Chocolate Castella Cake. The fluffiest sponge cake with a very delicious moist texture to it. This popular Taiwanese cake is great for dessert and is free of dairy.
Lately I've been obsessed with castella cakes because they taste like total heaven in your mouth. I've made both the vanilla version and the chocolate version and both are so incredibly good.
If you've never tried a castella cake, it may be tricky to find in North America so that's why I suggest making one at home.
When it comes to baking the castella cake (if you don't add chocolate chips), the top of the cake should be smooth and free of dents or cracks. The texture should be very fluffy and very moist. So much that when you tear the cake open with your hands, you can hear how moist it is. The cake will also jiggle if you nudge it because it is so airy.
Since we are adding chocolate chips, you may experience dents or cracks at the top but that's okay because your chocolate chip castella cake will still be very delicious! However if you follow my instructions to a tee, it should come out crack free. Please keep in mind the cake will deflate after being out of the oven.
This cake does take some time and effort to make as there is the requirement of measuring the temperature for your ingredients and whisking your meringue until it's just right. But please don't be intimidated by this, I'll be sharing step by step visuals to help you with the process. And this cake is TOTALLY worth the time and effort because this is the best Taiwanese chocolate castella cake I've ever made and I'm very excited to share it with you!
I can't take full credit for this recipe, it was adapted from Molala's YouTube Channel and I made it dairy-free and adjusted the amount of chocolate, as well as the cooking time.
What is a chocolate castella cake?
It's a cake that was brought to the Japanese first by the Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. The name originates from Portuguese Pão de Castela, meaning "bread from Castile". Hence the name "Castella Cake". Then the cake became more popular in Taiwan and that's why it's often called the Taiwanese Castella Cake.
As mentioned above, the cake is very soft, spongy, jiggly and super moist. The cake is made with only 95 grams of flour and consists mainly of egg yolk and white. Thanks to the egg meringue, that's how it gets it's delightful texture.
Important Notes about this recipe
- It's important to use a kitchen scale to measure these ingredients for the best turnout. I've shared a kitchen scale that you can purchase online. They're not too expensive and they're a great investment as a kitchen tool
- Measuring the temperature where specified is also important. This cake is reliant on that to ensure that extra fluffy spongey texture
- When whisking your meringue, you only want to whisk until you reach soft peak. A stiff peak, will cause breaks in your cake (which is still fine and it's totally delicious but just not aesthetically pleasing). In order to tell when your meringue has reached a soft peak: stir the meringue with a whisk, then lift it up and then if there is a tail and it wiggles as you move it, you're ready. If it's a stiff peak, you will see cracks in your cake. But don't worry it's still delicious!
Other recipes you may like!
CHOCOLATE COFFEE MUG CAKE
CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI OAT BREAD
BANANA CHOCOLATE BREAD
GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BLONDIES
FLUFFY CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS
CHOCOLATE CREPES
For this recipe
You will need the following ingredients for my Taiwan chocolate castella cake recipe:
- 95 grams avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 8 eggs, yolks separated from whites
- 90 grams all purpose flour
- 15 grams cornstarch
- 25 grams hot chocolate powder or Organic Traditions' mint hot chocolate powder
- 10 grams cocoa powder
- 100 grams oat milk
- 40 grams dairy-free chocolate chips
- 110 grams white granulated sugar
Required: kitchen scale, electric mixer, mixing bowls, 20 cm wide seamless square baking dish*, larger baking dish to hold the smaller one, sifter and thermometer
*If you don't own a seamless baking pan but you own one with seams or a removable base, just cover the base of your pan with foil to prevent water from seeping into it as the cake bakes in a bath
How to make chocolate castella cake
First, line your 20 cm seamless square baking dish with parchment paper. Line it tall so that when you pour your batter it won't spill out.
Secondly into a mixing bowl, sift your all purpose flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and hot chocolate powder. It is really important to remove any clumps or large granules. Whisk until well combined.
Then separate your egg yolks from the whites into two bowls.
Microwave your avocado oil for 80 seconds until it's 90 degrees C hot. Quickly pour the hot oil into the flour mixture and whisk well.
Whisk in about 20 grams of your chocolate chips only, reserving the remaining to top your cake with. Allow the chips to completely melt.
Once they have melted, whisk in half of your oat milk.
Then whisk in your egg yolks until completely mixed
and whisk in the remaining amount of oat milk. Set aside.
To your egg whites, add ⅓ of the white sugar. We will be adding the sugar in three portions - this is also important. Beat egg whites until you reach a soft peak, not a stiff peak.
