Castella is a sweet Japanese sponge cake made with honey and wheat flour. It was introduced by Portuguese traders and is commonly served with fruit and cream. It is easy to make and can be found in various shapes, including rectangular loaves and festival street food. It is often served with locally grown fruit, such as pineapples in Okinawa, and is sometimes called strawberry tart when served with strawberries and cream.
Castella is a Japanese sponge cake commonly eaten during the day, but often as part of a late morning snack. It is sweet and generally similar to the familiar Western sponge cake, except that honey is added to sweeten the cake and is sometimes used as a frosting. This type of cake can be eaten in a restaurant, on the road or at home. In restaurants, this cake is often served with fresh fruit, fruit preserves and cream. In Japan, castella is also called kasutera.
The recipe for this sponge cake is basically the same as recipes for sponge cake served outside Japan, but this cake includes honey and sugar instead of just refined sugar. This cake is made with wheat flour, sugar and eggs, butter, vanilla and cornmeal. It is often sweetened with honey by gently glazing the cake. The most common way to eat this cake as a single serving is to cut it into small, bite-sized slices.
While very popular in many parts of Japan, castella is not actually a Japanese invention. This snack originally became popular in Japan because Portuguese traders introduced their region’s sweet snack. The snack was a sponge cake called Pão-de-ló. The foreign snack became popular in Japan and inspired the creative elaboration of Japanese sponge cake which resulted in its current form. Other foods commonly associated with Japan that were actually introduced to Japan by Portuguese visitors include tempura and Japanese winter squash.
Quite easy to make and easy to work with, the castella is a versatile and resistant cake that can contain various shapes. It is commonly purchased in a rectangular loaf in the packaged baked goods section of grocery stores. In restaurants, castella takes almost any shape as it is typically cut or shaped in a baking mold. This cake is also often found as street food and is commonly served at festivals.
This cake is served differently in different parts of the country. In every area of Japan, restaurants tend to prepare fresh and sweet castella dishes with their own locally grown fruit varieties. In Okinawa it is often pineapples. Many areas serve castella with strawberries and whipped cream, which is extremely similar to a strawberry shortcake. The similarities mean that the dish is sometimes called strawberry tart even when made with castella.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
