Japanese biscuit "Castella": a recipe for cooking

Anyone who has tried a Japanese biscuit at least once in their life will agree that this product is worthy of special attention. Created many centuries ago, it is still very popular not only in its own country, but also abroad.

Honey "Castella"

Initially, Japanese biscuit was made from eggs, sugar, flour and starch syrup. Over the years, the composition of the dessert has changed due to the special eating habits of the inhabitants of this country. Over time, and in Europe, they appreciated the taste of this extraordinary dish. Today, any housewife can please their household and prepare an original Japanese biscuit using the following main ingredients: 8 eggs, 100 grams of milk, 300 grams of brown sugar, 200 grams of flour and 150 grams of honey.

Making this dessert is easy:

1. First you need to sift a measured amount of flour. The procedure must be repeated three times so that the product can be “saturated” with oxygen as much as possible.
2. Dilute honey in milk until completely dissolved.
3. Beat eggs with sugar. The process must be carried out in a water bath for 15 minutes. During this time, the temperature of the mass should reach 60 degrees.
4. Transfer the egg mixture to the bowl of the food processor and continue whisking until it finally cools down.
5. Pour milk with honey dissolved in it.
6. Gradually introduce flour without stopping mixing.
7. Cover the form with parchment, and then pour the cooked mass into it.
8. Remove excess air from the mixture. To do this, you need to once hit the table.
9. Baking a biscuit should be carried out in an oven at a temperature of 180 degrees for 50 minutes.
10. Transfer the finished product into a plastic bag and send to the refrigerator for several hours. This is necessary so that it becomes more moist and dense.

The finished biscuit is cut into small rectangles. In order not to damage the structure of the product, it is better to do this with a sharp knife with a grooved blade.

Interesting to know

The history of a popular Japanese biscuit began in the 16th century. It was then that merchants from Portugal landed for the first time off the coast of Nagasaki Island. Together with tobacco, guns and various provisions, they brought with them a delicious biscuit. Locals liked the unusual product. He began to be called "bread from Castile", and in abbreviated form - "castella". But in those days, it was not so easy for the Japanese to cook it on their own because of the high sugar prices in the country. That is why local culinary specialists began to develop new recipes for the production of "overseas goodies." This is probably why the country still believes that the most delicious Japanese biscuit is baked in Nagasaki. Today this dish is popular in many countries of the world. True, they cook it mainly at home or in small bakeries. On a production scale, making a Castella is very difficult. This product is very moody and sensitive to any changes in humidity or temperature.

Original base

The famous oriental biscuit is good not only for tea. It can be a great base for making other desserts. But first you need to bake the Japanese biscuit itself. The recipe for its preparation, in principle, is simple. To work, you will need the following set of products: for 130 milliliters of milk - 85 grams of flour, 70 grams of butter, 80 grams of sugar, food coloring (if desired), 1 chicken egg, and another 165 grams of protein and 120 grams of yolks.

The method of preparation of the product includes the following stages:

1. Pour milk into a stewpan and put butter in it. Place the container on fire and bring its contents to a boil.
2. Constantly stirring, slowly introduce the flour and brew the dough.
3. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
4. Transfer the finished dough to the combine and mix a little to cool.
5. Add the egg and yolks. If you plan to make a colored biscuit, then the dye must be introduced at this stage.
6. Separate the whites with sugar with a mixer.
7. Connect both masses. You need to work with an ordinary spatula.
8. After that beat the resulting mixture with a combine whisk for 2 minutes.
9. Cover the baking sheet with special baking paper.
10. Pour a thin layer of the mixture on it and send to the oven for 15 minutes.

The result is a thin, delicate and very soft biscuit that can remain so for several days.

homemade baking

For beginner housewives, you can offer a simplified version. Performing the simplest steps, they can get a real Japanese biscuit. The recipe is extremely simple and requires only the following components: for 2 eggs - 70 grams of flour, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons of water (or milk) and honey, 63 grams of sugar (including 13 grams for sprinkling the form).

Operating procedure:

1. If the house does not have a special form, then you can do it yourself. You must first build a rectangular box from thick paper. Outside, it is necessary to wrap it with foil, and from the inside - line it with clean paper.
2. Beat eggs in a deep bowl.
3. Gradually add sugar to them.
4. Put the container in a pan with water heated to 50 degrees, and once again thoroughly mix its contents.
5. Separately, dilute honey with water (or milk), and then add it to the egg mass.
6. Combine the salt with flour. Portion dry ingredients into the container, mixing the contents with a wooden spatula.
7. Pour the mass into a pre-cooked form and bake in the oven at a temperature of 160 degrees. Willingness to check with a wooden stick or toothpick.

For better baking, the form must be placed on the lower shelf. If the surface of the biscuit turns very red quickly, then it can be covered with a piece of foil.

