Treat yourself to this moist and bouncy Japanese sponge cake called Castella. Prized for its delicate crumb and sweet honey flavor, it’s a beloved tea snack and a great hostess gift, too. Bake a perfect Castella Cake at home with my techniques and tips!
One of my favorite sweets of all time is Japanese Castella Cake (カステラ). It’s a moist and bouncy sponge cake with a sweet honey flavor. My family enjoys this refined confectionery with green tea or a cup of coffee for our three o’clock oyatsu (snack) time.
It’s one of the most popular cakes in Japan, too. You‘ll find it sold just about anywhere—at department stores, specialty sweet shops, kissaten (coffee shops), and even convenience stores. Don’t worry if you’re not in Japan to buy this delicious treat, though. Today, I’ll share my recipe with special tips and techniques so you can make this exquisite Castella Cake at home!
Table of Contents
What is Castella?
Castella, or Kasutera (カステラ), is a beloved Japanese honey sponge cake known for its sweet taste and airy texture. More delicate and bouncy than a regular sponge cake, castella is famous for its fine and moist crumb. It’s cherished nationwide as a tea snack, souvenir, and gift, making it one of Japan’s most popular confections.
This famous cake originated in 1543 in the port town of Nagasaki on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. That’s when Portuguese merchants and missionaries arrived with a firm and simple bread called pão de Castela (“bread of Castile” referring to Spain’s Kingdom of Castile).
Since the 16th century, Japanese artisan bakers have transformed the recipe into a sweet cake thanks to Nagasaki’s abundance of imported sugar. They have also incorporated eggs, honey, and sugar to give it a more delicate and sponge-like texture. It’s a Western-style confectionery that is uniquely Japanese!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You’ll be amazed that you can make this Nagasaki specialty in your own kitchen!
- Uses a standard loaf pan – Castella is traditionally baked over low heat in a wooden frame because metal pans transfer heat faster and can result in a dry cake. However, you can use a regular 1 lb. loaf pan with excellent results if you apply the techniques that I share here.
- Makes a very moist cake – I use a very thick Japanese sweetener that helps yield a perfectly moist texture.
- Takes just 1 hour of active baking and prep time – Prep and bake this castella in just an hour. Relax while it chills overnight. The wait is worth it!
Ingredients for Castella Cake
Here’s what you’ll need to make Japanese castella:
- Bread flour – Adds an elastic, bouncy texture
- Large eggs – Use at room temperature so your ingredients blend more evenly and cohesively
- Water
- Sugar – Binds with the water to keep the crumb soft and tender
- Honey – Provides castella’s signature flavor; adds moisture and a rich color
- Mizuame (水飴, glutinous starch syrup) – Keeps the cake more moist (see below)
- White sparkling sugar (or zarame ザラメ, Japanese coarse sugar) – Adds a golden brown crunch to the bottom crust
Substitution Tips and Variations
- While my recipe calls for white sparkling sugar, authentic Japanese castella commonly uses zarame (ざらめ, ザラメ), a coarse sugar. Since it’s not easy to find outside of Japan, I decided to use sparkling sugar that you can find on Amazon. However, please use zarame if you can find it.
- Mizuame (literally “water candy;” also called millet jelly) is a traditional Japanese sweetener made of starch. It‘s a super sticky and clear syrup that’s extremely thick (see the image below). Be sure to use the thick type sold in a jar. It’s about the consistency of molten candy that’s almost cool enough to pull into hard candy. It’s hard to find outside of Japan, but some Japanese markets (like Nijiya Market in my area) may carry it. If you can’t find it, leave it out entirely. Do not use the thin type of mizuame sold in pouches. It’s runny and fluid like honey, and it contains too much moisture for this recipe.
How to Make the Best Castella
Follow my precise instructions and techniques and you’ll be rewarded with the most delicious homemade castella cake!
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make the batter. First, beat the sugar and eggs together in a mixer on high speed. Next, fold in the honey and mizuame, and finally add the flour.
- Pour the batter into the pan; remove the air bubbles.
- Place in a preheated oven.
- Mix the batter 4 times during the first 12 minutes of baking. Then, bake for another 28–30 minutes. It’s done baking if it bounces back when you touch it with your finger. No need to test it with a toothpick.
