Easy Taiwanese Castella Cake Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links.Here is Taiwanese Castella Cake in pandan flavor, the soft, fluffy sponge cake that melts in the mouth! Its golden crust with bouncy texture makes it very popular worldwide.
If you’ve ever strolled through Taiwan’s bustling streets, you’ve probably seen giant, golden slabs of Taiwanese Castella cake taking over bakery displays. Baked in massive pans, sliced into thick, jiggly rectangles, and boxed up for eager customers, this soufflé-soft sponge cake is a Taiwanese icon.
Originally introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders (who called it Pão de Castela), this cake evolved into Japan’s Kasutera before making its way to Taiwan—where it became a next-level fluffy sensation. Now, it’s popping up everywhere, from Seoul’s cafes to Indonesian home bakeries, where creative twists like pandan, purple yam, and strawberry jam are stealing the spotlight.
Imagine a cake so soft it jiggles, with a delicate honey sweetness and a melt-in-your-mouth crumb. The secret? A water bath bake (au bain-marie), which gives it that ultra-soft texture. Unlike chiffon cake (which requires an un-greased pan and an upside-down cooling method), Castella is baked in a lined, greased pan, so the sides stay buttery-smooth.
I’ve baked the classic version before, but this time, I gave it a tropical upgrade with pandan extract. The result? A fragrant, emerald-green cake with that signature caramelized crust and cloud-like bounce.
Castella Cake vs. Chiffon Cake
Castella Cake: Lined with parchment, baked in a water bath, and so jiggly. Plus, no pan-flipping needed—just pure, bouncy bliss.
Chiffon Cake: No grease, no mercy—you must flip the pan upside down to cool, or it’ll collapse. The texture? Slightly drier, but still airy.
If you love the airy texture with more dry crumbs, you should check Pandan Chiffon Cake.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Ingredients to Note
Cake flour – You can use all-purpose flour if you want, but cake flour is better because it contains less gluten. It can produce a softer, more jiggly cake.
Oil / butter – Oil or butter is the ingredient to make the cake moist. In Taiwan, the bakers use oil for castella cake. In this recipe, although I use melted butter with no oil, it still creates a jiggly, soft, fluffy texture.
Pandan extract – I use my own homemade pandan extract. 1-2 tablespoon is enough to get the fresh green color for the cake.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
Substitutions & Variations
To subtitute lemon juice, you can use cream of tartar, lime juice or white vinegar. The meringue needs a little bit of acidity to make it stabil.
Get creative with flavors—try taro, coffee, strawberry, or matcha green tea variations of this recipe!
How to Make Pandan Castella Cake
STEP 1. Line the baking pan with parchment paper, at the bottom and the sides. Prepare a bigger pan to accommodate the pan with the cake batter. In a bowl, put in the egg yolks, add milk, pandan extract, and flour (Image 1). Whisk well. Pour in melted butter (Image 2). Whisk until the butter blends in the batter (Image 3). In another bowl, beat the egg white with low speed first (Image 4).
STEP 2. Add the sugar in three parts while still mixing the egg white (Image 5). Pour in lemon juice. Turn the speed up. Beat until it reaches soft peak. You can see the meringue creates a hook (Image 6). Take some of the meringue, put into the egg yolk batter (Image 7). Whisk until it blends (Image 8).
STEP 3. Transfer it back to the meringue bowl and whisk well (Image 9). The batter should be thick and pale (Image 10). Pour into the lined baking pan (Image 11). Use a bamboo skewer to let the air bubbles out by stirring it gently (Image 12).
STEP 4. Pour hot water in the bigger baking pan (Image 13). Bake 150°C or 302°F for 60-70 minutes or until the cake is golden brown on the top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (Image 14). After it is done, remove the cake from the oven, let it cool for a moment, take it out from the pan by lifting the baking paper. Peel the paper carefully and cut the cake (Images 15, 16).
Pro Tips
- Remember to line up the baking pan, the bottom and the sides. The height of the parchment paper at the sides can be higher than the pan. This is to help remove the cake from the pan after it is baked.
- When beating the egg whites, you know it is soft peak when it forms a hook at the end.
- Always check the oven to prevent the top burning too dark.
FAQs about Taiwanese Castella Cake
There are many variations of Taiwanese Castella Cake. Many variations include Taro, Green Tea Matcha, Chocolate, Pandan, Cheese.
This cake can only stay fresh 3-4 days. However, you can wrap the cake and put it in the freezer for longer shelf life. When you are ready to consume it, you can thaw it in room temperature or warm it in the oven for a few minutes.
You can serve castella cake in room temperature, waiting it to cool down a little bit after baking.
Make sure the egg whites are whipped to medium-stiff peaks (not dry). The water bath should be simmering not boiling.
Storage
Keep this cake in a closed contaiKeep it wrapped at room temp for 2 days or refrigerated (3-5 days). Reheat slices in the microwave for 10 seconds to restore softness.ner in the chiller for 3-4 days.
More Soft, Fluffy Cakes
Taiwanese Castella Cake
Ingredients
Pandan Batter
- 80 gr milk
- 48 gr butter melt
- 65 gr all purpose flour
- 4 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp pandan extract
Meringue
- 4 egg white
- 80 gr sugar
- ½ tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Melt the butter. Use microwave or put the butter in a bowl and set it on a bowl of hot water. Do no let it boil. Set aside to let it cool.
- In a bowl, put in the egg yolks, milk, and melted butter.
- Sieve the flour into the bowl.
- Add pandan extract.
- Mix well using a whisk. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites using a hand mixer.
- Put in the sugar in 3 parts.
- Put in the lemon juice. Beat the egg whites until soft peak is reached. Check the video.
- Take some of the meringue into the pandan batter. Mix well using a whisk. And pour back to the meringue bowl and mix it well.
- Mix well. Put the batter into a piping bag. Set aside.
- Pour the whole pandan batter into the pan.Do not forget to line up the pan with parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 150°C for 60 – 70 minutes. Put a pan with water at the bottom of the oven.
- Take out the cake from the oven. Gently pull the cake from the baking pan. Peel the parchment paper carefully. Let it cool completely. Slice them and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Remember to line up the baking pan, the bottom and the sides. The height of the parchment paper at the sides can be higher than the pan. This is to help remove the cake from the pan after it is baked.
- When beating the egg whites, you know it is soft peak when it forms a hook at the end.
- Always check the oven to prevent the top burning too dark.
I love the soft, fluffy texture of this cake and with pandan flavor, you get a bonus of a very fragrant cake!