The castella cake is a cake with a neutral flavor, with a hint of vanilla. It is a very peculiar cake, because it is known for having an extremely spongy texture. It is a cake that if you squash it a little on top it quickly returns to its original shape because of how spongy it is.
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When it comes out of the oven and cools a little, it is very very soft, in fact if you move it a little, the whole cake wobbles, a little as if it were a jelly.
As you can see in the photos, the cake has a lot of small air bubbles inside, which are what give it its particular texture.
The basis of this recipe is the use of eggs. Many eggs are used, and the egg whites are whipped as if it were a meringue, to incorporate them into the mixture, this is what gives the air to the cake and the texture that everyone likes so much.
In general, it is an easy recipe to make, it is not very complicated and it is done relatively fast. The result is a soft cake that is great, with a flavor that goes well with everything. One of my favorite ways to eat it is simply with a little powdered sugar, or powdered sugar on top, because it gives it that extra sweet touch that looks great. Another idea that I love is to eat it with a little ice cream or snow of the flavor you like, the ice cream goes very well with this type of cake.
To make this recipe, we recommend using a mold that is easy to disassemble. Another important thing is that the cake is baked in a bain-marie, with water around it. It is important not to let the water enter the mold with the cake. You want the oven to be a humid environment while the cake is baking.
If you like this recipe, you have to check out our coconut pound cake, you will fall in love with it!
Castella cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 C + 2 tsp (4.40 fl oz) (130 ml) whole milk
- 1/2 C + 1 tbsp (4.50 oz) (130 gr) unsalted butter
- 1 C (4.60 oz) (130 gr) all purpouse flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 8 egg yolks
- 2 tsp (0.34 fl oz) (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 8 egg whites
- 2/3 C (4.50 oz) (130 gr) white sugar
- 1 tsp (0.17 fl oz) (5 ml) white vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 302º F (150° C). Line a square or round cake pan of about 8 inches (20 cm) with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
- Place the milk and butter in a medium heatproof bowl and microwave for 2 minutes to melt the butter and heat the milk, do it in intervals to make sure the milk doesn't boil. It can also be done on the stove in a pot, remember it is important not to let the mixture boil.
- Immediately add the milk mixture to the bowl with the flour and beat with a hand whisk for 30 seconds until everything is well integrated.
- Add the egg yolks with the vanilla extract and beat for another 30 seconds until smooth.
- Meanwhile, place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute until soft peaks begin to form. Add the sugar little by little with the vinegar and continue beating for another minute until stiff peaks form.
- Add one third of the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the egg yolks and beat for a few seconds just until the mixtures are incorporated.
- Now add the yolk mixture (lightened) to the bowl with the beaten egg whites and mix using a rubber spatula, making folding movements very carefully so as not to lower the whipped mixture.
- Once the mixture is ready, pour it into the cake pan and place it in another rectangular mold with high walls filled one third full with hot water, but not boiling water.
- Bake the cake in a double boiler for about 1 hour until it is lightly browned on top or when touched it bounces back a little.
- When the cake is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes. Then turn it out, cut it and eat it when it has cooled down a little.