- Invert the cake onto a nonstick mat and let it cool.
- Wrap in plastic and chill overnight.
- Trim the side crusts with a sharp bread knife. Slice and serve!
Recipe Tips and Techniques
- Bring the eggs to room temperature. This is very important. I leave them on the counter for several hours. You can also fill a bowl with very warm (but not hot) tap water and submerge the cold eggs until they reach room temperature, for about 10 minutes.
- Weigh your ingredients. Precision is important in baking, and weighing your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale is the most accurate way to measure. I highly encourage you to weigh your flour and sugar instead of using measuring cups, as you may scoop more than you need.
- Use a light-colored pan. I recommend a light-colored loaf pan for this recipe. A dark-colored pan may have hot spots, overbake on the sides and bottom, and bake the cake too fast.
- Use stainless steel clips to hold the parchment paper. I’ve tried different ways to attach the paper to the cake pan, but nothing worked until I used the clips.
- Don’t microwave the honey mixture. I know it’s tempting to heat the mixture to facilitate dissolving, but we don’t want to increase the batter temperature with a warm honey mixture. Press down and mash the thick mizuame with the mini spatula to facilitate dissolving.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes on Speed 10 (for this KitchenAid). This setting worked perfectly. The batter should quadruple in volume and fall in ribbons. If you double the recipe, you can still whisk for 5 minutes on Speed 10.
- Don’t overmix the batter after adding the honey mixture and flour. Just 30 seconds after each addition is enough. Overmixing could deflate the egg mixture and overdevelop the gluten in the flour.
- Mix the batter during baking with an offset spatula. The Japanese mixing technique called awakiri (泡切り, “bubble cut“) helps to even out the batter‘s temperature so the cake will rise without cracking.
- Use a serrated knife with small teeth. I’ve tried all kinds of knives to cut castella. The only one that worked well was the SUNCRAFT CUT brand bread knife, as per JOC baking assistant Haruka’s advice.
How to Store
To save for later, wrap the individual pieces with plastic wrap. Store for up to 3–4 days at room temperature, 5–7 days in the refrigerator, and 1 month in the freezer.
FAQs
Can I use all-purpose flour or cake flour?
For authentic Japanese castella, you need bread flour. It gives the cake an elastic, bouncy texture. All-purpose flour just cannot produce this texture. The high protein in bread flour also helps the castella achieve a chewier and denser crumb than a regular sponge cake made with cake flour, which has less gluten.
Why are there wrinkles on the top of my cake?
If your cake top starts to wrinkle, you may have overbaked it. If so, your cake will be drier inside and have hard, dry edges. Next time, start checking 10 minutes sooner to see if the cake is done. Also, I encourage you to check your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer, as the actual temperature inside may differ from the display setting. Every oven is different; please adjust your setting to achieve the correct actual temperature.
Why did my cake stick to the silicone mat?
You may have underbaked your cake if the top sticks to the Silpat mat. In this case, the cake will be moist and a bit soggy on top and lighter in color than mine. Next time, try baking it a few minutes longer until the top is a bit darker and drier (but not wrinkled). Also, your oven’s actual temperature may be lower than what your oven displays. Next time, check it with an oven thermometer and adjust the setting accordingly.
What is the difference between Japanese castella cake and Taiwanese castella cake?
Taiwanese castella cake (or Taiwanese soufflé castella) is an adaptation of Japanese castella cake. It’s jiggly, eggy, and pillowy soft while the Japanese version is denser. Taiwanese castella is similar to a soufflé, where you separate the egg yolks and whites, then whip the egg whites to medium peaks. You fold this meringue into the egg yolk mixture, pour the batter into a cake pan, and bake it in a water bath inside a baking tray. Taiwanese castella also uses different ingredients like cake flour, oil or unsalted butter, vanilla extract, milk, and lemon juice or vinegar.
What to Serve with Castella
- Green Tea
- Japanese Iced Coffee
- Iced Matcha Latte
- Hojicha Latte
- In a Japanese Fruit Parfait
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Japanese Castella Cake
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp water
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp mizuame syrup (glutinous starch syrup) (use the thick type sold in a jar; see the blog post for details; skip if you can't find it)
- 100 g bread flour (¾ cup + 1½ Tbsp; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature—very important!)
