In the 16th century, the Portuguese reached Japan, and soon started trade and missionary work. Nagasaki was then the only Japanese port open for foreign commerce. The Portuguese introduced many then-unusual things, such as guns, tobacco, and pumpkins—and castella. It was able to be preserved for a long period of time, and so was useful for the sailors who were out on the sea for months. In the Edo Period, in part due to the cost of sugar, it was an expensive dessert. When the Emperor of Japan's envoy was invited, the Tokugawa Shogunate presented the Castella. Over the years, the taste changed to suit Japanese palates.from Wikipedia
Kasutera is a traditional Japanese sponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs, and honey. There are now many varieties made with ingredients such as matcha green tea, cocoa or brown sugar.
- 125 g German #550 flour
©angiesrecipes
- 10 g Matcha tea powder
©angiesrecipes
- 50 g Honey
- 50 g Green tea drink
- 5 Eggs
- 140 g Caster sugar
- Line a 44x12x6-cm wood box or an 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Fill half of a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Stir together the honey and green tea drink in a small bowl. Combine the flour, matcha tea powder and sift twice and set aside. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F.
- Place the eggs and the sugar into the bowl of your mixer. Set the bowl over the pot of hot water and whisk the mixture until lukewarm and the sugar is dissolved. Remove and beat over medium speed until the mixture starts to thicken. Lower the speed and continue whisking until it is thick and smooth. When you lift the whisk, the peaks drops slightly. Beat in honey water mixture in a few additions until incorporated.
- Sift in the flour in a few additions and whisk on low speed until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared wood box or the pan. Place in the hot oven and bake until the cake is golden brown and it feels spongy not tacky to the touch, about 50 minutes. Cool on the rack for 10 minutes, and remove from the pan.
Matcha Kasutera Honey Sponge Cake
Posts
141 comments:
What a gorgeous cake!
I buy this at the Tokyo-Narita airport when I transit there. Never been to Japan other than the airport :(
thats just beautiful Angie! I love the shade of green it absorbed frm the tea. very pretty :)
Beautiful cake, Angie! Looks so soft and moist.
Love matcha and your cake looks very moist and airy - just the way I like my cake! The colour of both the crumb and the crust is beautiful too :)
The sponge cake looks beautiful and sounds delicious with the honey but I've never heard of match tea powder before.
Ooooooooooooo yum! And they're healthy with the matcha and green tea!
Perfect! And your procedures sound baker-friendly : ).
Whata gorgeous looking bread, Angie! looks so soft and moist.
Wow, that sounds incredible especially with the matcha tea powder!
Super! The texture of this looks so soft and moist. You know what I think this would go really good with, believe it or not? Really rich hot chocolate. Mmmm... I'm getting really hungry.
*kisses* HH
I love matcha. This honey sponge cake looks soft & moist~~yummy!
I can almost imagine the soft sponge-y cake tasting of matcha....
blowing peachkisses
The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
That's a gorgeous cake! Love the matcha in it!
It's so gorgeously spongy.
What a lovely cake. I made it once but is the plain old kind. Great idea in adding matcha to it.
that looks very sweet and delicious!
I have been tempted to make a sponge cake the past few days. I like the history of this!
I haven't tried a matcha cake...poor me. I haven't seen green tea powder here. Maybe I should just fly to your place and enjoy this.....not too far :D
What a beautiful sponge cake. It looks as long a a train compartment. hehe..Looks awesome!
une belle texture bien moelleux il a l'air succulent bravo
bonne journée
Angie,
I remember you telling me on my blog that you don't like castella cake.
Or you didn't do it as dense as it should be ? :)
BTW, may I know is German flour a high protein, or cake flour?
Hmm...mm....I wanna to take a bite...just one bite! Do you believe me? hahaha... Have a great time, dear!
Best wishes, Kristy
Wendy: The German flour #550 is like a pastry flour in the states. And you remember it right:-)) that sponge cake is not exactly my type of cake....Chiffon is my favourite.
Thank you, guys, for taking time to stop by! :-))
kasutara looks terrific and Im drooling over the pic!
Cute name for the cake and it makes me drool just by looking at it!
Beautiful spongecake. Looks moist and perfect. Wonderful job.
Cheers!
Very beautiful indeed!
I love the thought of using honey in a cake. That's one really beautifully baked cake. Could I convert this to muffins?
Beautifully baked...looks so temptingto me :-)
Gorgeous cake and beautiful baked..looks fabulous!!
The Housewife: You can use any baking pan you have, but you might have to adjust the baking temperature and time accordingly.
What a heavenly cake.Moist and spongy too.
Looks really soft and moist! I like the touch of green tea here!
I love the lightness of sponge cake. Yours looks really beautiful. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary
This is so lovely! Your sponge cake looks so light and moist! I have come across this type of cake from several Japanese cookbooks but I have never tried it! You have just given me the much needed nudge :)
The texture of this cake looks very nice. I wonder if the wooden box made the cake's texture any different or more moist (I assume that the wood caused less browning on the sides).
