This lovely Matcha Kasutera (Green Tea Castella) is a must try. Its delicate texture and wonderful flavor is a real treat served with a cup of tea.
Would you believe there is such a thing as a “kasutera bug”? It seems to have gone viral again in the food blogosphere. I was told it made an appearance some years back where there was a frenzy of “kasuteritis”. Symptoms varied from deep despondence over sunken sponges to giddying heights over light and fluffy delights. Then there is the case of the perfectly smooth brown top versus the wrinkled martian landscape. The latter being much cause for the wringing of hands. If that wasn’t enough, one also has to contend with the flawless texture – spongy with no pores. Aah…the travails of “kasuteritis”! 😳
Castella Obsession
Obviously, I am into my second stage of “kasuteritis” because I cannot seem to tire of that fluffy confection. I decided to combine kasutera with matcha this time…bwahaha! Now I combine the fear of a collapsing kasutera with the anxiety of how much matcha and mirin to add to the concoction. As if life wasn’t stressful enough!
To refrigerate or Not to Refrigerate
I managed to replicate the spongy appeal in this Matcha Kasutera (Green Tea Castella) but I did have a matcha and mirin deficit. Definitely double up on the two ingredients next time. The top was much smoother this time but it was not as brown as before…sigh! I did do away with the parchment paper and that stopped the shrinkage. Then I tried something else as well.
Someone suggested refrigerating the cake to improve moistness and I read here that it is an essential step. Since I doubled the size of the cake this time compared to the last one, I was able to have my cake and still eat it…hehehe! I cut a portion for instant gratification and kept the other nicely wrapped in the refrigerator overnight. I am happy to report that it was indeed more moist!
Please note that I have doubled the matcha and mirin in the recipe below. I only used one tablespoon of each in the cake I made.
Similar Tools Used in Making This Matcha Kasutera (Green Tea Castella)
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KitchenAid Professional 5 Plus Series Stand Mixers – Metallic Chrome
Square Cake Tin, 8 Inches, Nonstick
Square Cake Pan, 8 inch, Nonstick & Quick Release Coating
Matcha Kasutera (Green Tea Castella)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Line an 8 in x 8in (20cm x 20cm) cake pan with aluminum foil. Sieve bread flour and matcha together twice so that matcha is evenly mixed into the flour. Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C).
- Place egg whites in mixing bowl and beat at high speed (speed 10*) for 30 seconds until slightly foamy. Add sugar in 2 to 3 increments until firm peaks form, about 4 minutes.
- Add yolks one at a time at medium low speed (speed 4*) until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add sifted bread flour and matcha mixture and beat until just combined. Add mirin and continue to beat for another minute.
- Pour batter through a sieve into cake pan. Press with a spatula to help batter go through sieve. Tap pan on the counter to remove air bubbles. Using a spatula, smoothen the top of batter to remove any remaining bubbles.
- Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until top is evenly browned. Toothpick inserted into cake should come out clean.
- Remove pan from oven and drop it from a one foot height onto the counter to prevent shrinkage. Place a piece of parchment paper on a large piece of shrink wrap. When cake is cool enough to handle, lift cake up by holding the edge of aluminum foil. Turn cake upside down onto parchment paper. Peel off aluminum foil. Wrap shrink wrap over cake and leave overnight in the refrigerator (right side up) to preserve moisture in the cake and for flavor to develop. Alternatively, warm cake can also be put into a Ziploc bag with the foil and left in the refrigerator (right side up) overnight.
- To serve, cut off edges on all sides except the top and bottom with a very sharp knife. Then cut into thick slices using a sawing motion.
Notes
Nutrition
If you are planning to use a wooden mold, do check out my dear friend’s blog Anncoo Journal who has also been bitten by the “kasutera bug”. 🙂
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
huiyin says
Hi
May I know where I can get the green tea powder?
Biren says
Hi Huiyin! Thanks for visiting. Are you in Singapore? If so, I think you should be able to buy matcha from the food section in Takashimaya or Isetan.
Cheah says
Mama mia! This is what I’ve been looking for. Looks sooooooo good. Oh yes, this bug is contagious. But one question, can I omit the mirin or is there a substitute?