- 100 g sugar (½ cup)
- ½ Tbsp white sparkling sugar (you can buy it on Amazon; use zarame coarse sugar if you can find it)
Instructions
Before You Start…
- Please note that this recipe requires a chilling time of 12 hours or overnight.I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale. For weights, click the Metric button above. If you‘re using a cup measure, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more than you need.
- Gather all the ingredients. The eggs must be at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 320ºF (160ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the oven temperature by 25ºF (15ºC) to 295ºF (145ºC). Prepare a spray bottle with water, an offset spatula, and a bamboo skewer. Use a 1 lb baking pan that is light-colored for the best outcome.
To Line the Baking Pan
- On your work surface, place a sheet of parchment paper that‘s 13 x 16 inches (30 x 40 cm). Set a 1 lb loaf pan on top (I use a light-colored 1 lb loaf pan that‘s 8½ x 4½ x 2¾ inches or 22 x 11 x 7 cm). Mark the four corners of the loaf pan on the paper. Fold and crease the paper on all four sides following the corner marks.
- Unfold the paper so that the long side of the creased rectangle is in front of you. On the two crease lines pointing toward you, cut slits up to the rectangle‘s left and right corners. Rotate the paper and cut two slits on the opposite long side. You will have four slits total. Then, place the paper in the baking pan, folding and layering the flaps to fit.
- Cut a slit in each of the corner flaps down to the top edge of the pan. Then, fold down the paper over the pan‘s edges.
- Secure the folded paper onto the edges with stainless steel clips to keep the lining from moving when you mix the batter during baking.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Combine 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp honey in a small bowl. Then, add 1 Tbsp mizuame syrup (glutinous starch syrup). It‘s super sticky and extremely thick, so use a mini spatula to scrape it from the measuring spoon.
- Take your time to dissolve the mizuame. Press down and mash the mizuame with the mini spatula to facilitate dissolving. Do not microwave the mixture as we do not want to increase the temperature of the batter. Set aside.
- Sift 100 g bread flour with either a sifter or fine-meshed strainer. Hold the strainer‘s handle with one hand as you gently tap the strainer with the other, and the flour will gradually sift through. Tip: Why bread flour? It gives the cake an elastic, bouncy texture that you cannot achieve with all-purpose flour.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, crack 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) that are at room temperature. Add 100 g sugar.
To Mix the Batter
- Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and vigorously beat the eggs and sugar on high speed (Speed 10) for 5 minutes without stopping. If you beat the eggs with a handheld mixer, it will take more time.
- The beaten eggs will quadruple in volume and have a thick texture and pale yellow color.
- When you stop the mixer and lift the whisk attachment, the mixture should fall in ribbons.
- Gradually add the honey mixture to the batter while whisking on low speed (Speed 2) until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Gradually add the bread flour while whisking on low speed (Stir) until just combined, for about 30 seconds. Do not overmix.
- When the flour is just combined, stop whisking. When you lift the whisk, the batter should fall in ribbons.
- Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter from the bowl‘s sides and bottom and gently fold the batter a few times. Next, sprinkle ½ Tbsp white sparkling sugar on the bottom of the lined pan. This sugar will add a crunchy texture to the cake‘s bottom and help retain moisture.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan in just one spot. This helps to minimize air pockets and smooth the top of the batter. Tip: If your pan is smaller than mine, you‘ll need to add the excess batter to another smaller pan and use a shorter bake time.
- To level the batter and help remove air pockets, hold the cake pan 2 inches above the counter and drop it flat onto the counter. Then, draw a zigzag line through the batter with a bamboo skewer to further eliminate air bubbles.
To Bake
- Place the cake pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven at 320ºF (160ºC). Close the oven door and set a timer for 2 minutes.
- After the 2-minute timer beeps, reset the timer to 1 minute and complete the following several steps over the next minute. First, open the oven and spray twice above the cake batter with the spray bottle.
