Easy Castella Cake (poundcake). Who can resist the moist and sweet Japanese honey sponge cake made with egg, bread flour The difference between Japanese honey sponge cake and the regular western sponge cake is Japanese Castella is more delicate. Castella (Kasutera カステラ) is derived from a Portuguese recipe Pão de Castela. Check out this recipe on how to make this bread-like Japanese sponge Castella (Kasutera カステラ) catches my attention when I realize that it is a cake made with bread flour.

I'm not glamorous like other cakes. I don't need any decoration to make. Making castella cake at home is so easy! You can cook Easy Castella Cake (poundcake) using 9 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Easy Castella Cake (poundcake)

It's 2/3 C (100 g) of cake flour.
It's 2/3 C (100 g) of unsalted butter.
You need 2/3 C (100 g) of milk.
It's 4-6 of egg yolks.
You need 4-6 of egg whites.
It's 2/3 C (100 g) of organic sugar.
You need 1-2 tsp of Dominican style vanilla*.
You need of Dominican vanilla.
You need Can of be found in the Caribbean section in your supermarket.

Nowadays castella can be found in different flavors such as. Bring one of Japan's favourite baked desserts into your home with this traditional castella sponge cake recipe. This simple recipe for class pound cake is always a winner. It doubles as a make-ahead breakfast and easy dessert. (Strawberries and whipped cream can really dress it up.) Castella (also known as Kasutera) cake, is a japanese sponge cake that has a light, fluffy texture.

Easy Castella Cake (poundcake) step by step

Separate egg yolks from the whites and place them both in separate bowls. Set aside..
In a bowl, sift the cake flour. Also set aside. In a small pot place butter and milk and let it melt over medium heat stirring occasionally. Once you see a few bubbles on the sides turn off. Pour this over the cake flour (while warm) and whisk until smooth..
Whisk egg whites and sugar until a smooth meringue is form. Soft peaks is a good sign of how far to whisk it. After doing this, combine the meringue with the cake batter and mix together well..
Pre-heat oven to a low 305 F.
In a baking pan (square is preferred) line it with wax paper (baking paper) on all sides. This will help the cake not stick to the pan and will make it easy to take out. Tap pan gently ontop of a kitchen towel to get air bubbles out. Since this is a pound cake made of mostly yolks, you will need to place the pan in a shallow baking tray and do a marybain (water bath) which means you have to place the pan in the tray and pour hot water gently to cover up to half way of the pan..
Once you do this step, place the cake batter into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. Insert a tooth pick around 50 minute mark to see if it comes out clean..
Tip: you can also bake this in your rice/slow cooker!!! Instead of a pan, oil your rice pot and pour batter. Cook it for 50 minutes. If it is still too light and a bit "wet" continue cooking for ten more minutes. Here is the third try this time in the rice cooker..

It's usually baked in to a long thin rectangle shape and then sliced. This weekend, I saw some castella cake on sale. It is readily available at the bakery section of Japanese supermarkets. The castella cake is moist and soft with the combination scent of honey and mirin. It is also a great gift for anyone, wrap with a nice decorative paper.