighter (ふわっふわ). Maybe I beat the eggs too long?
I will try again later today and see if the ‘magic’ from the wrap made any difference!
Aya-san, from what you wrote, it sounds like you didn’t mix the batter enough after you added flour. Do you think it could be possible? It’s hard to know when to stop mixing, as you cannot overmix or undermix it… You just need to make sure you fold the flour in and mix it all together. Some recipes say to mix very well and others say not too much. Kasutera recipe is really confusing! You can tell right away when you cut one of the kasutera cakes after you bake it and see inside the sponge and taste it. Then the other cake you put it in fridge overnight. It’s a lot easier to cut after being refrigerated because the kasutera becomes refine texture. Hope it worked well the 2nd time. 🙂
Hi Nami, I tried this last night and refrigerated it overnight. Although the flavour is spot on, the texture came out all wrong. It’s a bit rubbery and dense, and I also got a big crack on top. Do you perhaps know where I went wrong..? Thank you!
Hi Naomi,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
If the oven temperature is too high, the top of the cake will crack. It’s possible that your oven temperature was a little higher than your oven shows. We recommend lowering the temperature next time and make sure to use parchment paper inside the pan.
As for texture, review the instruction in Step 8,9,10 and don’t over mix the eggs or batter.
We hope this helps, and next time will be successful!🙂
I’m thinking your cake sank when you try to cover with the aluminium foil is due to the change in temperature. Once you open the oven door, the hot air in the oven escapes and cool air goes in, hence the cake sinks as its structure is not firm yet. You can try baking at a lower temperature for a longer period, once the centre structure is firm, you then place the aluminium foil over the top to prevent over browning. I hope this helps!
Hi Lyng! Thank you for your feedback!
When I started at higher temp to brown the top, and lower the temperature to cook slowly (following someone’s recipes), I needed to put the foil pretty early in baking process as the top is already getting too brown. I think maybe oven temp was too high that I needed to cover such an early stage of baking process (at least for my oven).
For other times, I cover with aluminum foil toward the very end. So maybe the structure wasn’t firm that time. The baking time was pretty long time already by then, so I assume somehow it took a longer time to make the cake to be firm. Could be wrong temp, again.
I never imagined It’s so hard to control the right oven temperature to bake and the right amount of baking time. If I bake at low temp for too long, do you think the Castella will be drier? I remember I tried once baking at lower temp than this recipe, and the top didn’t turn rich golden brown like Castella should have despite the long baking time.
Thank you so much for helping me! The current recipe doesn’t require aluminum foil for me, but I’ll make sure if the cake is firm before covering the aluminum foil next time I need to do that!
Now only problem is the wrinkly top. I assume this is partly due to small sinking… I wonder if the cake rise too high and couldn’t support when it slowly decrease the height… So much to think about (and I’m still obsessed to fix this. haha).
You have tried so many times to get things right, I must salute you for all your efforts!
If you have tried baking the cake at a lower temperature previously and the top didn’t turn golden brown, maybe towards the last 5 mins of baking, you can up the temperature by 10 degrees celcius to give the cake a nice golden hue on top.
The other option I can think of to prevent the cake getting dry by the long baking time is to bake the cake with a bain marie. The water should help to prevent the cake from drying up and keep the moisture intact.
To address the shrinking issue, maybe you can slowly let the cake cook down in the oven by leaving the oven door slightly ajar. Usually the shrinking is caused by the impact of the cooler air. If the cake can gradually cool down, the shrinking may minimise. However, you gotta take note that the residual heat may still cause the cake to continue cooking, so you gotta factor in this “additional cooking time” by adjusting the total baking time.
Hi Lyng! Thank you so much. I’m just very stubborn and wanted to get it right, especially if I share the recipe publicly… 🙂
Thank you again for your helpful tips as they are not only helpful for me but also for other readers!
Okay, I will remember to raise the temp by 50F (10C) for the final 5 minutes. That’s good to remember when the top is not golden brown. It’s better than baking for a long time, waiting and waiting to turn the color…
Yeah bain marie creates a gentle and uniform heat around the food – I wonder if it works for this recipe. I may check it out one of the loaf to compare.
My Japanese Cheesecake recipe requires leaving the oven door ajar, but I haven’t done it for this. I’ll stop baking slightly earlier and try this method. I think my cake starts wrinkling a bit already by the time I take out from the oven. I wonder if it rises too high which ends up with falling a bit and that creates wrinkles.
Ahhhh so many things to still test and improve. Thank you so so much for your helpful tips!
I love Castella, paired with a nice cup of green tea. Delish. I live in Germany though and we have different flour distinctions… type 405 and 505 are the most popular. Your instructions had bread flour, type 505 is used to make yeast dough and bread, so I guess this is the German equivalent?