- Next, use an offset spatula to mix and circulate the batter 15–20 times from the left side, without touching the sparkling sugar at the bottom of the pan. This mixing technique, called awakiri (泡切り, “bubble cut“) in Japanese, helps to remove air pockets and even out the batter‘s temperature so the cake rises evenly without cracking.
- Finally, mix and circulate the batter 15–20 times from the right side. Shake off the excess batter from the spatula and close the oven door. Reset the timer to 2 minutes.
- Repeat this process (Step 2 to Step 4) 3 more times. To recap, when the 2-minute timer beats, mist twice with water.
- Mix the batter from the left side, then mix from the right side. Reset the time to 2 minutes. Repeat this process 2 more times.
- On the 4th and final time, remove the stainless steel clips. Run the bamboo skewer through the batter. If any of the clips were submerged in the batter, fill in the clip marks in the batter with the skewer.
- Spray water into the oven, then bake at 320ºF (160ºC) for another 28–30 minutes.
- The cake is done if it bounces back when you touch it with your finger. Tip: If your cake top looks wrinkled, you may have overbaked it. Next time, check earlier to see if it‘s done. I highly encourage you to check your actual oven temperature with an oven thermometer to see if it‘s running hotter than the display setting and adjust accordingly.
- Remove the castella from the oven. To help prevent shrinkage, drop the pan twice onto the countertop to release the steam vapors from the cake. Next, invert the cake from the pan onto a nonstick silicone mat (I use Silpat). Leave the parchment paper in place. Leave it upside down and let it cool to room temperature, about 45–60 minutes. Tip: I found that a nonstick silicone mat works perfectly here, as parchment paper may stick to the cake. However, if your cake sticks to the silicone mat, you may have underbaked it. Next time, bake it a few minutes longer. Also, check your actual oven temperature to see if its running cooler than the display setting and adjust accordingly.
To Chill Overnight
- Once cooled, immediately wrap the cake with its parchment paper in plastic wrap to retain moisture. Then, put the wrapped cake in the refrigerator and store overnight (or at least 12 hours). This will help the cake develop a fine and moist texture.
To Trim the Castella
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Discard the plastic and carefully peel off the parchment paper.
- Now, we‘ll trim the sides of the castella to expose the yellow body of the cake. First, slice off the crust from the two long sides of the cake with a sharp bread knife (I highly recommend using a Suncraft bread knife). Use a damp towel to wipe off the crumbs from the blade after every cut. Tip: These castella crusts are moist and delicious to snack on!
- Then, slice off the crust from the two short sides of the cake. Do not trim the top and bottom of the cake. Cut the cake crosswise into slices about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick. You will get 8–9 slices total.
To Serve
- Serve it with tea or coffee, if you‘d like. Enjoy!
To Store
- To save for later, wrap individual pieces with plastic wrap. Store for up to 3–4 days at room temperature, 5–7 days in the refrigerator, and 1 month in the freezer.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on September 14, 2013. It was updated with a slightly revised recipe, more helpful tips and techniques, and new images on May 2, 2024.
Hi Nami san!
Tried baking Japanese Castella for the first time today. Everything taste good! I wonder though, is it supposed to be soft yet a bit crumbly? My JC texture came out in between a cake and a bread. It tastes like somewhere in between 🙂 thanks in advance!
Hi Stefany! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Yeah I’d say it’s between cake and bread. Using bread flour, it’s definitely not like a typical sponge cake. There is some firmness/bounciness to it. But crumbly… not so much I think??
Hi Nami!
I just made this cake but I can’t find bread flour anywhere so have to make do with all purpose flour. I read that Robin Hood AP flour has 12% gluten content pretty close to bread flour so decided to just try since I’m interested in this cake. The cakes were done by 35mins at 320F in my oven too but they pulled from the sides so quickly that they seem to sink all towards the middle. I quickly brushed the honey water and wrapped them upside down and placed in the fridge. Hope they turn out well tmr. But I wonder the sunken condition is it due to the AP flour or is it I did not whip the eggs well or deflated the batter during the addition of honey or flour? I noticed a lot of big bubbles in the final batter which I tried my best to poke and tap away. The cakes did rise so should not be not whipped enough? I did more than 10mins on my hand mixer (Highest speed) with first min in warm water bath. The mixture had a huge increase in volume and was really pale yellow close to white and thick. I did not see very distinct think strips of ribbons but the strips I made did stay after swirl the whisk. Fingers crossed! Thanks for the great explanation as usual!
