Castella is a simple Japanese sponge cake, typically made with three ingredients: egg, sugar and flour. It’s thought to have evolved from an Iberian cake introduced to Japan in the 16th century.
The Portuguese and Spanish arrived in Nagasaki during the 16th century when Japan didn’t have access to an abundance of sugar or eggs. They introduced many different types of sweet snacks and flavorful desserts that were so unique at the time that Nagasakians thought it deserved a new name to distinguish it from domestic desserts: nanban-gashi (南蛮菓子). One such dessert is a sponge cake thought to be either the Pão de ló or the Bizcocho. Nagasaki artisans learned how to make the cake for foreign guests and over the years it evolved into the modern Japanese castella.
In 2019, I went to Portugal to seek the pão de ló.
As I walked around the beautifully tiled pavements, I was surprised by all the different types of egg desserts that were available at any given bakery and cafe.
Freshly made Pastéis de Nata or Portuguese egg tarts are worth lining up in a queue.
It was actually quite difficult to find pão de ló at bakeries so I only got to try two different kinds.
The first place I went to was Lisboa; Nós é Mais Bolos because I read that they sell “the best pão de ló in the universe”, or that’s what the pastry makers call it anyway: “O Melhor Pão de Ló do Universo”.
It was worlds apart from the Japanese castella. From what I understand pão de ló has many regional variations and it seems to range from nearly raw to fully cooked. Japanese castella falls into the latter category. (Though, with the popularity of “rare” sweets, there are a few rare castella products available in Japan as well)
It was very egg forward and sweet; I welcomed the bitterness from the espresso to balance it out.
The other pão de ló I had was at a cafe called Tartine, which I believe has since closed. They didn’t serve single servings but instead sold the whole cake in the parchment paper that it was cooked in. I was lucky to get the last one.
This one was also very different from the Japanese castella. The cake was completely deflated and medium-rare. It was a chewy toffee-like cake with simple flavors: sugar and egg. When making Japanese castella, we put in so much care to not deflate the cake so this was definitely a new experience.
I grabbed a couple boxes of Pastéis de Nata at the airport and headed back to Tokyo.
Castella is typically baked in a wooden frame lined with parchment paper.
When cooked, it should be fully set and the surface should be level, flat and have a smooth brown color with minimal bubbling.
The cross section of the cake should have a uniform consistency and the color should be a rich yellow that evenly gets darker at the top and bottom.
The most common flavors are plain, honey, maccha, and chocolate.
It can be eaten all year round but during the hot months of summer, some people like to eat frozen castella or to eat it à la mode.
There are many famous castella makers based in Nagasaki prefecture as that is where it was created.
Here are a few:
Fukusaya, Nagasaki
http://www.fujito-manjyu.co.jp/index.html
Since 1624
Shooken, Nagasaki
http://www.shooken.com/
Since 1681
Bunmeido, Nagasaki
Now based in Tokyo
https://www.bunmeido.co.jp/
Since 1900
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