Treat yourself to this moist and bouncy Japanese honey sponge cake called Castella. Prized for its delicate crumb and lightly sweet 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 light honey sweetness. 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, light 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 loaf pan with excellent results if you apply the techniques that I share here.
- Makes a very moist cake – I use a 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” and also called millet jelly) is a traditional Japanese sweetener made of starch. It’s a clear, thick, and sticky syrup used to make wagashi. It may be hard to find outside of Japan, though. If you can’t find it, you can substitute ½ Tbsp Korean rice malt syrup, glucose syrup, or corn syrup.
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.
- Beat the sugar and eggs together in a mixer on high speed.
- Fold in the honey and mizuame, then 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 when a toothpick pulls out moist crumbs (not wet batter) when inserted near the center of the cake.
- 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 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.
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) (or substitute ½ Tbsp Korean rice malt syrup, glucose syrup, or corn syrup)
- 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. Why bread flour? Bread flour gives the cake an elastic, bouncy texture that you cannot achieve with all-purpose flour. 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 and an offset spatula to use during baking. Use a light-colored pan 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 loaf baking 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, so you may need 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.
- 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.
- It‘s done baking when a toothpick pulls out moist crumbs (not wet batter) when inserted near the center of the cake. 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. Drop the pan twice onto the countertop to release the steam vapors from the cake. This helps prevent shrinkage. Invert the cake from the pan onto a nonstick silicone mat (I use Silpat). Leave the parchment paper on the cake. Let cool, upside down, to room temperature for 45–60 minutes. Note: I found that a nonstick silicone mat works perfectly here, as parchment paper may stick to the top of the cake.
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.
Would Cake flour work in place of Bread Flour?
Hi CW,
Japanese Castella is very spongy and bouncy when you touch it.
For Castella texture, you must use bread flour, not all-purpose flour or cake flour.
We hope this helps!🙂
I made this last night and followed your recipe exactly, except it took my oven about 50 mins to bake until cake bounces back when I press the top.. I had it this morning and it’s divine! Thank you for making this so easy to follow, it is full of honey flavor, crumb is delicate with slight bounce, so delicious!
Hi Tiff,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed this Castella! ☺️
I noticed that the bottom of your cake is very dark. One thing you might want to try is to put a baking tray under your cake to stop the bottom from getting so dark. You could also try a glass pan instead of a metal one as metal makes things brown faster.
I tried your recipe today and only made one difference. I separated the eggs and beat the whites with the sugar to make a meringue then added the yolks in one at a time. I wanted to get more air into the mix and it made very thick ribbons that way. This is a great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Orchid64!
Thank you for trying this recipe! One of Castella’s characteristics is that the top and the bottom get dark brown, just like how Nami showed in her pictures. They are supposed to be dark.
As for the egg technique, There are two methods of making Castella, one separating eggs and the other one without separating. We are glad to hear separating works! 😊
I lived in Japan for 23 years and I know how castella is supposed to look after eating all of the castella that I ate there. 😉
Hi Orchid 64! Thanks for trying this recipe! In your initial comment, did you mean your bottom was burnt (darker than mine)? Maybe you can adjust the oven temperature or the rack to avoid the issue.
Dear Nami,
I made this カステラrecipe, and my family and I loved it!
Thank you sooo much.
ありがとうございます😊🙏。
Hi Gabriela,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed this Castella!
ありがとう💕
A website called keyingredient.com went to steal your recipe and copy your explanations word for word! 🙁
Their recipe named “castella”, Link is here! https://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/987455032/castella/
Hi Naomi!
Thank you very much for letting us know.
We’ve filed a complaint with Google to take down the content!
Hi…I happen to have a wooden baking frame that I use for traditional German bread. Can you advise what temperature I should bake at in this frame ? Thank you in advance.
Hi Donna! How neat! I don’t have experience in baking castella in the wooden frame so I am not too sure… Sorry! Please let us know if it works!
Thank you for this recipe.. i am obsessed with all of your baked desserts . I made this successfully yesterday and today my family praised the cake.. one note though.. i was surprised how sweet it turned out. Usually Japanese cakes are not too sweet but this cake was over the roof with the addition of the honey and honey glaze( still the texture and the overall taste was great) . Since i baked it successfully do you think i can half the sugar content in the recipe? I did find other recipes with less sugar and i was wondering if you know from experience what would work?
Hi,
I tried baking this today on a 9 inch bread loaf & a round tin as that’s all I have. The TOP looks burnt so I didn’t bake it more than 35 mins. However, upon removing the paper, I realised my cake is fair- meaning the bottom was not brown at all. And the paper sticker to my cake. So I am practically tearing the surface layer off. What did I do wrong? There is no need to greaseproof the inner side of the paper where the cake meets right? If I were to use it with cupcake paper foil…. is it easier? I don’t have to cut any paper Nor grease the muffin pan right? Kindly advise & thank you for your kindness to share your awesome perfected recipe. I will definitely try again!
