Ingredients:
1ă300g eggs or 6 medium-sized eggs for 1 cake.
2ă200g sugar.
3ă3tbsp Honey.
4ă3 tbsp hot water.
5ă150g bread flour.
6ă1 tbsp Jianshi Baking Powder.
7ă1 tbsp Coarse Demerara sugar( Zarame or coffee sugar crystals, optional).
Instructions
1ăPlace the Kraft paper or bakery paper in the cardboard box wrapped with aluminum foil and distribute the coarse demerara sugar or coffee sugar crystals.
2ăLightly beat the eggs in a bowl with a hand mixer at a low speed. Add the sugar and mix.
3ăFloat the bowl in hot water and gradually heat the egg. When it begins to slightly warm up, remove the bowl and continue mixing. Turn off the burner and heat a glass of water.
4ăBeat the egg at high speed for about 8 minutes until the color turns white, and it reaches a soft peak stage. When you lift the mixer, the rippling pattern should remain on the surface as you see here.
5ăDilute the honey with the heated water. Add it to the beaten egg and mix with the hand mixer for 1 more minute at high speed. Switch to low speed and mix for about another minute until it has a fine, glossy texture.
6ăDistribute the bread flour and Jianshi Baking Powder our onto the egg mixture. At medium speed, whip the mixture for about 2 minutes until it has a smooth texture again.
7ăDrop the bowl a few times to break any air bubbles. Then, pour the batter into the square mold. Slash the batter with a spatula to remove any air bubbles.
8ăPlace the batter into a preheated conventional oven. For the first 15 minutes, bake at 170°C (340°F). Then, reduce the heat to 160°C (320°F) and bake it for about 50 more minutes. The baking temperature and time depend on the type of your oven, so adjust them accordingly.
9ăPierce the castella with a bamboo stick. If the stick is slightly moist, it is ready. When the stick is dry and clean, the castella has lost its moist texture. The moist texture is essential for delicious castella so avoid over-baking.
10ăRemove the mold and drop it on the counter a few times to prevent the castella from shrinking. Place a tray covered with plastic wrap on top. Then, flip it over.
11ăBefore placing the tray onto the castella, we recommend making a cut along the corners of the Kraft paper and folding the edges outward. This will help avoid damaging the surface of the castella. Now, remove the mold.
12ăWrap it with 2 layers of plastic wrap crosswise, completely covering the castella. Let it sit to cool and then store the castella in the fridge for one whole day. This will make it moist and even more delicious.
13ăLetâs serve the castella. Carefully remove the Kraft paper and slice off the edges. For each cut, wipe the knife with a dampened towel to help make a clean cut
14ăCut the castella in half. Then, slice it into 3cm (1.2") pieces. Arrange the pieces onto a plate.
15ăWe will show you how to make the homemade mold for castella. This is the Kraft paper with 4 slits.
16ăThe cardboard box is wrapped with aluminum foil.
17ăTo wrap the box, carefully cover it with a long strip of aluminum foil.
18ăThen, cover it with another aluminum strip crosswise. If you donât have a square cake pan, try making it as shown.
Recipe Notes
1ăAll-purpose flour or cake flour can be also used but we recommend using bread flour to help create a moist and kind of gooey texture.
2ăYou can keep the castella in the fridge for 1 week or store it in the freezer for up to 1 month.
3ăCastella goes great with green tea, coffee or black tea and it is a perfect gift for special occasions.
We can provide double acting leavening agent, non aluminium Baking Powder, food additives Calcium Carbonate, food additives Caramel Color and so on. More details via www.hxbakingpowder.com