Japanese Sponge Cake
Japanese Sponge Cake Recipe – Fluffy and tender castella cake is a classic baked dessert (yakimono wagashi) that is delicious without being overly sweet. Serve this jiggly cake for a lighter treat that everyone will love!
Why We Love This Japanese Sponge Cake Recipe
Asian-inspired desserts are really popular right now in the United States. And it’s not hard to see why! Often these treats use interesting ingredients that are transformed with key cooking methods. So you get to experiment with fun flavors and techniques. Truly an adventurous home cook’s dream!
However, some recipes can be a bit tricky to make and even harder to find the ingredients. Japanese Castella Cake – or Wagashi Sponge Cake – is an exception…
It’s a simple dessert that is popular in Japan, Taiwan, and eastern China, and I am sure it will be a much-requested recipe in your home as well! If you don’t know how to make easy castella cake, just follow my simple instructions and you will be an expert in no time!
What is Wagashi Sponge Cake (Yakimono)?
In Japanese, Wagashi is the general term for sweets and Yakimono refers specifically to a baked good.
This yakimono wagashi is a delicate and tasty sponge cake that is made with just a handful of ingredients. Yet the texture of castella cake is what makes it truly unique. Imagine if sandwich bread and meringue had a baby… It’s soft, tender, a bit squishy, with a lovely light honey-vanilla flavor.
This jiggly sponge cake is similar to pound cake, yet with a lighter fluffy texture. It is perfect to serve with hot tea or coffee, or to use as the base of a cake, ice cream, and fruit stack.
Ingredients You Need
- Eggs – room temperature
- Granulated sugar – for a perfectly sweet treat
- Honey – really rounds out the sweetness of the cake
- Warm water – not hot, or the cake won’t rise properly
- Vanilla extract – to give the Japanese sponge cake its signature light flavor
- Salt – just a pinch
- Cake flour – essential for the best jiggly cake texture
How to Make Japanese Sponge Cake
- Set out an electric stand mixer with a whip attachment. Add the room temperature eggs and sugar to the mixing bowl. Whisk on high for 6-8 minutes until the egg mixture is very light in color and extremely frothy. The egg mixture should expand to look like custard.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 315°F. Set out an 8 x 8-inch metal baking pan. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment comes up above the rim of the pan by at least 1 inch.
- Set out a small bowl. Mix the honey, warm water, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Scrape the mixing bowl with the eggs and turn the mixer on low. Beat in the honey mixture and then slowly add in the flour. Once all the flour is incorporated, turn off the mixer, so you don’t overbeat the cake batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Tap the cake on the counter once or twice to bring the biggest bubbles to the surface. But don’t tap it so much that you deflate the batter. Bake in the center of the oven for approximately 45 minutes, until the top is dark and puffy.
- Carefully lift the cake out of the pan by the edges of the parchment paper. Peel off the parchment paper and immediately wrap it in plastic wrap, while it is still warm. This allows all the moisture to be preserved and gives the cake a moist, even texture.
- Cool to room temperature before unwrapping. However, the longer it stays wrapped the better the texture will be.
Get the Complete (Printable) Japanese Castella Cake Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
When you’re ready to serve this perfect sponge cake, use a serrated knife to cut all the brown edges off of the sides. Cut the remaining square down the middle into two even loaves.
Then slice each loaf into ½ – 1-inch pieces. Serve with tea or coffee for a snack or light dessert.
Castella cake is also a wonderfully simple cake to serve at holiday events with chocolate, caramel, or berry sauces.
Make Japanese Strawberry Shortcake by serving the cake with fresh strawberry slices and whipped cream!
Tips & Tricks
- It is essential to whip up the eggs with an electric mixer or stand mixer with the whip attachment to create plentiful air bubbles! This is the only way the cake will rise since there are no chemical leaveners like baking soda or baking powder here.
- Once you add the flour to the mix, do not over-mix the batter! This will result in a tough cake that might fall flat instead of a fluffy, jiggly Japanese sponge cake!
- Don’t skip the resting period in the plastic wrap! I recommend letting the cakes sit in the fridge overnight wrapped in plastic, then take them out the next day and let them come back to room temperature. Then they will have the best texture possible!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can easily make your own “cake flour” at home with AP flour and cornstarch or arrowroot powder. As-is this recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of cake flour. To substitute, pour 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour into a bowl and remove 3 tablespoons of the flour. Then sift in 3 tablespoons of either cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Ta da!
The key to a great Japanese sponge cake is to make sure that the eggs are room temperature and are beaten thoroughly, until frothy. Then once the flour is added, take care to not over-mix the batter or the cake texture will be dense.
