HO HO HO!
Merry Christmas!
Today, I am excited to share the perfect castella recipe with you.
Been baking quite a lot this year and experimented on making a round fluffy version of a castella sponge cake.
To those who may not be familiar with it, this is Japan’s beloved sweet treat. It usually appears rectangular and can be found in every corner of Japan.
This sponge cake has Portuguese roots. If you remember world history, the Portuguese (and Spanish) explorers have frequented Asia since the 1600s…
Ingredients:
(Bowl #1)
egg yolks- 5
sugar- 60 g
honey- 60 ml (1/4 cup)
baking powder- 3/4 tsp
all-purpose flour- 90 g
(Bowl #2)
egg whites- 5
sugar- 60 g
Procedure:
- In Bowl #1, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and honey.
- Sift baking powder with AP flour and gradually add them to Bowl #1.
- In Bowl#2, use an electric mixer to whip your egg whites– while gradually sprinkling sugar– into perfect stiff peaks.
- Fold the two mixtures and transfer into your 21 cm chiffon cake mold.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven (180 C, lowest rack) for 25-30 minutes.
NOTES:
- When whipping your egg whites, make sure that you sprinkle the sugar gradually. This is because you want your meringue to allow the air to blend in. If sugar is added too quickly at once, the air will not be properly incorporated into the meringue. The result? A flat cake. (I have done this mistake before, though flat cakes can still be eaten…)
- How do I know if I have achieved those “perfect whip stiff peaks”? Draw a number 8 with your whip (your pen as the electric mixer’s whisk attachment). If the number 8 stays firm, then it must be ready.
- I use a 21 cm chiffon cake mold for this recipe. If you have a smaller one, simply cut the ingredients in half.
- I also pour about half a cup of hot water onto my baking tray each time I bake this. Water vapor adds moisture to the cake.
- This recipe makes 8 chunky slices (16 thin slices) of sponge cakes.
- The secret to delicious cakes are fresh organic eggs. Signs that they are organic can be seen in their color. Organic eggs usually have this subtle pastel yellow egg yolks. On the other hand, industrial poultry farm eggs tend to have a dark yellow-orange hue due to “enhancers” (additives) added to chicken feed… Trust me, your healthy body would appreciate the organic eggs…
- This recipe uses a total of 120 grams of sugar (plus 60 ml honey). If you are sugar sensitive, reducing the amount of sugar is OK and will not affect the structure of the cake.
Happy holiday baking!
Asian Santa
December 22, 2024
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