Hi XY! Thank you for trying this recipe! You can’t change the cooking time based on the color of the cake (because the burnt top). There are other things to think about such as lowering temperature, changing the rack far from the heating element, covering the top, etc etc… The inside of the cake needs to cook through in order to keep the structure of the cake. If you take out the cake because it looks burnt, then it’s possible that the cake is not done cooking. Which could be happening here… The cake should release the texture if it’s properly cooked, and from reading what you wrote, I feel like it’s not done at all. Hope this makes sense? It’s not about the parchment paper. 🙂
hi Nami, thank you for sharing this recipe! I tried making it in a bread loaf tin and apparently the top-middle part is not cooked however the rest of it is is cooked thoroughly (and still taste awesome). Is it because I have put in too much mixture into my loaf tin? I followed your recipe exactly and it turns out well as well. The top part is brown as well as the bottom. Just that the top-middle part 🙁
Hi Adri! I would definitely bake it a bit longer till inside is completely cooked through. Maybe the oven temperature is higher? Do you want to reduce a bit, and go for a longer time so the sides and top won’t get over-baked and becomes dry?
Hi Nami! I tried your recipe with matcha (added about 10g and 90 g flour) and it turned out great! I was wondering whether you had any advice for using other tea leaves, like earl grey? Would you steep the tea and then use the tea liquid instead of warm water to dissolve the honey?
Hi Karen! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and I’m so glad it came out well! I think it should work (similar to my earl grey chiffon cake?). I would do that… and maybe not too strong honey flavor – I would skip or use little. You can try milk too, instead of water. That sounds really good… something to try on my own too.
I made this back in the states and it was delicious! I live in Japan now and I have no idea which bread flour is the best. I used King Arthur Bread flour for this recipe and didn’t bring any with me to Japan. Is there a Japanese brand that you recommend? I have analysis paralysis and can’t decide, and my lack of Japanese is another reason for that. We miss eating this at home and I would love to make it again.
Hi Michelle! I’m so glad you liked this recipe. This information might be too much, but I’d like to share… Unfortunatley, these amazing bread flours are not available in the US so I can’t try and share my experience. Use google chrome and use translation.
https://tomiz.com/contents/kyourikikojiten
https://tomiz.com/contents/comparison_dflour
https://www.cotta.jp/knowledge/kyorikiko.php
Hi Nami!
Thanks so much for providing the links! I will start here, I can’t wait! I will let you know how they come out when I make them! Your recipes are the best!
No problem! Have fun searching! 🙂
I love your recipe and it’s delicious. But my cake turns out to be abit on the dry side. I think maybe I have to reduce the baking time. Will bake again. Thanks for sharing 🥰
Hi Elaine! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Hope that will work out for you next time! Thanks for your kind feedback. xo
Excellent recipe but can i ask a question. I made the cake trice.it tuen out well but 1 thing is. Ut will rise while in the over perfectly but once i take it out from the oven, i would sink in the middle.
Apologies for the many typos earlier. The Cake recipe turns out very nice and delicious. Almost the same as what i ate in Japan.
My question is, my cake rise up well when in the oven, and i only open it once towards the end to check if it’s thoroughly cooked. However, once i take it out or stop baking, the cake except the sides where it sticks to the paper, will reduce in side, collapse by half the height. Somewhat sink or shrink. Otherwise everything else turns out so nice and bake thoroughly. Also can i ask, when i preheat the oven, should i preheat the baking pan as well?
Hi Murnie! Mine does not shrink that much but it does sink slightly, which is why I plan to update my recipe. I need to investigate further but it’s possible that it’s slightly undercooked (so the cake is not stable?). There are “success stories” from previous commenters if you want to read them – some give feedback and tips. Meanwhile, this recipe has been my redo recipe. It tastes good and my sinking is not too bad, but I really want to make it work for everyone… And no, I do not preheat the pan. Just preheat the oven only.
Hi Nami! Just wondering if I’m only supposed to brush the top of the cake after removing it from the oven. Or do I brush all sides & the bottom as well after flipping it out of the pan?
Thanks!
Hi Annabelle! Only the top of the cake but you could do sides too if you like… 🙂
I don’t have easy access to an asian bakery where I live and have been sorely missing castella (my favorite pastry). I halved this recipe to make one loaf, and it came out absolutely perfect. I read some of the comments before I baked, and at 35 minutes, I raised the oven temperature to 370, then at 40 min, I left the door slightly ajar for 5 more minutes before I turned the oven off and took my loaf out. Everything else I followed this recipe to the t, and from now on, this will be my go-to recipe! Thank you so much for the wonderful, well researched steps!
Hi Alice! Awww I’m so happy to hear that. I’ve been wanting to test and make this for a while. Thank you for your kind feedback!