This simple chocolate castella cake is fragrant and soft, you’ll never want to stop eating it. Into a mixing bowl, add 70 ml of vegetable oil and heat in a microwave for 30 seconds. After heating the oil, add 25 grams of cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Add 120ml of milk and whisk it until well incorporated.

Sift in 75 grams of cake flour and mix it in until smooth with no lumps then set it aside. Separate 5 egg whites from the yolks and add the yolks to the cake batter and the egg whites into a large mixing bowl. Stir the egg yolks in the cake batter with a whisk until well incorporated. Into the bowl with the egg whites, add 1 gram of cream of tartar or lemon juice.

Beat the egg whites until it starts to foam then add 85 grams of sugar in three additions. Beat well after each addition until the meringue reaches a soft peak. Add a third of the meringue to the chocolate batter and mix it well then pour the batter into the meringue. Fold the batter in with a spatula until well mixed in and you have a smooth batter.

Prepare a 9-inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper and pouring it into the cake batter. Place the baking pan over a tray with hot water (hot water bath) and bake in a 300 (150C) degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for 70 minutes. Your cake should bake and rise perfectly, remove from the oven onto a wire rack and let it cool before serving.

Ingredients;

  • Cake flour 75g / 2,6Oz
  • Vegetable oil 70ml
  • Cocoa powder 25g / 0.9Oz (1/4cup)
  • 5 Eggs
  • Milk 120ml
  • Sugar 85g/ 3Oz (1/2 cup)
  • 1g Cream of tartar