Castella Cake

Method

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1. Heat the oven to 160°C / 320°F. Line the tin with paper, letting it stand well above the rim.

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2. Warm the honey with the milk until loose and set aside.

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3. Set the eggs and sugar in a bowl over a pan of hot water and whisk until the mixture reaches blood temperature.

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4. Take it off the heat and whisk on high for 8 to 10 minutes until it triples in volume and a ribbon drawn across the surface holds for 5 seconds.

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5. Whisk in the warm honey and milk on low speed.

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6. Sift the flour and salt over in three additions, folding each in with a spatula until just combined. Work gently but do not leave streaks.

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7. Pour into the tin from a height to burst the largest bubbles, then draw a skewer through the batter in an S shape to release the rest.

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8. Bake 50 to 55 minutes until deep brown on top and a skewer comes out clean. Cover with foil at 35 minutes if it is colouring fast.

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9. Drop the tin onto the worktop from 20 cm to stop it shrinking, turn out, brush the top with honey, and wrap tightly in cling film while still warm. Rest overnight before slicing.

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Chef’s Tips

• The overnight wrapped rest is not optional. Cut on the day it is dry; cut on day two it is dense and moist.
• Warming the eggs before whisking roughly doubles the volume you can get into them.
• Bread flour, not plain. The extra protein is what holds this much air.

Pairing Suggestions

• Green tea, particularly sencha
• Black coffee
• Nothing else

Storage & Reheating

Wrapped, it keeps 4 days at room temperature and is best on days two and three. Freezes 1 month.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.