Castella has its origins in the pão de castella that was brought to Nagasaki by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. This is the Maruto Seika Semi-Baked Castella.
The cake was 14 cm in diameter and 4 cm in height. The castella was made with a small amount of flour and sugar with a large number of eggs (egg and sugar (45%) are its first and second ingredients) and then baked only a little to achieve a soft and moist texture.
The cake had a rich aroma of egg and sugar, which reminded us of our time in Nagasaki when we woke up every morning to the divine smells of castella being baked next door at a famous castella shop situated next to our hotel. Upon tasting, the cake had a dense crumb with a richly moist egg flavour evident from the first bite, while the sweetness of the cake caught us off guard with its intensity in the finish. However, eaten at room temperature, the sweetness created a more moist mouthfeel after warming on the palate, although a few seconds in the microwave loosened the dense crumb for a more immediate lightness and moist mouthfeel.
This Maruto Seika Semi-Baked Castella contained 165 g. It was produced in Japan and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2022.