Biren says
Mirin is a sweet rice wine. You can substitute it with sake or sherry but I don’t think you need any more sugar as the cake is sufficiently sweet. Alternatively, you can omit it altogether.
Zoe says
Biren, this is another amazing Castella cake! I’m getting the “castella fever” from you too…
Biren says
Castella fever hitting the shores of Australia? It really is spreading! 🙂
Ann@Anncoo Journal says
Oh my!! The bug is still growing…hahaa.. I can’t wait to try this matcha flavour. 🙂
Biren says
Ann, can’t wait to see yours. I am sure it will be gorgeous. Definitey add more matcha for a deeper color and flavor. 🙂
Cynthia says
HI Biren,
Your Matcha Kasutera was gorgeous, and I will definitely make one this weekend, thanks for sharing 😉
p/s: I have got the “kasutera bug” too…..LOL
Biren says
Thanks Cynthia! Nice of you to visit. Can’t wait to see yours. Your fever must be full blown! 😉
Marsha @ The Harried Cook says
LOL @ the fever symptoms 🙂 I think the bug is spreading to India… I would LOVE to try this one soon… The matcha variant sounds great!
Biren says
Marsha, you have to try this cake. It is really light. Amazing that it can rise with no butter and leavening agent!
Hody Loh says
my oven can not put 8×8 baking pan.can i use the honey castella amount and just add 5g of green tea powder?i just try to make honey castella.it taste good.
Biren says
Most definitely! Since the honey castella is half the size of this matcha one, a tablespoon (5g) of matcha powder will be just right. Do let me know how it turned out. 🙂
petite nyonya says
I think I might just let myself get bitten by the kasutera bug real soon! Looks really good!
kitchen flavours says
Looks wonderful! Have seen this in Anncoo’s blog today. I have not tried this cake before, am curious now! Have a lovely day!
Mina Joshi says
Love all the cakes you bake. This one looks great. Oh and your blog is looking better and better every day. I can see the love and devotion you are giving to it.
Biren says
Thanks Mina! Yes, I have been “spring cleaning” and giving this blog minor facelifts. Still some way to go with updating the recipes to the current format.
Jeannie says
Another beautiful bake, I was wondering, most recipes said do not use the mixer to mix in the flour but for this recipe you even go as far as to sieve the batter and yet manage to obtain such fluffy cake.Amazing!
Biren says
I really like this recipe as it is pretty much fuss-free alhough patience is required in allowing the cake to sit overnight. Do give it a try! 🙂
Julie M. says
This bread sounds like it was an exercise in patience! By the looks of it, though, it was definitely worth the effort. Just gorgeous!
Yi @ Yi Resevation says
ok this recipe has been bookmarked and it will be put to use this weekend! I’ve been trying to make a fluffy macha sponage cake but have not had much success for the past few tries (and wasted a good amount of green tea powerder).
Your cake looks just stunning! I can’t to try it out!!
Biren says
Happy trying! Can’t wait to see your cake. 🙂
Alan (travellingfoodies) says
you gals are amazing! churning out one castella after another. The texture really looks fantastic! I’ll try it out once I’m done with the macarons!
Biren says
You have to join in the fun and bake one of these. Perhaps I’ll jump on the macaron bandwagon one of these days. 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I love the matcha flavour..it looks beautiful.
Pam says
You are amazing with all the good things you cook. This cake has to be delicious and I’d love to have a slice of it right now!
Reeni says
The texture is so perfect and even Biren! I don’t know how you resisted! What a wonderful treat! I hope I catch that bug.
Lucy @ Lucyeats says
I think you have passed the bug onto me now, Biren. I love matcha flavoured things!
Biren says
I hope you will give it a try Lucy. 🙂
Raymund says
When I see cakes and pastries like this I feel like going to the Japanese bakeshop near our place, that looks so perfectly made!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
I want to make it as soon as I have a chance… I’ve been crazy busy that I don’t have the capacity to cook and bake at this moment, but I’m VERY serious about making kastuera one day! Hope I can show you when I bake. =) Have a great weekend!
Lyndsey says
Biren you make me smile:) Love all this sponginess going on around here. it looks perfect. I will have to try something with my matcha powder. Not a green tea drink fan, but I’ll bet it’s good in other things. I will let you know!
