Description
This easy Japanese honey castella muffin recipe creates light, airy sponge cakes with a sweet glaze. Perfect for teatime or a soft dessert treat.
Ingredients
Units
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For the batter
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp warm milk
- 1/2 cup (60g) cake flour, sifted
- 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
For the meringue
- 3 egg whites, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
For the glaze
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, mix together the honey and warm milk until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, and oil. Slowly stir in the honey-milk mixture.
- Sift in the cake flour and mix until smooth and thick like pancake batter. Set aside.
- In a separate clean medium bowl, beat the egg whites with lemon juice until foamy. Gradually add the sugar in thirds, continuing to beat until you reach medium-stiff glossy peaks — the meringue should hold shape but still look silky.
- Start by adding ⅓ of the meringue into the yolk batter and folding it in a “J” motion, scraping the bottoms until one uniform colour. Then gently fold in the remaining meringue in two parts using a spatula, fold carefully to preserve the air.
- Spoon the batter (or carefully pour into a piping bag and pipe the batter into the cupcake liners for better control) into prepared muffin cups almost to the top (around 90%). Tap the tray gently once to pop any large air pockets.
- Place the cupcake tin onto a shallow tray filled with warm water (around 1 inch high)
- Bake at 300°F (150°C) for about 40 minutes, or until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean. If using a water bath, place the muffin tray into a larger pan with hot water halfway up the sides.
- While muffins bake, melt the butter and honey together and mix. Once muffins are out of the oven, brush the tops while warm for that shiny finish.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Japanese