Taiwanese Castella Cake is a super soft sponge cake that is wonderfully plush and bouncy. It's lightly sweet and delicious on its own or garnished with whipped cream, fruit, confectioners' sugar, honey, or all of the above.
I garnished slices of these cakes with whipped cream and sliced fruit, and it was a huge hit.
This cake can be compared to a soufflé or chiffon style cake, both for its abundance of eggs along with its dependence on only whipped egg whites for leavening. The resulting cake is super soft and bouncy, and practically melts in your mouth.
While I sometimes think "melts in your mouth" is an overused expression, this cake is pretty much the perfect dish for the term.
I've alway struggled with sponge-type cakes. Typically, they collapse so much the minute I remove them from the oven that they are not even near what they are intended to be. I've since learned that it's important to have everything prepped and ready to use while you beat the egg whites... kind of like making macarons.
I was thrilled when I removed this cake from the oven and it didn't seem to collapse. Granted, I could see that there was some difference between the top and bottom of the cake, but not so much... and I couldn't tell the difference in flavor or texture when I tasted it. For me, that's a success. Yes, I'll keep working on it.
And, I'm super excited about this cake.
About Taiwanese Castella Cake:
Taiwanese Castella Cake is a descentant of Japanese Castella Cake, known as Kasutera, a cake that is also based on eggs. It was first introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in the 1500s. One of the differences between the Japanese and Taiwanese versions is that the Japanese recipe does not include oil or butter.
In addition, the Japanese version calls for bread flour instead of cake flour. There are more differences, including the crusty sugar base in Kasutera.
Taiwanese Castella cake is often sold by street vendors in the country. I've read that the eggy aroma will call your name.
I love this cake served with Champagne grapes from Melissa's Produce. It's fun to take a bite of the cake and then a mouthful of the grapes.
Ingredients You Will Need:
Unsalted Butter.
Milk.
Salt: Miso also works.
Eggs: You will need five, separated.
Granulated sugar.
Pure Vanilla Extract.
Lemon Juice: Optional, to neutralize the eggy flavor. I added it and made a difference.
Cream of Tartar: For stabilizing the egg whites.
To Make This Castella Cake:
First, line a 6 inch square pan with parchment paper. I spray the pan with spray oil so the parchment will stick but I don't spray the parchment with oil. The trick is to let the batter rise and cling to the side of the pan/parchment paper. Similar to an angel food cake.
Next, make the egg yolk batter. In a saucepan, cook the butter until it melts. Add the milk and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and add the cake flour and salt. Whisk until smooth. Add the mix to a large bowl and then add the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla, along with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
Next, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar until you have soft peaks. Then, gently combine the egg yolk ingredients with the egg whites. Do your best to not deflate the batter.
P.S. I've seen this cake with pandan exract added as well as cocoa powder. I'm looking forward to trying both!
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and then place the pan into another pan. Add hot water to the outer pan, like you might with a cheesecake, and bake for about an hour in a 320 degree F. oven.
When the cake is done, turn off the oven and set the door ajar with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes.
Immediately remove rhe cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper. Let cool on a wire rack.
Tips:
Use a light-colored pan for baking this cake. Otherwise, the exterior will bake too quickly.
Before adding the cake pan to the oven, tap it a couple of times to release a few air bubbles.
Use binder clips to make sure the parchment doesn't curl over into the cake. You can either clip the parchment to the pan edges. You can also add a few smaller clips to the edges of the paper to weigh it down and make sure it hangs over in the right direction.
Finally, make sure the water in the water bath is super hot. Otherwise, the cake dough will separate.
Sunday Funday: Recipes for International Cakes!
- Apple Pola from Mildly Indian
- Carlota de Limon from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- From Mödling to the Monterey Peninsula: Topfen-Obers-Torte by Culinary Cam (our host)
- Kirsebærkage - Danish Cherry Cake from Food Lust People Love
- Kyiv Cake from A Messy Kitchen
- Madeira Cake from Sneha's Recipe
- Persian Love Cake from Mayuri's Jikoni
- Taiwanese Castella Cake from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Taiwanese Castella Cake
Taiwanese Castella Cake is a super soft sponge cake that is wonderfully plush and bouncy. It's lightly sweet and delicious on its own or garnished with whipped cream, fruit, confectioners' sugar, honey, or all of the above.
Ingredients
- 70 g (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
- 80 g (1/3 cup) whole milk
- 70 g (1/2 cup) bleached cake flour, sifted.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or miso
- 5 egg yolks from large eggs, beaten
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated suger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 5 egg whites from large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 320 degrees F with a rack in the center.
- Spray the interior of a 6 inch square by 3 inch high cake pan with spray oil. Line the interior with parchment paper.
- In a saucepan, cook the butter until it melts. Add the milk and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and add the cake flour and salt. Whisk until smooth. Add the mix to a large bowl and then add the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla, along with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- Next, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar until you have soft peaks. Then, gently combine the egg yolk ingredients with the egg whites. Do your best to not deflate the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and then place the pan into another pan. Add very hot water to the outer pan, like you might with a cheesecake, and bake for about an hour in a 320 degree F. oven.
- When the cake is done, turn off the oven and set the door ajar with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes.
- Immediately remove rhe cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper. Let cool on a wire rack.
- Slice into 6 slices.
- serve with whipped cream, fruit, honey, or confectioners' sugar.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
258Fat (grams)
14 gSat. Fat (grams)
8 gCarbs (grams)
25 gFiber (grams)
2 gNet carbs
23 gSugar (grams)
10 gProtein (grams)
8 gCholesterol (grams)
180 mgRecipe adapted from Modern Asian Baking at Home: Essential Sweet and Savory Recipes for Milk Bread, Mochi, Mooncakes, and More by Kat Lieu.
This is the perfect base for a summer shortcake dessert. YUM>
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