Japanese Honey Sponge Cake / Japanese Castella Cake 長崎式蜂蜜蛋糕
Castella Cake is a golden-coloured Japanese-style sponge cake with a typically flat top and a brown crust. It is known as ‘カステラ (kasutera)’ in Japanese, which is the Japanese pronunciation of the name ‘Castella’ or ‘Castilla’ (or ‘Castile’ in English). Castile, now a region in Spain (it was a former kingdom), is where the sponge cake originated, called ‘Pão-de-Castella’ (meaning ‘bread from Castile’ in Portuguese), and I think it might even be the predecessor of the recipe that is now commonly called 'Pão-de-Ló' in Portugal today. There are also similar sponge cakes around that part of the world called ‘Pain d'Espagne’ in French or ‘Pan di Spagna’ in Italian, which mean ‘bread from Spain’, incidentally this style of sponge cakes is also used as the sponge base to make Tiramisù too!
The sponge cake was first brought to Japan during the 16th Century just before the Edo period (江戸時代 Edo-jidai, 1600 to 1867) by the Portuguese merchants. They traded at the port of Nagasaki (長崎), leaving the legacy of the cake they brought along to the city, which now specializes in and has perfected the art of making this sponge cake, albeit now the Japanese have made the cake all their own to suit their taste.
This recipe of the following sponge cake is based on the Taiwanese version using cake emulsifier to make a very fine-textured cake, also with a reduction in sweetness. It is believed that the cake was imported into Taiwan around 1965 and became vastly popular in the 1980s and the Taiwanese version was coined ‘Honey Cake 蜂蜜蛋糕’ to make it distinct from the original Japanese version. This version of mine has gone through many metamorphosis since I began adapting it from a number of Chinese recipes a few years ago, and is still an on-going project for me to further improve and refine the recipe.
By the way, since we are talking about Pão-de-Ló and Portuguese, do you think there’s a connection with the little sponge cakes of Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia called variously (Kuih/Kueh/Kue) Bahulu, Baulu or Bolu? You would think all these different spellings of Bahulu, Baulu or Bolu for a cake would indicate they are all corruptions of a foreign word, hmmm, from 'Pão-de-Ló' maybe… Rather spooky, don’t you think… Another of Portuguese legacy to South East Asia? It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Makes one 20cm square cake.
[Ingredients]
4 eggs
125g caster sugar
125g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
15g ovalett special (about 2½ to 3 teaspoons)
70ml warm water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon mirin
50ml canola or corn oil
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line base with baking paper. Sift together plain flour and salt, set aside. Melt honey in warm water and set aside.
2. Beat eggs and caster sugar with a hand-held beater for about 1 minute at medium speed. Add flour mixture and beat again for about 1 minute to incorporate. Add ovalett special (start with about 2 teaspoons first, can add more later if not enough), honey water mixture and mirin, beat at high speed for another 3 to 5 minutes.
3. When the batter is properly beaten, the batter should weigh half the weight of water. To do this, use a small paper cup and measure the weight of water full to the brim of the cup (remember just the weight of water, NOT the weight of cup and water, so calibrate your scale accordingly). Then fill the cup with batter full to the brim and weigh again, the weight of the batter should be half that of the water. If the batter is more than half the weight of water, the batter is not beaten fully yet, so you need to beat the batter for a little while longer until it reaches the correct weight. You may need to add a tiny bit more ovalett special if necessary.
4. When the batter is ready, fold in the oil. Pour into the prepared tin and give the tin a tap on the bench. Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from oven and give the tin another tap on the bench. Let stand for about 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
The baked Castella Cake will sink slightly in the middle after cooling down. But once the edges are trimmed away, it will be quite presentable.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
The sponge cake was first brought to Japan during the 16th Century just before the Edo period (江戸時代 Edo-jidai, 1600 to 1867) by the Portuguese merchants. They traded at the port of Nagasaki (長崎), leaving the legacy of the cake they brought along to the city, which now specializes in and has perfected the art of making this sponge cake, albeit now the Japanese have made the cake all their own to suit their taste.
This recipe of the following sponge cake is based on the Taiwanese version using cake emulsifier to make a very fine-textured cake, also with a reduction in sweetness. It is believed that the cake was imported into Taiwan around 1965 and became vastly popular in the 1980s and the Taiwanese version was coined ‘Honey Cake 蜂蜜蛋糕’ to make it distinct from the original Japanese version. This version of mine has gone through many metamorphosis since I began adapting it from a number of Chinese recipes a few years ago, and is still an on-going project for me to further improve and refine the recipe.
By the way, since we are talking about Pão-de-Ló and Portuguese, do you think there’s a connection with the little sponge cakes of Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia called variously (Kuih/Kueh/Kue) Bahulu, Baulu or Bolu? You would think all these different spellings of Bahulu, Baulu or Bolu for a cake would indicate they are all corruptions of a foreign word, hmmm, from 'Pão-de-Ló' maybe… Rather spooky, don’t you think… Another of Portuguese legacy to South East Asia? It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Makes one 20cm square cake.
[Ingredients]
4 eggs
125g caster sugar
125g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
15g ovalett special (about 2½ to 3 teaspoons)
70ml warm water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon mirin
50ml canola or corn oil
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line base with baking paper. Sift together plain flour and salt, set aside. Melt honey in warm water and set aside.
2. Beat eggs and caster sugar with a hand-held beater for about 1 minute at medium speed. Add flour mixture and beat again for about 1 minute to incorporate. Add ovalett special (start with about 2 teaspoons first, can add more later if not enough), honey water mixture and mirin, beat at high speed for another 3 to 5 minutes.
