Castella Cake

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 7 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (60 ml) whole milk
• ¼ cup (60 ml) honey
• 1½ cups (200 g) bread flour, sifted
• 1 tsp. kosher salt

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Spray the loaf pan liberally with the cooking spray and then line the bottoms and sides with parchment paper.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment (or a hand-held mixer or an egg beater), beat the eggs on medium speed until well blended. Turn up to medium-high speed and with the motor running, add the sugar one-third at a time over about 10 minutes. Don’t rush this process: It is important to go slowly to ensure airiness.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and honey and heat over very low heat just to lukewarm, stirring constantly until the honey melts, about 15 seconds. If too hot, the milk will curdle.
4. Lower the speed to medium, then add half of the warm milk mixture to the egg mixture and beat it in for just a few seconds. Then add half of the bread flour and the salt, beating at low speed until it is completely incorporated.
5. Add the rest of the warm milk mixture, beating at medium speed until it is well incorporated. Then add the remaining bread flour, and beat until it is well incorporated. (At this point, the batter should be fluffy, and light yellow ribbons should form when you lift up a beater. If your batter is not light and fluffy, you might end up with a dense Castella cake that’s more like pound cake than sponge cake, but it will still taste good.)
6. Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap it to get rid of air bubbles. Then bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it onto on a wire rack. Once the cake has cooled completely, slice into thick rectangles and serve. (Cake or leftover slices can be frozen for up to a month, then defrosted. They’re best warmed in a toaster oven.)