4 Ingredients! Japanese Castella Cake

5 from 8 votes
JUMP TO RECIPE & VIDEO

Japanese Castella Cake is a simple and fluffy cake that you can make with 4 ingredients! Let’s learn how to make it.

Looking for easy recipes? Try my Rice Flour Pancake, Banana Cake, or Rice Flour Chocolate Muffins!

2 slices of Japanese castella cake on a dessert plate

I’ll walk you through the ingredients and step-by-step instructions. I hope you enjoy them!

Why You Will Love This Recipe 

  • This castella cake, a traditional sponge cake, is light and flavorful.
  • All you need are 4 ingredients: eggs, flour, honey, and sugar. It’s such a simple dessert!
  • It’s a one-bowl recipe where you mix all the ingredients together in one bowl.

Castella

Castella is a popular traditional Japanese sponge cake known for its moist and fluffy texture, rectangular shape, and beautiful brown top. It is made with simple ingredients such as eggs, sugar, flour, and honey or syrup. The batter is beaten for a long time to create a fluffy texture, then baked slowly.

Recipe Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Castella Cake:

Castella cake ingredients.
  • Flour: You can use all-purpose flour, cake flour, bread flour, or rice flour (for a gluten-free option). I use cake flour in this recipe.
  • Sugar: Any type of sugar works well. I prefer using cane sugar in this recipe, but Kurozato (Japanese black sugar), with its deep flavor, is also a great option.

How To Make Matcha Castella Cake: STEP BY STEP 

Here are some quick visual instructions! For the video and all the detailed ingredients and instructions, go to the printable recipe card below.

How to make matcha castella cake.

Step 1

Blend egg, sugar, and honey using a hand mixer.

How to make matcha castella cake.

Step 2

Add flour and stir until smooth.

How to make matcha castella cake.

Step 3

Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and bake.

How to make matcha castella cake.

Step 4

Wrap the cake with plastic wrap and rest.

2 slices of Japanese castella cake on a dessert plate

Now it’s ready to serve. Cut it and dive into this jiggly sponge cake! I hope you will enjoy the sweet aroma and savor every bite!

Recipe Tips

  • Let your eggs come to room temperature before using them in your cake batter because they blend more easily with the other ingredients.
  • If the surface color is not brown enough, please extend the baking time until brown.
  • You can eat the cake right away, but it will be more moist and tasty by leaving it for a half day.
  • If you want a fluffy texture similar to chiffon cakes, beat the egg whites and egg yolks separately.
  • You can use a loaf pan, any similar size cake pan, or an oven dish. When the cake pan size differs, you must adjust the baking time accordingly.

Storage

many slices of Japanese castella cake in a container

Slice the cake, put them in a container, and store them in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

You can also freeze them. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and keep them for one month in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat, heat it in the microwave oven, and it’ll be as fluffy as ever.

Variations

a slice of matcha castella on a plate with a folk

These variations sound delicious and are sure to add some unique flavors to your Castella cake. Enjoy!

  • Matcha Castella: Add 2 tsp matcha powder (green tea)
  • Chocolate Castella: Add 1 Tbsp Cacao powder
  • Strawberry Castella: Add 1 Tbsp strawberry puree
  • Sweet Potato Castella: Add 1 Tbsp Japanese sweet potato puree

You can also add a little vanilla extract for extra flavor.

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2 slices of Japanese castella cake on a cutting board

Leave a Rating!

I hope you enjoy this Castella Cake! If you try it, don’t forget to leave a rating to share your thoughts—I love hearing from you!

切り分けられた米粉のカステラ

Japanese Castella Cake

5 from 8 votes
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Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 14 slices
Author: Juri Austin
Japanese castella cake is a moist and sweet sponge cake that can be made easily with 5 ingredients! Let’s learn how to make it!

Equipment

  • Cake pan 15×15 cm (6×6 inches) (or loaf pan)
  • Hand mixer (or stand mixer)

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Prep: Preheat oven at 180C/356F. Place parchment paper on a square cake pan.
  • Whip eggs: Put eggs and sugar in a large bowl, place it over a tray with hot water (or a double boiler), and whip using hand mixer on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is thick.
  • Add honey: Mix honey and water in a small bowl, add it to the large bowl and whip on low speed until combined.
  • Add flour: Sift the all-purpose flour and stir with a spatula until combined.
  • Bake at 180C/356F: Pour the batter into the cake pan, tap the pan a few times to break the air bubbles, and bake for 15 minutes at 180C/356F.
  • Bake at 160C/320F: Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes at 160C/320F.
  • Wrap: Let the cake cool, remove the parchment paper, wrap it in plastic wrap, turn it upside down and leave it for at least half a day before cutting.

Video

Notes

  • Storage: It will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and one month in the freezer.
  • Substitute: You can substitute all-purpose flour with rice flour.
  • It is easier to mix by adding it twice instead of adding it all at once.
  • If the surface color is not brown enough, please extend the baking time until browned.
  • You can eat it right away, but leaving it for half a day will make it more moist and tasty.
  • How to make it is the same as matcha castella (without matcha powder), so please check out this video for instructions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 67kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.6g | Protein: 1.8g
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: Japanese castella cake
Did You Make this recipe?Please Leave a star rating!

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2 Comments

  1. I believe there is an error in your recipe. 200 grams of flour? I had closer to bread dough. Then I looked at video for match castella. That listed 100 grams of flour. Also, have you tested for alternative flours?