Japanese Castella Cake

Treat yourself to this super-moist Japanese sponge cake with a hint of honey!
Made with only 4 ingredients, Castella Cake is a very popular confection in
Japan. Try this delicately sweet cake for your weekend baking project. It
makes the perfect holiday or hostess gift, too.

Prep Time Cook Time Resting Time Total Time

25 mins 35 mins 1d 1 d 1 hr 4.79 from 240 votes

Course: Dessert Cuisine: Japanese Keyword: moist cake, sponge cake

Servings: 2 Castella Cakes Calories: 1116kcal Author: Nami

Ingredients
6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature—very important!)

1 cup sugar

1⅔ cup bread flour (Castella has an elastic, bouncy texture from bread flour; you cannot achieve
this texture using all-purpose flour)

⅓ cup honey (5 Tbsp + 1 tsp to be precise for 2 cakes)

2½ Tbsp water (warm)

For the Honey Syrup

1 Tbsp honey

½ Tbsp water (warm)

Instructions
1. Gather all the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 320ºF (160ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the
oven temperature by 25ºF (15ºC) to 295ºF (145ºC).

2. 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
1. Sift the 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.

2. Add the warm water to the honey and whisk well.

3. Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Crack the eggs into the bowl of the mixer and
vigorously whisk until combined.

4. Add the sugar.

 5. 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.

6. Add the honey mixture into the egg mixture and whisk on low speed (Speed 2) until combined,
about 30 seconds.

7. 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
1. Spray the loaf pans with oil and distribute it evenly with a pastry brush.
2. 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.

3. Pour the batter into the pans about 80% full.

4. Using a skewer, draw a zigzag line through the batter to remove the air bubbles in the batter.

5. 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.
 6. 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

1. To make the honey syrup, mix the honey and warm water in a bowl. Immediately apply the
honey syrup over the tops of the hot cakes with a pastry brush.

2. 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.

3. 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
1. 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
1. 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.

Nutrition
Serving: 1 loaf · Calories: 1116 kcal · Carbohydrates: 215 g · Protein: 31 g · Fat: 16 g · Saturated Fat: 5 g ·
Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 558 mg · Sodium: 218
mg · Potassium: 335 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 142 g · Vitamin A: 812 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 106 mg ·
Iron: 4 mg

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