3. When the batter is properly beaten, the batter should weigh half the weight of water. To do this, use a small paper cup and measure the weight of water full to the brim of the cup (remember just the weight of water, NOT the weight of cup and water, so calibrate your scale accordingly). Then fill the cup with batter full to the brim and weigh again, the weight of the batter should be half that of the water. If the batter is more than half the weight of water, the batter is not beaten fully yet, so you need to beat the batter for a little while longer until it reaches the correct weight. You may need to add a tiny bit more ovalett special if necessary.
4. When the batter is ready, fold in the oil. Pour into the prepared tin and give the tin a tap on the bench. Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from oven and give the tin another tap on the bench. Let stand for about 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
The baked Castella Cake will sink slightly in the middle after cooling down. But once the edges are trimmed away, it will be quite presentable.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
posted by SeaDragon @ 27.8.06
21 Comments:
Hi Seadragron, where can I get ovalett? I have never seen it in any of the shops here in Adelaide. Thanks.
Tinkerbell
Tinkerbell,
The ovalett I can get here in Melbourne is an Indonesian product. So far we have found two supermarkets here in Melbourne that carry the product (see 'Where to Find...' post). I'm not sure where you can get it in Adelaide - maybe try larger supermarkets in suburbs with more Asian or Indonesian supermarkets or grocery stores.
hi there,
oh..ic...now i know this cake is called "カステラ" in japanese..may i know what "Chiffon cake" is called in Japanese ?
YC,
For the chiffon cake I think it is written as シフォンケーキ. I actually don't read Japanese myself ;P Only know a few Japanese characters for cake info only.
Thanks Seadragon, I will keep an eye out for it.
Tinkerbell
Thanks SD, I love the write up of the origins.
Just wondering, if the batter weight is not ideal, does that mean I pour back into the main bowl and beat again? and how many times can I do this? Am afraid that it will "destroy" the "air" in the batter.
I have yet to succeed in Sponge cake and this looks really good and motivating enough for me to try.
Edith,
Yes, just pour back and continue to beat further. If you have beaten for 5 minutes after adding the first 2 teaspoons ovalett and the weight is still too heavy, add another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon extra ovalett and beat again. You can do this a couple of times because the ovalett actually help to stabilize the batter, so don't worry too much about deflating 'air' in the batter. Just be careful not to add too much ovalett as it can give a funny 'sharp' taste to the cake when you eat it. BTW, this version will still sink a little in the middle after cooling, so don't worry too much about it, as I still need to improve further on the recipe.
Remember to use eggs at room temperature, and always use plain flour for this recipe, not cake flour! Good luck.
Jennifer,
Thanks. Yeah, because I can't get my hand on those wooden frame, so have been experimenting on this recipe for a while now, finally getting some good result :)
Yes, you need to grease the tin for recipes using ovalett.
SD, I hope I am not asking a 'funny' question but wondering how different the taste would be if I omitted the mirin? tks_K
K,
Not much, it can be omitted. The mirin is such a Japanese seasoning so it is just to give that little bit of Japanese taste to the cake :)
SD, ic -thanks for your reply. Even though I like Japanese food, I haven't ventured to cooking them yet and didn't want to get a bottle of mirin unless necessary. Even though I tried a few castella recipes, somehow the texture is not the same as those sold in Japan. Maybe its the baking box they use to bake them in. cheers_K
SD, need your kind assistance since I dont read chinese and would appreciate if you could help share any useful 'tips'. Pls refer to http://www.ytower.com.tw/mailbox/detail.asp?TitleID=6573 There is also a short discussion in English about taking the cake in and out of the oven several times to reduce the 'bubbles' in the cake. As I am only learning to bake, I am not sure whether this would be advisable. Would appreciate your point of view. tks_K
K,
Yes, I knew of that thread of discussion, read it ages ago. I haven't actually tried that recipe as yet but from looking at the proportion of the ingredients, it is more like a normal sponge cake with honey added. I got another Chinese recipe translated from a Japanese cookbook that uses a lot more egg yolks than egg whites which seems to be more authentic in order to get a very soft texture without using cake emulsifier. Refer to the link to the 'Pão-de-Ló' recipe I gave above, 12 egg yolks to 4 egg whites! I would think that recipe would be closer to what the Castella Cake would use.
At the moment, I'm just trying to get the texture right first before worrying about its appearance. The procedure to get a smooth surface is to take the cake out several times in the first few minutes of baking and use a skewer to swirl through the cake to get rid of excess bubbles, at the same time spray the surface with a mist of water.
BTW, the wooden cake box is used so as to get a flat surface since wood is not a good conductor so the edges are cooked more evenly as the centre. HTH.
Hi SD, just to let you know that I tested out your recipe and it was great! Tks for the info on the discussion. tks_K
K,
You're welcome :)
Glad to hear you liked it.
Hi SD ,
Great recipe! I replaced Mirin with Cointreau , it taste nice.
Cheers,
AT
Alice,
Great idea! Glad you like the recipe :)
Hi SD,
Have you been able to revisit this recipe and come up with one without using ovalett? Thanks, LT.
LT,
Oh, I have not baked this for ages, so no, have not try without using ovalette, sorry.
Hi SD,
I just had a go on this one. Lovely melt in the mouth texture, it did sink quite a bit.
I followed your instruction exactly by making sure the batter is exactly half the weight of water before folding in the oil. This is a very smart and fool proof method, thank you so much for sharing this.
My next trial will be to do a matcha version. Which will give a better result?
1) simply add the matcha power while beating the batter?
2)dissolve the power into a paste and fold in with the oil?
Appreciate your advice/Mona
You can add the matcha into the batter (add it to a little of the batter first making sure it is thoroughly dissolved and add it back to the batter), or just sift it together with the flour.
Thanks Sea Dragon. I made another one which I sifted the matcha powder together with the flour. Fantastic result. Our family loves it.
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