Hi, I’m Francis,
the host of this show "Cooking with Dog."
First, let’s make the batter.
Add the warm milk to the honey in a bowl.
Mix it evenly with a spatula.
Add the egg
and lightly beat with a hand mixer.
Then, add the sugar.
Continue to whip the mixture at a medium speed
until the color turns white,
and it reaches a soft peak stage.
Now, switch to a low speed
and break any relatively large air bubbles.
Next, add the baking powder
to the bread flour and mix.
Then, place the powder into a mesh strainer.
And sieve it into the egg mixture.
Lightly mix at a low speed.
Avoid overmixing
otherwise the castella will lose its fluffy texture.
When all the flour is moistened,
turn off the mixer.
And now, let’s make the baby castella.
Coat the takoyaki mold with vegetable oil.
Turn the heat to low
and place the batter into the molds.
Each mold should be about 7 to 8 parts full.
The batter is light and foamy
so it’s a little difficult to place it into the molds
but you will be rewarded
with soft and fluffy castella later.
Cover with a lid.
When the top is still wet and the small air bubbles
on the surface begin to break,
combine 2 pieces together and lightly press them.
If the surface is dry,
they will not stick together so please do it quickly.
Then, rotate the baby castella to brown the sides.
Cover again and cook the inside on low heat.
Unlike suzu castella,
baby castella is entirely browned.
It is often sold as a snack at festivals
and known by a variety of names,
depending on the area of Japan.
Now, they are ready.
Place the baby castella onto a cooling rack.
Next, we will show you
how to make the suzu castella.
Clean the plate and re-oil the mold.
Then, place the batter into the molds.
The heat should remain on low but this time,
each mold should be completely full.
Cover.
When the bottom of the castella is
thoroughly browned, flip the pieces over.
The half browned round shape
looks like a bell, doesn’t it?
Suzu means bell in Japanese
so that is why we call these suzu castella.
Reduce the heat to the lowest possible heat.
Cover and cook the inside
but try not to brown the bottom.
Now, they are ready.
Place the suzu castella onto the cooling rack.
When the suzu castella are slightly cooled,
place them into a plastic bag with sugar.
Slightly cooling the castella
will help them to coat thinly and evenly,
making them more presentable.
These castella are still fluffy and delicious
when cooled or even the next day
and they can be stored in the freezer.
Alternatively, you can make slightly
different versions by adding sweet bean paste
or melting cheese as a filling.
Good luck in the kitchen!