Chiffon Sponge Cake

In cooking, another option is known for making a biscuit of a similar consistency. It was created much later, in 1927, and received the name "chiffon". For comparison, you can consider this biscuit recipe. In the oven, the usual cupcake muffins are often used to bake it. True, in this case, the composition of the ingredients will be different: for 200 grams of flour - 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder, 5 eggs (plus 1 more protein), 210 grams of sugar, 135 milliliters of water, 5 grams of salt, 2 grams of citric acid and 90 milliliters of olive oil.

Cooking method:

1. The first step is to warm the oven. The temperature inside it should be from 160 to 170 degrees.
2. Then you need to break the eggs, while separating the yolks from the proteins.
3. Pour the sifted flour into a deep bowl.
4. Add the remaining dry ingredients (salt, sugar and baking powder) there.
5. In the middle of the "hill" make a deepening, and then pour water with oil and yolks there. Drive them with a whisk for 1 minute, until the mass becomes homogeneous.
6. In another container, with the help of a mixer, turn proteins into dense foam.
7. Gradually add citric acid and sugar to them. You need to beat for a long time until you get characteristic peaks.
8. Introduce the proteins into the egg mass in parts.
9. Pour the finished dough into the mold and put it in the oven for 50 minutes.

Many people prefer just such a biscuit recipe. In the oven, it turns out to be very soft and magnificent. In addition, the product is perfectly cut and does not even crumble.

Alternative option

There is another recipe with which you can also make an excellent Castella biscuit. For this you will need: one and a half glasses of flour, 7 eggs (plus another 3 yolks), 50 grams of any vegetable oil (odorless), 75 grams of honey, 5 grams of salt and 300 grams of sugar.

The process of making such a biscuit is partly similar to the one used in previous versions:

1. Pour pre-sifted flour into a bowl with salt.
2. Beat the remaining components (with the exception of oil) with a mixer in another bowl.
3. Put this container in a pot of boiling water and continue to beat for 10 minutes. Sugar should dissolve completely.
4. Gently introduce flour.
5. Separate part of the dough and grind it with oil, and then put it back and make the final batch.
6. Put the mass in shape.
7. Bake 15 minutes in the oven at 170 degrees.
8. Make the flame smaller. Continue baking for another 45 minutes already at 150 degrees.

It is better to cool such a biscuit right in the form.

Chocolate treat

Those who like cocoa can make oriental-style chocolate desserts at home. To make the taste of the finished product close to the original, you need to prepare a Japanese biscuit. For this, the following composition is suitable:

105 grams of eggs and 15 grams of yolks only, 10 grams of whole milk, glucose (or liquid honey) and cocoa powder, 80 grams of sugar, 25 grams of corn oil, 50 grams of flour, a pinch of salt, soda and vanilla.

Cooking Method:

1. First you need to heat the oil, and then add cocoa to it and mix.
2. Pour in milk.
3. Introduce the vanilla salt. After mixing, wait until the mixture has completely cooled.
4. Beat eggs separately with honey, adding yolks.
5. Without stopping, add sugar in small parts. It should make an airy foam mass. But in the Japanese dessert they should not be. Therefore, mixing must be continued with a hand whisk.
6. Add cocoa butter to the mixture.
7. Introduce the flour slowly, mixing thoroughly so that there are no lumps left.
8. Pour the dough into a parchment-lined mold.
9. Bake 5 minutes in the bottom of the oven at 170 degrees. After this, the form must be rearranged a little higher and wait another 27 minutes.

After cooling, you can eat the finished dessert. If you pour it with soft cream, you get a wonderful cake.

Cotton tenderness

In small cafes, the Japanese often serve the most delicate dessert with a wonderful silky structure. It is sometimes called "cotton". Japanese air biscuit here is made from the following products: 3 eggs, 225 grams of cream cheese, zest of half a lemon, 100 grams of cream (10%) and sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, 30 grams of flour and rice starch.

Cooking process:

1. Wrap the baking dish on the outside with foil. Inside, you need to grease it with oil and cover it with thick paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
3. Boil one and a half liters of water.
4. Eggs are divided into yolks and squirrels.
5. Bring the cream in a saucepan to a boil.
6. Grind some sugar with yolks.
7. Add a thin stream of hot cream to them.
8. Mash the cheese and introduce it into the egg mass in parts. Beat with a whisk until smooth.
9. Mix the proteins with a mixer into foam. Keep stirring, pour sugar.
10. Add starch, flour, vanilla and zest to the creamy mass.
11. In parts, gradually introduce proteins with sugar.
12. Put the dough into shape. In order for large bubbles with air to come out of it, the container must be raised and hit sharply on the table.
13. Bake in the oven in a water bath for 5 minutes.
14. Reduce the temperature to 160 degrees and wait another 45-55 minutes. The finished biscuit should spring in the center.
15. Turn off the fire. Remove the form from the water bath and let it cool in the oven with the door open.

In just 40 minutes, the dessert will be ready to eat.