Chris says
Wow … making my hands itch to try this soon.
Biren says
Do give it a try. It is popping up everywhere on the net. Hope to see yours soon. 🙂
Chris says
Precisely … I just had the original flavour for breakfast this morning.
Sofie Dittmann @thegermanfoodie says
I loved the last version of this, but w/ GREEN TEA? Also, I can relate w/ the “bug”, I’ve had the same issues over macarons… LOL
Betty@YummyWorkshop says
That looks yum, Biren! Made me hungry 😉
Elin says
I want to try this out with the matcha flavor 🙂 since everyone is raving about it :))))
Magic of Spice says
Looks like a “bug” I would not mind catching 🙂 What a beautiful cake!
soh says
Hi, last weekend I baked this cake, it turned out so fluffy macha sponage cake, also fold my own paper pan.
Thank you for all your tips and sharing.
Biren says
Wow…you made your own cardboard pan? I am so glad to hear that your cake turned out well. I do appreciate you coming back to let me know. 🙂
soh says
Hi Biren, yes I using paper to fold it, I will try to get my girl to help see can upload a phote to show you my paper pan and my cake.
Thank you.
Biren says
I would love to see your cardboard box. If you can’t upload it here, please send the picture to my email address found in my contact page under the About tab on the top of this page. I will share your picture on my Facebook fan page. Do check out my page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roti-n-Rice/242815743598. Thank you. 🙂
Ah Tze says
hop over from Angie’s blog to see your beautiful Casttela!! Glad to know this cake can be done without the wooden mould!
Biren says
Thanks Ah Tze for visiting! I hope you will give this cake a try. It is easier than it sounds. 🙂
Ah Tze says
Hi Biren, just to let you know that I’ve tried this recipe, the cake is really lovely! Thanks for your detail photos illustration and your selfless sharing of the baking tips!
Biren says
You are most welcomed Ah Tze! Thank you for your kind words. I will be sharing yet another kasutera recipe soon and will summarize all the measurements and pan sizes in that post. Hope to get the post out next week. 🙂
Rie says
Biren, I tried this recipe. I replace green tea with pandan juice. Very happy with the outcome. Thank you for sharing all these lovely recipes.
Biren says
Yay…so glad to hear you are happy with the outcome! Pandan juice is an excellent flavoring for this cake.
You are most welcomed, Rie. I hope you continue to find inspiration here. 🙂
Max says
first of all, i enjoy surfing your website of overflowing recipes and creations, it’s been a pleasure, and would like to try to make this matcha kasutera.
i love green tea, and have been browsing for fluffy texture items as for my mum’s sake after her root canal removal, she can’t take solids.
i’ve looked through your collection of kasutera bug from honey to neapolitan to this. a few questions before i try this recipe.
1) is this recipe possible to do without mirin? i know it isn’t the same without its sweet rice wine taste, but i can’t seem to find mirin from where i am :C
2) is it possible to adjust this matcha recipe of 8in x 8in measurement with neapolitan measurement of B choice of pan which is 9in x 5in x 2.5in? by adjusting i meant using B pan measurement choice instead of the ones here. or perhaps if you don’t mind to help me adjust a 9 by 5 measurement for this matcha recipe, that would have been most helpful 🙂
3) can i use baking paper to line up the entire pan with baking paper instead of aluminium foil?
thank you so much Biren, i look forward for your reply.
Biren says
Hi Max! Thanks for the kind words. 🙂
1. If you can’t find mirin, you can mix 1/4 cup (60ml) dry sherry with 1 teaspoon sugar. Then use 2 tablespoon of that sherry mixture for the 8 in x 8 in cake.
2. Yes, you can use the measurements for B choice of pan for this matcha castella recipe. That table is for all 3 flavors of castella.
3. You can give the baking paper a try. In my honey castella, I used both aluminum foil and parchment paper. The parchment paper pulled back together with the cake (as explained above), thus causing a little more shrinkage. That is the reason why I decided to do away with the parchment paper.
I hope this helps. Happy baking!
Vivianne says
Ahhh! >.< i just made this but when i put it through the sieve it was too thick!! O_O any suggestions what happened??
Biren says
Try using a coarser sieve so that the batter can go through it. A very fine sieve would not work.