Japanese Pastry Course #7 Castella Cake Course

Prepare a tall lined pan with foil for a water bath. Separate eggs, whip whites, sift flour, then fold in butter, milk, sugar, and vanilla, noting gluten-free and dairy-free alternatives.

Heat unsalted butter and milk to about 80 Celsius for castella cake. Remove from heat, add sifted flour and mix; then add the egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Whip egg whites with all white sugar at medium speed to form a silky meringue with medium soft peaks; avoid high speed to prevent the cake from rising and shrinking.

Master castella cake by folding meringue into the egg yolk mixture with bottom-to-top motions to keep air bubbles intact, then bake in a water bath and test with a toothpick.

Learn to stabilize meringue by chilling egg whites and adding sugar first. Use bread flour for density to reduce shrinkage, avoid overmixing, and open the oven briefly mid-bake.

Compare gluten-free and standard flours—rice, all-purpose, and bread flour—for rise and texture in castella, then test butter, oil, oat milk, and coconut milk to adjust flavor and moisture.

Learn to make chocolate castella cake with vegetable oil, dark chocolate, and cocoa powder; bake in a water bath at 150 c, and balance texture with milk warming.

Whip egg whites with caster sugar to medium soft peaks, fold the meringue into chocolate castella batter, then bake and top with chocolate chips for a warm or cold dessert.

learn to make matcha castella cake using matcha powder, white chocolate, oil, milk, and eggs, with optional butter for flavor, baked in a water bath at 150 celsius.

Whip egg whites into a soft meringue, fold into matcha batter, bake in a water bath at 150 C for about 50 minutes, then finish with white chocolate sauce.

Asami thanks you for taking this course and invites questions on the Q&A page; find free cake recipes and videos on indyassa.com, and share your pictures on Instagram with #INDYASSA.