Japanese Castella Cake / Kasutera

This is my first Castella Cake!  I had no idea how Castella Cake taste like, but I am very happy that my first Castella Cake turned out so well.  Thank you Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids for sharing her Best & Fail Proof Japanese Castella Cake/ Kasutera recipe which she adapted from here.  This cake is definitely different from the normal sponge cake.  It is very moist and has a fine but chewy compact texture due to the gluten content in the bread flour.  

I read that the traditional Castella cake is made of just four basic ingredients - bread flour, eggs, sugar and honey. However, this version veered from the traditional recipe which has no oil or milk in it.  I am sure the addition of oil and milk in Zoe's recipe makes the cake softer and moist.  

Egg yolks mixture:
50g milk
30g coconut oil
40g honey 
55g egg yolks (about 3), room temperature
40g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
115g bread flour (sift twice)

Egg whites mixture:
104g egg whites (about 3), room temperature
50g caster sugar

1. Line the inside of a (20.5 x 10 x 7.5 cm) loaf pan with two layers of aluminium foil then two more layers of baking paper over it.  
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Position a rack on the second level (from the bottom of the oven).
3. Place milk, coconut oil and honey into a small saucepan and cook over low heat to just melt the honey.  (Do not boil it as it will curdle the mixture).  Set aside to cool slightly (about 10 mins).
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale. Whisk in the honey mixture.  Then sift flour into the mixture and mix until everything is combined.
5. Beat egg whites (using an electric mixer) under medium-low speed until foamy. Increase to medium speed and gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and the meringue looks glossy. 
6. Add one-third of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture and whisk lightly to combine until it is well incorporated (this is to lighten the batter which will help you fold the rest of the meringue through easily and more evenly).  With a silicon spatula, gently fold in the rest of the meringue in two batches.
7. Pour batter into the prepared pan.  Gently drop the pan onto the kitchen bench from a height of 10cm (this is to remove any large air bubbles).
8. Bake the cake at 180°C for 10 mins.  Decrease temperature to 140°C  and bake for another 1 hour **  Lightly press the cake with your finger, if it bounces back, that means your cake is done.
9. Remove the cake from the oven.  Gently drop the pan onto the kitchen bench from a height of 10cm - to prevent shrinkage.
10. Remove cake from the pan and discard the foil and baking paper. Immediately wrap the cake with cling film to keep it moist.  Store in an airtight container for at least one day.
11. To serve, slice off the sides of of the cake with a sharp knife and cut into thick slices. 

This is how I lined my baking pan

** 
For my oven, I baked the cake at 180°C for 10 mins, then 140°C for 1 hr 30 min to get a beautiful colour.  
Each oven works differently and you need to experiment with your own oven and adjust accordingly. It is always better to over-bake slightly rather than under-bake because under-cooked cakes will shrink after cooling.