Butter Castella Cakes

Castella cake is a very soft textured cake made by folding egg whites in cake batter, resulting in a fluffy texture. Start by separating five egg whites and egg yolks, then add one egg with a pinch of salt and vanilla extract to the bowl with the egg yolks. Using a wire whisk, whisk the egg yolks to combine, then set that aside. In another bowl, add 90 grams of butter and 90 ml of milk, then place the bowl over warm water and let the butter melt; you are melting the butter over a pot of hot water to prevent the butter from reaching a high temparature.

Whisk the butter to combine with the milk thoroughly, then remove it from the hot water and add it to the egg yolk mixture. Stir it in until thoroughly combined. Into the mixture, sift in 90 grams of cake flour and whisk the flour until you get a smooth batter with no lumps. Bring the bowl with the egg whites and beat the whites at high speed until they double in volume. Then, add 90 grams of sugar in three additions while beating at medium-high speed.

The foaming of the eggs is very important; whisk until the whites form a medium peak. Add a portion of the egg whites to the batter and mix it until combined. Then, pour the batter into the remaining egg whites mixture and gently mix from the bottom to the top until you get a homogenous mixture. Prepare the mini cake moulds by buttering and lightly flouring them moulds, if you don’t have the mini cake moulds, use a 17cm square pan, line it with parchment paper then pour in the batter and tap it a few times on the counter to remove any air bubbles in the batter.

Put hot water in a baking tray, place the pan with the batter, and then bake in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven for 60 minutes.

If baking with the mini cake moulds, bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Once out of the oven, let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. This cake is very soft, so you have to try making it. Serve with tea; enjoy.