is a type of Japanese sponge cake and is known for its sweet, moist

brioche Brioche (, also , , ) is a bread of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. Chef Joël Robuchon described it as "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and e ...

-style flavour and texture. It is based on cakes introduced to Japan by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. It was then popularized in the city of

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, where it is considered a specialty. Despite its foreign origins, it is considered a kind of ''

wagashi is traditional Japanese confectionery, typically made using plant-based ingredients and with an emphasis on seasonality. ''Wagashi'' generally makes use of cooking methods that pre-date Western influence in Japan. It is often served with green ...

'', or traditional Japanese confectionery. To suit the tastes of Japanese people, '' mizuame'' syrup was added to the sponge cake to make it more moist, and ''zarame'' (coarse sugar) was added to the bottom to give it a coarser texture. Castella is usually baked in square or rectangular molds, then cut and sold in long boxes, with the cake inside being approximately long.

Etymology

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The word "castella" is derived from the Portuguese , meaning "cake from Castile". Its closest relative is '' pão-de-ló'', a Portuguese cake. ''Pão-de-ló'' can be in turned derived from the French ''Pain de lof'' or ''Gâteau de Savoie''. Similar European sponge cakes also reference Spain in their names, such as in , in , in , in , in , in , and in . Castile was a former kingdom of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, comprising its north-central provinces, thus these names are quasi-synonymous with "bread from Castile".

History

In the 16th century, the Portuguese reached Japan and soon started trade and missionary work.

was then the only Japanese port open for foreign commerce. This exchange, called the Nanban trade, brought many new things to Japan. The Portuguese introduced things such as

guns A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

s, and cakes baked with wheat flour, eggs, and milk. Castella cakes could be stored for a long time, and so were useful for the sailors who were out on the sea for months. In the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, in part due to the cost of sugar, castella was an expensive dessert to make despite the ingredients sold by the Portuguese. When the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

's envoy was invited, the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

presented them with castella cakes. Over the years, the taste changed to suit Japanese palates.

Varieties

There are now many varieties made with ingredients such as powdered green tea,

brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

, and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

. They may be molded in various shapes; a popular Japanese festival food is ''baby castella'', a bite-sized version. ''Siberia'', castella cake filled with '' yōkan'' (sweet bean jelly), was popular in the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

; it had a resurgence since it appeared in the 2013 animated film '' The Wind Rises'', by

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

. Castella mix is used for the pancakes that are sandwiched together with sweet

adzuki bean ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an Annual plant, annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East A ...

paste in the confection known as '' dorayaki''. Bunmeido Oyatsu-Castella.jpg, Regular and chocolate castella Castella.jpg, Strawberry castella Siberia2.jpg, Castella with '' yōkan'', called "Siberia" in Japan Peach castella.jpg, Peach castella

Taiwanese castella

Castella were first introduced to Taiwan during the age of

Taiwan under Japanese rule The Geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu, Penghu Islands, became an annexed territory of the Empire of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Taiwan Province, Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki a ...

. In 1968, Ye Yongqing, the owner of a Japanese bakery in Taipei named ''Nanbanto'', partnered with the Japanese company ''Nagasaki Honpu'' to establish a castella business. Taiwanese style castella () is generally more soufflé-like than the Japanese variety with a custard like center. A speciality of Tamsui is a simple pillow shaped castella cake. Taiwanese style castella has been introduced into Japan. In South Korea, Taiwanese castella cake was briefly a fashionable food item until its popularity collapsed due to an oversaturation of cake shops and accusations of excess

cooking oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing h ...

in the cakes. The 2019 film

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

briefly refers to the Taiwanese castella cake fad as the source of the Kim family's financial troubles. File:Taiwanese Casetella.jpg File:Taiwanese Castella 1.png File:Taiwanese Castella 2.png File:Taiwanese Castella 3.png File:Taiwanese Castella 4.png File:ファミマの台湾カステラ.jpg

Popular culture

In Tomihiko Morimi's novel ''The Tatami Galaxy'' (四畳半神話大系, ''Yojōhan Shinwa Taikei'') and its anime adaptation, castella cake is a recurring element. The protagonist, a Kyoto University student, often encounters slices of castella, which serve as a symbol of his university life and the choices he faces in various parallel universes. The presence of castella highlights its cultural significance in Japan and its association with moments of reflection in the narrative, emphasizing the impact of different life paths on his experiences.

Main manufacturers

Nagasaki BunmeidoubTotal headquarters 2011

*Founded in 1624: Castella Honke Fukusaya ( Nagasaki City,

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

) *Founded in 1681: Shooken (Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture) *Founded in 1900 ( Meiji 33): Bunmeidō (Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture) Known for the phrase "castella first, telephone number second" and in the Kanto region, commercials of bear puppets dancing can-can dances.

References

External links

{{Authority control Japanese fusion cuisine Portuguese fusion cuisine Japanese cakes