I did some research and bread flour is always made from hard wheat, which is a different type of flour here, mostly reserved for pasta making lol. I’m confused.
Hi Asami! Oh wow sounds complicated! Bread flour (強力粉) is used to make Chinese style noodles and bread. I think if you use the flour mainly used for making bread, it should work. Can you search Castella recipe in German? Maybe someone made a recipe and explain which flour to use. For Castella texture, you must use bread flour, not all-purpose flour or cake flour.
Hmm, most German recipes just said ‘flour’. Very helpful…, one said to use type 405 flour which I think is more all purpose or cake flour. (In the pictures, the Kastella was much more dense or crumbly).
I think I will just use Type 505 and see how it goes.
Haha! Yes, Kasutera is very spongy and bouncy when you touch it. We have expression called “もっちり” (mocchiri) explaining it’s elastic bouncy texture. Sounds like 505 is more appropriate than 405. Hope it will work out. 🙂
Hi Asami, I’m also in Germany and wanting to make this – did 505 work out for you?
Also Nami – do you think it’s possible to make this using a whisk, rather than an electric beater?
Thanks!
Hi Jo,
Yes! You may use a whisk.
Thank you for trying this recipe. Happy Baking!☺️
Do you think it would make any difference baking it in a glass loaf pan? Also, I wondered about putting a small pan of water in the oven as well. I know I do that with cheesecakes to keep the top from splitting.
Hi Gloryj! Ohh…I never thought of using a glass loaf pan I have. I should test it out next time. I also have never tried with a small pan of water for Castella recipes I tried (for my recipe and other recipes). But I remember some recipe spray water to the cake top right before you put it in the oven. Maybe it’s worth test out that one too. Sorry I can’t answer from my experience…Hope you give it a try and let us know. 🙂
Thanks you very much Nami! It’s obviously that you have worked very hard to make this works for everybody! Really appreciate it! I will try this recipe in the next few days and let you know how it turns out.
Hi Norma! Hope it will come out nicely. After trying so many other recipes, and I still fail, I am sort of scared that my recipe won’t work for some people too… >_< This recipe works perfectly in my kitchen, but as it's one of the difficult cakes to bake (It looks so simple!), I'm very nervous about this one... Good luck!
I have just tried this recipe yesterday, success! I halved the recipe to bake one loaf with a tinted glass loaf pan. It took about 50 minutes to cook through. Other than that I followed your recipe exactly and the result is a beautiful springy sponge cake! Thank you!
I have 2 questions:
1/ after wrapping and resting the cake in the fridge overnight, how should I store the finished cake? Should I leave it in the fridge until ready to serve or should I take it out and let it return to room temperature? Is Castella supposed to be served cold?
2/ I saw some variations of the cake with green tea powder or other flavors. Any tips on that?
Thanks again and keep up the good work!
Hi Norma! What a relief – I’m glad it went well! Below is my answers to your questions.
1) So here’s what I do (and probably should write in a recipe later). After overnight in fridge, I take out, and slice the cake. We eat several pieces of first loaf (or majority of it) and I wrap the cake individually (or maybe two pieces for each package) with plastic wrap. To serve, it’s nice to return to room temperature so the texture is not as dense as it’s in fridge. By the way, you can also freezer them. You can keep in the fridge up to 5 days.
2) Yeah, I want to try that after I figure out the wrinkle problem I have. LOL. Try adding 1 Tbsp. matcha powder in the bread flour (sift together). Depending on the brand and quality, you probably need to adjust the amount.
Hope that helps!
The recipe works like a charm for me! Thank you so much Nami! I love Castella, and always get it when I went to Japan. But none available in my country, so now I can enjoy it whenever I want. Need to add the recipe though since my loaf pans are bigger (9×5″). Should I just add the ingredients proportionally?
Hi Fifi! I’m so glad to hear your castella comes out well! Are you making half portion? Maybe make this recipe and use whatever need for your pan, and make a small one out of the leftover batter?
Hi Nami, I made your 1.5x recipe for two 9×5″ loaf pans, and it worked nicely. I tried adding 20% recipe the first time, and still short on the batter, but 50% is just right. The cake finished in 1-2 days only 😀
Hi Fifi! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! Glad to know 1.5 x recipe for two 9×5″ loaf pans! 🙂
I tried recipe GREAT it was rising WELL finally as my other recipe didn’t rise. It just had cracks Why?
Hi Audrey! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Hmmm probably 1) oven heat was too strong or too close? 2) Maybe raised too fast and the structure couldn’t support? I’m not fully sure without knowing what happened. Sorry… 🙁