What is castella? I search google and found the definition. Here’s the meaning of “Castella is a popular Portuguese sponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs, and starch syrup. Now a specialty of Nagasaki, the cake was brought to Japan by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century”.

I visited a friend, and she made this Castella cake. She gave me her recipe which she has change to her liking. Its from http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2017/08/brown-sugar-japanese-castella-cake.html .

I tried it and its work. I am pleased with the outcome. I have added cream of tatar. Happy Baking!!!!!

For the egg yolk mixture:

1 and 1/2 Tbs condensed milk
3 Tbs honey
3 Tbs milk
3 Tbs vegetable oil, preferably smooth and neutral tasting ones
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
80 g light brown sugar
200 g bread flour (Sift twice)
1 Tsp baking powder

For the egg white mixture:

3 egg whites, at room temperature
40 g caster sugar
1 Tsp cream of tatar

Method

Place a baking rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the internal sides of your cake pan with aluminium foil and a piece of baking paper to fit its bottom.

For the egg yolk mixture:

Place condensed milk, honey, milk and oil in a saucepan. Cook mixture in the saucepan on low heat. Don’t boil as overcooking mixture will cause it to curd!!! Set aside for the mixture to cool slightly, about 15 mins.

Beat egg yolks and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until mixture turns slightly lighter in colour. Beat in the honey mixture. Add flour and baking powder into egg yolk mixture and beat until combined.

For the egg white mixture:

Beat egg whites in medium low speed until foamy. Add cream of tatar and increase beating speed to medium (not too high to avoid large bubbles forming). While beating, add sugar gradually and continue to beat until stiff peaks form and the meringue look glossy. Do not over beat the mixture.

To combine and bake:

Using a spatula, fold in the egg whites to the egg yolks mixture in 3 portions. Mix the first batch of egg white mixture hard into the egg yolk mixture be mindful and ensure that the following batches are mixed in very gently until most of the white is not visible after folding.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Gently let go the pan onto kitchen bench from a minimum height to remove any large air bubbles and do this just once. On the other hand, you can use a skewer to move in a zigzag move to remove air bubbles in the batter.

Place pan in the middle rack and bake for 10 mins. Lower temperature to 140°C and bake for another 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the cake is thoroughly cooked – golden brown top. Lightly press the cake with your finger, if it bounces back, that means your cake is done.

Remove cake from pan, peel off the foil and the baking paper at its bottom and wrap the cake in cling wrap. Place cake in the base of an airtight container; cool and the cake will moisten by itself over night. The cake will stay moist (in airtight container) and delicious even until 5th day of bake. Eat on the next day. Serve with Green Tea or matcha latte.

NOTE: Oven is different temperature and time. You might need more or less temperature and time. Store the uneaten cake in airtight container for up to 5 days in room temperature.

https://helenscchin.com/2017/09/06/helens-japanese-castella-cake/

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