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Monday, February 17, 2014

Honey Cake 蜂蜜蛋糕

Sometimes happy cooking accidents happen, meaning something was done or went wrong but the end result turned out to be good. Today's honey cake is an example. I was trying to bake a Castella cake using the recipe from "Just One Cookbook". However, instead of bread flour, I mistakenly used cake flour. I didn't realize the blunder immediately. In fact, the cake turned out well at my first attempt and I was full of praise for the well-tested and simple recipe.

When I realized my mistake, I baked the cake again using bread flour. Bread flour gives the cake a more elastic and bouncy texture, closer to bread, which is a trademark of Castella cake. Using cake flour yields a softer cake similar to a light sponge cake, in this case delightfully-flavored with honey. My family and I love both cakes which are delicious in different ways.

Because the ingredients and process are incredibly simple, and the cake so light and tasty, I have made this a number of times since discovering the great recipe. In fact, this recipe is so simple that I find the "hardest" part measuring and making sure the parchment paper fits nicely into the baking pan!

The recipe I am sharing today uses cake flour, which is the version I bake more often. Feel free to replace it with bread flour if you are looking to bake an authentic Castella cake. Or experiment with both to see which one you prefer......




Recipe (Adapted from Just One Cookbook)
Makes 1 lb loaf pan cake
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Ingredients
3 large eggs, room temperature
90g (7 tbsp) sugar
100g cake flour
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp warm water

Steps:



Measure and cut parchment paper to fit baking pan. Use cooking spray or butter to help paper stick to sides of pan.

Preheat oven at 320 deg F (160 deg C).

Add honey to warm water and mix well. Sift cake flour twice.

Beat eggs using mixer (with whisk) on high speed till frothy. Add sugar and beat till the eggs are thick and pale yellow, about 4 times the original volume. The mixture should fall in ribbons (i.e. form lines) when you lift the whisk up.

Turn to low speed, add honey water to mixture and mix till well-integrated.

Keep at low speed, add flour in 3 batches till well-integrated with batter. Do not over-mix. Scrap down the sides of bowl with spatula 1-2 times to ensure even mixing.

Pour batter into the parchment paper-lined baking pan. Use a chopstick to draw zigzag lines in the batter to remove any big bubbles. Drop the baking pan from 2-3 inches height a number of times to release air bubbles.

Bake cake in preheated oven at 320 deg F (160 deg C) for 35-40 minutes till golden-brown. When done, open the oven door slightly and allow cake to rest for a few minutes before removing from oven.

Peel off parchment paper. Wrap the cake with plastic wrap to keep it moist and turn the cake upside down for a flat top. Allow cake to mostly cool down before slicing and serving. Any unfinished cake should be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in refrigerator for a few days.


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