Note: When you stir the egg whites with your whisk and lift it up, it should create a wiggly tail. If the meringue is too stiff, this will cause cracks in your cake.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
To your chocolate batter, mix in ⅓ of the meringue to loosen it. Whisk gently in order not to lose the fluffiness. Add the meringue in three portions. Using a spatula at the end to fold the mixture scraping the bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is properly mixed.
Pour your cake batter into the lined 20 cm square baking dish. Even out the top with a spatula. To break up the air bubbles, gently tap the square pan on the table a few times.
Then in your larger baking dish, pour hot water that is 70 degrees C warm into the tray, just enough to fill the tray about ⅓ of the way. Place the square dish with your cake batter into this large pan.
Place into the oven to bake for 10 minutes.
At the ten minute mark, remove from oven to add in your remaining chocolate chips. If you add it in early, the chips will sink to the bottom.
Bake for 75 minutes until the top of the cake is solid but bounces back if you touch it. Poke a toothpick to check if the cake is fully cooked.
Once cooked, remove the cake from the pan. Peel away the parchment paper while hot.
Slice while hot and enjoy warm or at room temperature.
About Organic Traditions
I've partnered with Organic Traditions to bring you this Taiwan chocolate castella cake. I'm using their Holiday Limited Edition Mint Hot Chocolate Powder for this recipe. I love their products as they always keep nutrition in mind when creating them. In fact, this hot chocolate is made with organic coconut milk powder and magnesium rich organic raw cacao powder!
Their Mint Hot Chocolate Powder is delicious when you just add some warm milk to water to it. If you also sign up for their newsletter you can get 20% off their products online.
Check Organic Traditions online!
Give it a try!
Well I hope you give my dairy-free chocolate castella cake recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed this double chocolate castella cakerecipe, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @christieathome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!
Made this recipe and loved it?
If you could leave a star rating for my jiggly chocolate castella cake, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!
Take care,
Christie
Chocolate Castella Cake (Dairy-free)
Ingredients
- 95 grams vegetable oil
- 8 eggs yolks separated from whites
- 90 grams all purpose flour
- 15 grams cornstarch
- 25 grams hot chocolate powder
- 10 grams cocoa powder
- 100 grams oat milk
- 40 grams dairy-free chocolate chips
- 110 grams white granulated sugar
Instructions
- First, line your 20 cm seamless square baking dish with parchment paper. Line it tall so that when you pour your batter it won't spill out.
- Secondly into a mixing bowl, sift your all purpose flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and hot chocolate powder. It is really important to remove any clumps or large granules. Whisk until well combined.
- Then separate your egg yolks from the whites into two bowls.
- Microwave your oil for 80 seconds until it's 90 degrees C hot. Quickly pour the hot oil into the flour mixture and whisk well.
- Whisk in about 20 grams of your chocolate chips only, reserving the remaining to top your cake with. Allow the chips to completely melt.
- Once they have melted, whisk in half of your oat milk.
- Then whisk in your egg yolks until completely mixed
- Whisk in the remaining amount of oat milk. Set aside.
- To your egg whites, add ⅓ of the white sugar. We will be adding the sugar in three portions - this is also important. Beat egg whites until you reach a soft peak, not a stiff peak.
- Note: When you stir the egg whites with your whisk and lift it up, it should create a wiggly tail. If the meringue is too stiff, this will cause cracks in your cake.
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
- To your chocolate batter, mix in ⅓ of the meringue to loosen it. Whisk gently in order not to lose the fluffiness. Add the meringue in three portions. Using a spatula at the end to fold the mixture scraping the bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is properly mixed.
- Pour your cake batter into the lined 20 cm square baking dish. Even out the top with a spatula. To break up the air bubbles, gently tap the square pan on the table a few times.
- Then in your larger baking dish, pour hot water that is 70 degrees C warm into the tray, just enough to fill the tray about ⅓ of the way enough to make your square pan float. Place the square dish with your cake batter into this large pan.
- Place into the oven to bake for 10 minutes.
- At the ten minute mark, remove from oven to add in your remaining chocolate chips. If you add it in early, the chips will sink to the bottom.
- Bake for 75 minutes until the top of the cake is solid but bounces back if you touch it. Poke a toothpick to check if the cake is fully cooked.
- Once cooked, remove the cake from the pan. Peel away the parchment paper while hot.
- Slice while hot and enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Light, fluffy and oh so heavenly... this is so good!! Love that you've made it with real cocoa powder. 😋
Never Ending Journeys
I've never heard of Castella Cakes before, but it sounds so incredibly delicious! I love the use of hot chocolate powder, too!