japanese cake

Castella (Kasutera カステラ) catches my attention when I realize that it is a cake made with bread flour. In this article, I want to show you my journey to develop my castella recipe, highlighting some mistakes I made, and offer the solutions.

Castella Recipe - How to make (with detailed instruction)

castor sugar

honey

bread flour

milk

Beat the egg whites over a hot water...

Beat the egg whites over a hot water bath with the electric mixer.

Add the castor sugar to the egg white...

Add the castor sugar to the egg white in batches.

Stop beating when the meringue forms soft peaks.

Add the egg yolks, one by one into...

Add the egg yolks, one by one into the meringue. Mix well.

Add the honey, mix well.

Add the sieved bread flour to the batter...

Add the sieved bread flour to the batter in two batches. Combine thoroughly.

Add the milk and mix well.

Use the silicone spatula to scrape the side...

Use the silicone spatula to scrape the side of the mixing bowl to capture all the possible flour that has mixed well. 

Prepare the cake pan lined with baking paper,...

Prepare the cake pan lined with baking paper, and surrounded with corrugated cardboards wrapped with aluminum foil at all the sides. Pour the batter into the cake pan slowly from the position about one foot above the base. Slam the cake pan (with batter) onto the table to break the large bubbles. Use a wooden skewer to break the smaller bubbles on the surface.

Bake at 160°C/320°F uncovered for about 50 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and slam it on...

Remove from the oven and slam it on the table to reduce shrinkage. Overturn the cake upended for one minute to flatten the surface. Wrap with cling film and leave it in the refrigerator for half a day.

Trim off the sides to make it a...

Trim off the sides to make it a perfect rectangle. Cut it into slices and serve.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/ausv2ddaawqjoqtce5ql.mp4

Castella (Kasutera カステラ) catches my attention when I realize that it is a cake made with bread flour. It is derived from a Portuguese recipe Pão de Ló. Since it is also called Pão de Castela, meaning “bread from Castile”, the Japanese just called it kasutera. 

Although it is called “Pão’ in Portuguese, which means bread, it is more like a sponge cake than bread. 

In this video, I want to show you my journey to develop my castella recipe, highlighting some mistakes I made, and offer the solutions. 

Recipe: ( Please refer to https://tasteasianfood.com/castella/ for the comprehensive notes.) 

Ingredients :
7 egg whites
100g castor sugar 
7 egg yolks 
35g honey 
100g bread flour 
35g milk
Method:
- Beat the egg whites over a hot water bath with the electric mixer.
- Add the castor sugar to the egg white in batches.
- Stop beating when the meringue forms soft peaks.
- Add the egg yolks, one by one, into the meringue. Mix well.
- Add the honey, mix well.
- Add the sieved bread flour to the batter in two batches. Combine thoroughly.
- Add the milk and mix well.
- Use the silicone spatula to scrape the side of the mixing bowl to capture all the possible flour that has not mixed well. 
- Prepare the cake pan lined with baking paper, and surrounded with corrugated cardboards wrapped with aluminum foil at all the sides.
- Pour the batter into the square cake pan (8 x 8 inches) slowly from the position one foot above the base.
- Slam the cake pan (with batter) onto the table to break the large bubbles. Use a wooden skewer to break the smaller bubbles on the surface.
- Bake at 160°C/320°F uncovered for about 50 minutes. 
- Remove from the oven and slam it on the table to reduce shrinkage.
- Overturn the cake upended for one minute to flatten the surface.
- Wrap with cling film and leave it in the refrigerator for half a day.
- Trim off the sides to make it a perfect rectangle.
- Cut it into slices and serve.

#Castella #Kasutera #カステラ #JapanaseSpongeCake

===========================
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Japanese sponge cakes in general have a lighter and softer texture than those I find in Australia, and possibly other Western countries. The texture is almost like my Cotton Cheesecake. The most popular sponge cake in Japan is by far the Strawberry Sponge Cake, aka Strawberry Shortcake. (Watch the Video)

Japanese Strawberry Sponge Cake (Strawberry Shortcake)

all-purpose flour

sugar ((note 1))

eggs

butter (, melted)

Butter and flour

strawberries ((mid-size, note 3))

400 milliliters/0.8pt cream for whipping ((note 4))

sugar

milliliters/1.4 water

Pre-heat oven to 180°C/356°F.

Coat the inside of an 18cm/7&quot; cake tin (note 6) with butter, dust with flour, then shake off the excess flour.

Put the egg yolks in a bowl, add ⅔ of the sugar and beat the egg yolks until they become whitish and thick. Draw a ribbon with the whisk and if the ribbon disappears slowly (see the Video), it is ready.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites. When the small bubbles form and the volume of the egg white doubles, add the remaining sugar in 2-3 batches and beat further to make meringue.

When the meringue becomes firm and it can form a peak when you lift the whisk (see the step-by-step photo and video in the post), it is ready.

Put the flour through the sifter and add to the beaten egg yolk. Fold the batter with a spatula.

Transfer ⅓ of the meringue to the batter and mix with a whisk until the batter becomes smooth.

Add the remaining meringue to the batter in 2-3 batches and fold.

Pour the melted butter into the batter and fold several times. It&#039;s OK even if the butter is not completely mixed.

Pour the batter into the cake tin. Drop the tin onto the work bench to settle the batter in the tin.

Cook in the oven at 180°C/356°F for 25 minutes. Insert a thin bamboo skewer in the centre of the cake to see if the skewer comes out dry. If the skewer is a bit wet, cook further 5 minutes.

Take the tin out of the oven and drop the tin onto the workbench a couple of times to detach the cake from the tin. Remove the cake from the tin and place it  on a rack, upside down (bottom side up). Let it cool completely.

Baking A Sponge Cake (please read THE KEY TO A FLUFFY SPONGE CAKE in post)

If making syrup, put the Syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. When the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat off. Let it cool.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Wipe the strawberries with a wet kitchen paper, remove the stems and halve 10 strawberries.

Leave the sponge cake upside down as is and slice it horizontally in half (note 7), remove the top half and place it next to the bottom half of the cake, cut side up.

Using a brush, coat the cut surface of the two sponge cakes with the syrup gently.

Drop about 3 heaped tablespoons of the whipped cream on the bottom half of the sliced cake and spread it to cover the entire surface. Fill the surface with the halved strawberries, without a gap as much as possible.

Drop about 4 heaped tablespoons of the whipped cream on and spread it to cover the strawberries and the round edge.

Place the top half of the cake on it, syrup side down. Gently press down, making sure  the top and bottom cakes are aligned. Fill the gap around the strawberry filling on the side with whipped cream.

(Optional) thinly coat the top and the side of the cake with whipped cream. It is OK not to completely cover the sponge. Leave the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes (note 8).

Using a cake spatula or a long flat spatula, fully cover the top and the side of the cake with the remaining whipped cream, leaving some (about minimum of 4-5 tablespoons) for piping.

Put the remaining cream in a piping bag with a round nozzle. Squeeze out the cream to make a mound of cream in 8 positions around the edge of the surface. Place a strawberry on each mound.

Decorating the cake (do the steps 1 and 2 while cooling the sponge cake)

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Top 2 japanese cake recipes from across the web

The most viewed japanese cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

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The most viewed japanese cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine