Chocolate Taiwanese Castella Cake

Ingredients

• 68 g Sugar (For the meringue)
• 168 g Egg whites (For the meringue; may be chilled in the freezer for 10–15 minutes before whipping, or whipped without freezing)
• 1 g Salt (For the meringue)
• 5 g Rice vinegar (For the meringue)
• 50 g Cake flour
• 20 g Cocoa powder
• 45 g Corn oil (Heat to 75–80°C for the hot-oil method)
• 75 g Egg yolks
• 75 g Milk (For the milk mixture)
• 3 g Instant coffee (For the milk mixture)
• 1 g Vanilla extract (Concentrated)

Steps

1. 1

   If desired, place the egg whites in the freezer for 10–15 minutes to help make the whipped meringue more stable; they can also be whipped without chilling. Prepare a water bath for baking. The source does not specify a pan size or water-bath setup.

2. 2

   Heat the corn oil to 75–80°C. Pour it over the cake flour and cocoa powder to scald the flour, then mix until smooth.

3. 3

   Add the milk, instant coffee, and concentrated vanilla extract to the flour mixture in three additions. Each time, mix until the batter is smooth and free of lumps before adding the next portion.

4. 4

   Add the egg yolks to the batter and mix until smooth.

5. 5

   Whip the egg whites with the sugar, salt, and rice vinegar until they reach soft peaks. The meringue should look fine-textured and glossy.

6. 6

   Fold about one-quarter of the meringue into the batter and mix until combined.

7. 7

   Pour the batter mixture back into the remaining meringue and mix quickly until evenly combined. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl so no meringue remains unmixed.

8. 8

   Pour the batter into the cake pan. Use a chopstick to disperse large air bubbles, then tap the pan twice to release more bubbles.

9. 9

   Bake in a water bath at 140°C for 20 minutes, then at 130°C for 50 minutes. The creator says that for a convection oven, a wire rack can hold a sheet of aluminum foil above the cake to prevent it from drying too quickly; the exact arrangement is not fully specified.

10. 10

    Unmold the cake immediately after baking. It can be eaten warm or chilled; the creator says it is enjoyable either way.

Notes

The post says the full recipe would be uploaded to the author's blog, so some details are missing, including pan size and exact pan preparation. The video mentions a water bath and describes an aluminum-foil arrangement for a convection oven, but does not clearly explain the pan setup.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• baked
• Taiwanese
• chocolate
• castella
• water bath
• gluten-containing