Hi Sheena! I will need to work on this recipe more as I feel I am not making it perfect. It’s good, but it’s not good enough for me. Because I do have a slight wrinkle problem, I want to be able to fix the recipe so I know how to advise. Sorry… I’ll work on this!
Covering cake with foil causes deflation.
Probable cause: While the foil is reflecting the heat away from the cake top, preventing the top from overbrowning, it is also reflecting TOO much heat away from the cake as a whole.
Remember that water boils at 212 degrees and the oven temperature is at 350. While baking the cake’s internal starts to rise, causing the trapped air from the beaten egg/sugar mixture to expand (as there is no chemical leaveners used here). To “set” the air pockets in place, the internal temperature of the cake needs to rise high enough for the egg/flour mixture to firm up to allow the cake to hold its shape when cooled.
The cake core will never exceed 212, which at that point all the moisture (water) will have boiled off and you end up with something akin to shortbread vs. a moist cake.
Meanwhile the surface of the cake is exposed to the heat of the oven. Those areas (tops and sides of the pan) will exceed 212. As the temperature rises, the sugar will start to brown, much as in candy making.
If you cover the top at this point, you will stop the cake from excessive browning, but the cake core hasn’t reach the set temperature. So as a result the top stop browning, but the air bubbles will shrink from the cooling effect. When the egg/flour sets in the cake, the lower loft is due to these smaller air pockets.
Suggestion: Try just wrapping the edges of the pan with the foil, but leave the center exposed. That way you can redirect some of the heat to prevent over browning but no so much as to cause the cake to collapse.
Hi Jeff! Thank you for such a detailed explanation. This explains why we “tent” the food with aluminum foil (instead of flat cover the top). I didn’t really know why we have to do that (even I follow). I wish you are in my kitchen when I bake!! I’m still struggling to make this recipe improve. 🙂
If you want to see how it is made authentically, here is a brief video:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2024129/ (at the 6m30s mark)
(To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee: That’s not a cake; THAT’S a cake)
Notice how it is baked: (1) the “pan” is a wooden frame set over a sheet; (2) when the cake is placed in the oven it is uncovered, but towards the end the “pan” is twice the height with another frame holding a cover with what looks like A couple of pieces of sheet metal.
When baking such a large cake (really wide, really deep) it is important to control the speed of the temperature rise in the cake: too high an the edges will brown/burn before the center is set. Wood conducts heat more slowly than metal, which allows the sides to brown more slowly while the center of the cake rises in temperature.
My guess is once the batter has risen to a certain point, the cover is then placed. The batter on the side has not yet set (if it does before the center is set, then your a “crowned” cake, in which this is not). So while it is still level, adding the top allows for even heating (from below and from above) which should allow for even browsing and An even (level) top.
Hi Jeff! Thank you for your comment. I’ve seen similar videos from the Castella shops too (YouTube has several). We can buy those wooden molds (wall and top board) in Japan and I did think about ordering them. I do think the metal or glass pans are probably not appropriate for making Castella, but at the same time, I don’t want people to buy a wooden mold just for Castella to make my recipe using the mold… so it’s a hard decision! Some home cook recipes in Japan use an origami box made with the newspaper since paper doesn’t conduct heat fast… but here in the US, it’s really hard to find the actual newspapers. I really want to find a good way to make castella that everyone can make. I’ll keep trying! Thank you so much for your help, Jeff!
If I don’t have a mixer would it work if I mix it by hand? Thank you!
Hi West! Yes… but I hope your arms won’t fall off. I saw a YouTube video about the hand-whipping batter from one of the famous Castella shop and it’s kind of intensive how long and how fast they whip… but yes, you can do it by hand. 🙂
Can I bake this without parchment paper? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Kana! How you plan to take out the cake? If it’s possible, you can bake without it… 🙂
Can I substitute sugar for honey?
