Pão de Ló or Pão de Castela, is a light and airy Portuguese-style sponge cake. Not only does it taste wonderful but it is easy to make. It only has 3 main ingredients that are easy to access: flour, eggs, and sugar. It has no butter or any fat.
Learn to Make Pão de Ló
(Portuguese Sponge Cake)
Today I am sharing a traditional Portuguese-style Sponge Cake recipe. It is called Pão de Ló or Pão de Castela‘. It is a light and airy sponge cake. You can serve it either warm from the oven or you can also serve it at room temperature.
Not only does it taste wonderful but it is easy to make. It only has 3 main ingredients that are easy to access: flour, eggs, and sugar. It has no butter or any fat.
You’ll find, here, an easy-to-follow recipe with step-by-step instructions, helpful info, and tips. I hope you’ll try this recipe and enjoy it with your loved ones!! It will be your new favorite.
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About Pão de Ló
Pão de Ló is a Portuguese-style sponge cake from the 15th century. There are many variations. These include Pão de Ló de Ovar, Pão de Ló de Alfeizerão, and Pão de Ló de Margaride.
The differences are in the number of ingredients and the baking time. Extra ingredients are sometimes added to it, like salt, baking soda, and lemon zest.
Most families have their version of Pão de Ló. It can be moister, softer, or denser, according to personal taste and family tradition.
Ingredients
Pão de Ló is made with mainly 3 ingredients.
- Eggs: Room-temperature eggs
- Sugar: White granulated sugar
- Flour: All-purpose flour or plain flour
- Salt: A pinch of salt (optional)
About this Recipe; How to Make it
The batter is prepared by beating the egg yolks and whole eggs together. The persistent and prolonged beating of eggs with sugar incorporates air bubbles into the cake mix. This process ultimately creates the cake’s light and airy texture.
This is called the no-egg separation method. It is an old-fashioned way of making sponge cake that will give you good results with less effort. So, you don’t need to separate the eggs and then beat the egg whites separately.
It is vital to carefully fold the flour into the egg mixture. You can use a spatula. Alternatively, you can use a hand mixer at low speed. This way, you won’t ruin the precious air bubbles, or overdevelop the gluten otherwise the cake will be dense.
When baking, you need to decide how moist you want the cake to be. For this recipe, I leave the cake in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean. Adjust the baking time depending on the firmness of the cake that you want.
Type and size of pan to use
Traditionally, Portuguese sponge cakes are baked in a large clay pot lined with sheets of baking paper or parchment paper. You can use a bunt cake pan or another pan that has a hole in the center. Make sure to grease, and line the pan with parchment paper.
Useful Tips
- Use a large bowl that holds at least 5 times the volume of the unbeaten eggs.
- Place the mixing bowl over a hot water bath (40°C/100°F) to keep the eggs warm. The volume of the eggs will increase faster if the egg/sugar mixture is warm.
- Beat the eggs with an electric mixer at low to medium-high speed. It is better than high speed to yield a smooth egg mixture. It just takes a few minutes longer.
- It is very important to beat the eggs to the “ribbon stage”. You can test the consistency by lifting some of the batter with the whisk. The batter should drop down in the trail and stay visible before disappearing into the batter.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve it either warm from the oven or you can also serve it at room temperature. It is a versatile cake that can be eaten as is without any cream or topping. It can also be used as a basis for other more elaborate desserts. It will pair well with all kinds of different toppings. So just experiment with the toppings you choose.
Variation
Kasutera (Japanese Castella Cake)
In the 16th century, Portuguese merchants and missionaries sailed to the port of Nagasaki in Japan. They left the recipe of pão-de-ló, at the time known as “pão de Castela“. The Japanese adapted it and named it “Castella“ or “Kasutera“.
Kasutera (Japanese Castella Cake)
It is super easy to make at home.
Similar Cake Recipes to Try
Taiwanese Castella Cake Recipe – This Taiwanese Castella Cake is light and soft like cotton. It is super easy to make at home.
Beginner-friendly step-by-step recipe for making a light 4-ingredient oil sponge cake. You just need eggs, flour, sugar, and oil.
Pão de Ló (Portuguese Sponge Cake)
Step-by-Step Recipe
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Equipment
A 20cm Bundt Pan
Ingredients
4 egg yolks, at room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
150 g granulated sugar
120 g all-purpose flour, sifted
A pinch of salt
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 170°C and set the oven rack to the middle position. Rub butter or margarine on the bottom and side of a bundt cake pan.
Line it with 2 to 3 sheets of parchment paper. Make sure the sides of the pan are fully covered and the middle is open as shown in the photo.
Gather the ingredients; eggs, sugar, flour, and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar until thick and foamy. Use medium-high speed until the mixture is voluminous and thick. It takes 10 to 15 minutes with a hand mixer. I placed the mixing bowl over a hot water bath (40°C) to keep the eggs warm. The volume of the eggs increases faster when the egg/sugar mixture is warm.
It is very important to beat the eggs to the “ribbon stage”. You can test the consistency by lifting some of the batter with the whisk. The batter should drop down in the trail and stay visible before disappearing into the batter.
Once the egg mixture is ready, remove the bowl from the bowl of warm water. Gently fold in the sifted flour with a spatula. You can also use the hand mixer on low speed. Mix until the mixture is well incorporated. Make sure there are no lumps.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 160°C and continue to bake for about 20 minutes. Insert a wooden skewer from the side to the center. If no under-cooked batter is sticking to the skewer, it’s done. If you want it to be soft inside, reduce the baking time.
Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven. Set it on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes. It is supposed to deflate somewhat when cooled.
Enjoy your yummy Pão de Ló cake. It is delicious warm, at room temperature, or even cold.
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Take a quick look at the recipe collection HERE
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Pão de Ló (Portuguese Sponge Cake)
Equipment
- A 20cm bundt pan
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks at room temperature
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 120 g all-purpose flour sifted
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170°C and set the oven rack to the middle position. Rub butter or margarine on the bottom and side of a bundt cake pan.
- Line it with 2 to 3 sheets of parchment paper. Make sure the sides of the pan are fully covered and the middle is open as shown in the photo.
- Gather the ingredients; eggs, sugar, flour, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar until thick and foamy. Use medium-high speed until the mixture is voluminous and thick. It takes 10 to 15 minutes with a hand mixer. I placed the mixing bowl over a hot water bath (40°C) to keep the eggs warm. The volume of the eggs increases faster when the egg/sugar mixture is warm.
- It is very important to beat the eggs to the “ribbon stage”. You can test the consistency by lifting some of the batter with the whisk. The batter should drop down in the trail and stay visible before disappearing into the batter.
- Once the egg mixture is ready, remove the bowl from the bowl of warm water. Gently fold in the sifted flour with a spatula. You can also use the hand mixer on low speed. Mix until the mixture is well incorporated. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 160°C and continue to bake for about 20 minutes. Insert a wooden skewer from the side to the center. If no under-cooked batter is sticking to the skewer, it’s done. If you want it to be soft inside, reduce the baking time.
- Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven. Set it on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes. It is supposed to deflate somewhat when cooled.
- Enjoy your yummy Pão de Ló cake. It is delicious warm, at room temperature, or even cold.
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