Castella is a popular Japanese sponge cake made from sugar, wheat flour, eggs and starch syrup.
It was developed in Japan based on the sweets that were introduced from Portugal in the 16th century.
The name comes from the Portuguese word “Pão de Castela”(Castile bread). Even when Western confectionery began to be made in earnest after the 19th century, it often happened that the dough was replaced with castella to Japanese taste.
It is now a specialty of Nagasaki.
What is Castella and and can I eat it?
Materials of Castella
Eggs, wheat flour, sugar, starch syrup
| with Egg |
| Food supermarket | Convenience store | Cake shop |
Castella is a soft cake with lots of sugar and eggs
Unlike sponge cake, castella uses starch syrup instead of butter to create a moist texture.
Also, a lot of eggs are used. For this reason, it used to be a gift for sick people as a nutritious food. It is an old wisdom that a lot of sugar is used to improve the preservation.
It was also a luxury item that used a lot of precious materials.
Try to eat Castella!
How much ?
$ 1～3 for 1 piece.
Where can I get Castella ?
Castella can be purchased at food supermarkets and convenience stores, but it is recommended that you purchase it at a castella specialty store. Here are some famous stores in Nagasaki snd Tokyo.
Fukusaya (Nagasaki)
Founded in 1624
Fukusaya was originally a trader. Therefore, they have become a confectionery maker, handling various items such as sugar.
In the 12th generation, they developed a high-class product for castella, which had a large distribution of eggs. Since that time, they have been holding a unique event to thank the eggs that we use every day as a material for “egg memorial service.”
Ueno Fugetsudo (Taito-ku, Tokyo)
Founded in 1747
At the time of its founding, there was no confectionery store like Kyoto in Tokyo. Therefore, the first generation came from Osaka with aspiration and opened a confectionery store. It quickly became a well-received store, and was highly evaluated by people in important positions in the government, and even offered sweets.
Castella is a special type for each one, and it is characterized by baking 6 sides.
Precautions when eating Castella
For Muslims
It does not contain any ingredients in question.
For vegetarians
No animal ingredients are used. However, some products use honey.
Japanese writer’s comment for Castella
The characteristic of Nagasaki-castella is that it has crystal sugar on the bottom. Some people are looking forward to eating the bottom part, which has a crispy texture added to the part that melts and becomes caramel-like.
Nagasaki is also a popular school trip destination in Japan, so all students buy castella as souvenirs and go home. If you buy one, it is heavy and expensive, but recently, the number of products in small packages is increasing.
By the way, castella has a long history, but some of the 300-year-old shoguns of the Edo Shogunate are said to have made castella themselves. Iesada of the 14th Shogun. He likes sweets, and he cooks pumpkin and beans sweetly and also makes castella.