Hi Hana! Sugar is important in baking recipes to making the cake moisture and fluffy. I’m not fully sure if omitting sugar 100% would work, to be honest…
Hi Nami. Thanks for a simplified version of the Castella. Your version is something a working person can do and have this on a regular basis.
FYI I cooked this in an electric stove and the power went out after 10 minutes in the oven. The power was restored and the oven reached temperature about 45 minutes later. Although the Castella sat at room temperature for 45 minutes it had no effect likely because the cake requires no leavening agent.
Thanks Again.
Hi Scott! Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so glad your cake survived the power outage. 😀
Been wanting to make this for a while so glad I did! Not a massive baking fan so the simplicity for me was the best part….. apart from getting to eat it!
Hi Stuart! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’ve been wanting to make this (to improve more) but eggs are so hard to come by at this time. I’m glad you enjoyed this cake. I miss eating it. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
I followed your recipe and it was perfect. The only thing I did differently was to put a large tray of water in the oven with the cake tin sat in the water. This had been done for other recipes but it made the cake rise with a domed top just like the giant cakes you se in videos
Hi James! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I think the water bath method works great as heat is not as strong and gives more gentle heat to the sponge cake. Thank you for your tip and feedback, James!
Do you have any suggestions what kind of fillings or frosting is best with castella?
Hi Nami,
How do you keep the top of the castella from sticking to the top of the plastic wrap to get a pretty top because whenever I remove the wrap, the entire top part of the castella seems to come off?
Hi Christie! I have to carefully peel off the wrapping – and for me, sometimes the plastic comes out beautifully and sometimes it takes some parts of the top off. Not consistent and I’m not sure why. I’d love to find out. I’ve also tried parchment paper cut into Castella shape and coated with oil to place on top before wrapping and that worked well too. 🙂
Hi! Looks great so far I just put mine in the fridge. Question… Why put the honey on the bottom? Seems like it would be better to put it on the top so it seeps down while it is in the fridge.
Hi Jessica! Thank you for trying this recipe! Hope you enjoyed it. I’m not sure why we keep the castella upside down overnight. If it’s for honey to seep down, yeah it makes sense to keep the honey side down top. But I don’t think that’s the reason… 🙂
Hi Nami
It was cooked perfectly, I checked it with a skewer before turning off the oven. May be I was expecting the texture similar to sponge cake. It wasnt exactly rubbery, but kind of chewier than sponge cake. I dont have a pic, I saw the reply after we finished off the cake :D. As I said earlier, I have never eaten a castella cake before, may be its the right texture. I will share the pic, when i make it next time.
Hi Trisha! Ah, this is not sponge cake because we use bread flour – the texture is not airy like a typical sponge cake, but rather… bouncy (?), somewhat bread-like (but not dense) texture. And yeah, you could say chewier than sponge cake. Castella is a unique texture because of bread flour being used to make the recipe. But sugar and eggs make it fluffier. 🙂
Hello again Namiko-san,
Recently, I made Castella with my new standing mixer. It is fairly similar to the one you use and from the same company. However, I made sure that the flour measurements were correct, and my batter deflated after I added the last bit of flour in. Do you have any suggestions for me? I sifted the flour twice as instructed. Should I add more flour? Less? Should I mix it less?
For the past 3 years, I’ve used a hand mixer for this recipe. While it did take longer, my batter never deflated when I used the hand mixer.
Any suggestions/advice you may have would be greatly appreciated!
よろしくお願いします!
Hi Ashton! That is a very interesting observation. I never compared to hand mixer vs stand mixer for this recipe and I’m interested in the difference it may cause. I do need to work on this recipe to improve. It’s on my top of the list but I have been taking a break from last recipe testing that lasted more than a week and my family can’t stand eating Castella any longer. I’ll be back on working on this recipe soon. I hope to improve this to be a fool-proof recipe.
May I reduce the sugar in this recipe? I love Japanese castella cakes but find store-bought ones too sweet for my taste. Will the reduced sugar cause it not to raise? Thanks a ton for your recipes. They are awesome. Your mochi recipes are my favourite.
Hi Athena! I apologize for my late response. Hmmm a little bit would be okay, but you need sugar and eggs to get the volume of the cake. You probably need to test a few times to see how far you can cut down… 🙂