I love the texture of this cake! And all the flavor variations. A lovely cake Angie! Cool history too.
Green tea cake sounds fantastic. What a good baker you are!
Nisrine
Hi Angie,
You truly know I love this!! Green tea some more haha will definitely try this out. Thanks for the recipe :) beaming now :p
oh I so want that!!!!!! matcha is one of my weakness in desserts! beautiful cake!
I have bookmark this recipe long time ago, but have yet to give it a try, also due to I can't get the wooden box here, maybe have to order and custom made one.
That looks so incredibly moist and delicious! I love that it's flavored with honey...so simple and yet so good.
Now, Angie... I see your photograph, and clearly, you are a very small woman. who eats all of this delectable food? I need to find where I can get matcha tea in Edmonton. Nowhere so far. I love the colour it brings to so many foods... and there are so many possibilities with it. This cake looks moist, and dense and flavourful. The perfect afternoon delight!
:)
Valerie
What a beautiful cake!!!Moist and delicious.
You know what ... I'm been eyeing this cake for a long time now. It looks amazing, so moist and soft. Angie, the more I look at your pics, the stronger the urge!
You are so good both in cooking and baking , the cake is so moist and soft
Oh my this looks so gud and moist...
wow, it looks absolutely delightful.am sure the tea flavour wud be great
This looks wonderful Angie! I love the way it sounds!
This looks like such a fragrant and light bread! would love to taste it and I really ought to bake with matcha at least once!
OMG... missed so many of your articles...:(
Got to catch up...
oh I love this..matcha oh how divine..it looks awesome..
sweetlife
Angie, the sponge cake looks divine. You make wonderful desserts and baked goods.
wow what a yummy looking cake and fun history
Angie, this cake looks so moist and delicious!
What a beautiful, soft, moist, spongy & delicious cake Angie! Love the green!
I have made it once, tasted good but did not look as good as yours as mine did not come out as flat as yours. Have been thinking to try again. I have only handheld mixer so last time it got really got! Gotta try again.
This recipe sounds incredibly tasting and I love stories of cultural connections. What's surprising to me is that the list of ingredients couldn't be simpler.
I heard of kasutera but never know it looks so soft, moist and good. The matcha flavor is perfect too!
Looks like all we need is a hot cup of tea!
Just a quick question, do you have space in your kitchen because I would like to move in I'm very quiet tenant...As long as I'm surrounded by this cake.
This cake is out of control this is my favorite kind of cake just like grandma made! I call this 3am cake..because you get up at 3am and cut yourself a slice..or two.
a little bit of history, thats nice. love the cake.
Thanks for the history lesson. The combination of the green tea and honey sounds delightful!
Beautiful cake - I really like the history that goes with :)
I love sponge cake but never had matcha! but honey sponge is so good, I'd try this one in a second. Looks delicious and moist! Perfect! Enjoyed the history of it as well :)
Hy Angie,
First time here...you have a gorgeous space here. Happy to follow u.
Honey sponge cake looks gorgeous...
Do drop in at my blog sometime.
Sponge cake with honey? I"m so there. :)
Wow this looks soooooo DELICIOUS!
Ah, I've tried making honey kasutera but not matcha one!! I oughta give this version a try! Thanks for sharing!! Looks so, so moist!
Hello Angie,
I ve been thinking of using my matcha all this week I have some leftover from last year.. and your cake just on time.. Love this sponge and the color..
Do you know how long you can keep the matcha, its been exactly a year...
bookmarked the cake to try it soon.thanks
Arlette: Store the green tea powder well-wrapped in the freezer if don't use them all at once. I still have some in the freezer that I bought a couple of years ago from China. :-) So, no worries.
It looks so yummy and moist! And the use of green tea matcha makes it a very interesting sponge cake. Can't wait to try this out!
That sponge cake is very beautiful! That flavor combo is awesome!
Cheers,
Rosa
I love kasutera, and yours looks fastastic. Love how you added honey to it as well.
What a lovely cake! Love your step-by-step photos! ;)
How wonderful Angie! That green tea infused the cake all the way through. Incidentally last week I fixed a English breakfast tea, date & walnut cake for afternoon tea :) Have yet to write the post.
I am always amazed how you manage to make your cakes so very moist. You are a true talent girl!
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
It looks so tempting. Feels like taking a bite now! Looks so moist and delicious!
Looks spongy and moist!!Gorgeous
This loks absolutely delightful!
That looks like something I need to devour now!
THis is great! I see this cake in Japanese supermarket and it's always very expensive!
What an absolutely yummy sounding cake. I love all the flavors you combined here. Now I have to make it and share the joy!
wao it looks so fresh! now i don't have to buy it from the mart i can make it by my own just because of you angie thanks! :)
As always, any thoughts, comments, and suggestions that you may have are welcome and greatly appreciated. Please remember to use the "Name/Url" when commenting rather than linking to your profile page for more exposure!