Use the light and tender sponge cake as a base for a trifle, dessert fruit stack, or cake pops. It can even be used as an ice cream cake base! Make it a Christmas cake with cream frosting on top and holiday sprinkles. Or make a spring and summer strawberry cake by adding 1 tsp strawberry extract to the cake batter, then topping the finished cake with fresh strawberries.
Castella cake will keep well for up to 5 days at room temperature, or 10 days in the refrigerator. Wrap leftovers tightly in plastic wrap before storing. You can also freeze the wagashi! Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and then in a layer of foil. Keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
No, a castella cake is light and fluffy Japanese sponge cake, while a pound cake is dense. Castella cake is more like a chiffon cake!
Taiwanese castella cake is more like a soufflé, and is baked in a water bath. Japanese castella cake is more like a sponge cake and less like a soufflé!
Looking for More Delicious Dessert Recipes?
- Easy Magic Custard Cake
- Thai Mango Sticky Rice Pudding
- Roll Cake with Raspberry Cake Filling (Roulade)
- Easy Tiramisu
- Mango Pudding (Dairy Free!)
Get the Complete (Printable) Japanese Castella Cake Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
Castella Cake (Wagashi Sponge Cake) Recipe + VIDEO
Video
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoon warm water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup cake flour
Instructions
- Set out an electric stand mixer with a whip attachment. Add the room temperature eggs and sugar to the mixing bowl. Whisk on high for 6-8 minutes until the egg mixture is very light in color and extremely frothy. The egg mixture should expand to look like custard.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 315°F. Set out an 8 x 8-inch metal pan. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment comes up above the rim of the pan by at least 1 inch. (The cake will rise over the lip of the pan.)
- Set out a small bowl. Mix the honey, warm water, vanilla extract, and salt together.
- Scrape the mixing bowl with the eggs and turn the mixer on low. Beat in the honey mixture and then slowly add in the flour. Once all the flour is incorporated, turn off the mixer, so you don’t over beat the cake batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the cake on the counter once or twice to bring the biggest bubbles to the surface. (But don’t tap it so much that you deflate the batter.) Bake in the center of the oven for approximately 45 minutes, until the top is dark and puffy.
- Lift the cake out of the pan by the edges of the parchment paper. Peel off the parchment paper and immediately wrap it in plastic wrap, while the cake is still warm. This allows all the moisture to be preserved, for a moist even texture.
- Cool to room temperature before unwrapping. However, the longer it stays wrapped the better the texture will be. (I often make this a day ahead, so it can stay wrapped for 24 hours.)
- When you’re ready to serve, use a serrated knife to cut all the brown edges off of the sides. Cut the remaining square down the middle into two even loaves. Then slice each loaf into ½ – 1 inch pieces.
When done, should a toothpick come out clean, or will it still be a little gooey on a toothpick? I don’t want to over-bake but want it to be done.
Hi Annette,
It should be clean. If a crumb or two is sticking, that’s fine, but definitely not gooey. :)
I’ve made this twice: once as a cake and today as cupcakes. I plan to fill the cupcakes with vanilla buttercream filling to make “Twinkie Cupcakes”. This is fun recipe and turns out so spongy, soft and delicious!
This is more Taiwanese style rather than Japanese style.
Wow! Easy to prepare and delicious! I’ve made it twice already. I love the spongy texture of the cake, and I top it with homemade whipped cream and strawberries.
This came out with a wonderful and cottony texture that sprung back when poked. It was a little too sweet to my liking on its own but that works just fine when paired with a good tea! Will be making again sometime, and will be enjoying this with some assam black tea and some sencha green tea :) i imagine the kind of honey affects it, and i used orange blossom so there was just a teeny touch of citrus too. If i could make any adjustments for next time, I’d probably take away a 1/4 or 1/2 tsp of honey and changing the type of honey to blueberry pollen honey, but thats just me and I’m the type who prefers my cakes sweetened with fruit and whipped cream on the side and doesnt like buttercream because its “too much” 😅
My sister adores all things Japanese, so when she saw this meal, she knew she had to prepare it. It turned out fantastically! It’s fluffy and moist, and it’s delicious!
This cake was amazing! We all just loved it, thanks!
I have been searching and making new ethnic recipes each week for our family “cultural” night, and this Japanese cake was a huge hit! – Thank you!
My daughter is SUPER INTO anything Japanese at the moment, so of course she HAD to make this when we saw it. It came out great! Fluffy and moist, absolutely fantastic!
This was so easy to make! I’m really glad I tried it. It tasted amazing and was a big hit!
oh my lanta, this cake is what my dreams are made of! thank you for sharing!