Fluffy Castella Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

6 egg whites6 egg yolks

85 g sugar

80 ml of vegetable oil

90 g cake flour/sponge flour

70 ml of milk

1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a microwave for 90 seconds on high, or you can heat the oil on the stove for one minute. Add in flour and salt, mix well. Add in egg yolks and milk, mix until smooth.

Add meringue bit by bit into the batter, fold it gently.

Pour the batter into a lined baking tin, bang the cake tin for few times to release the air bubbles. Put the cake tin in a larger baking sheet, then pour hot water into it to make a water bath.

Pop into a preheated oven at 150C, bake for about an hour or until fully cooked.

Once it cooked, bang the cake tin a few times, this can prevent the cake from shrinking. Let it cool completely then slice it.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 pound chopped pecans

• 1/2 pound chopped walnuts

• 2-3 tbsp. ground cinnamon

• 1 pound package of Phyllo dough

• 1-1/2 cups butter, melted

• 2-1/2 cups honey

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest

• Mix nuts together in a large bowl and toss with the ground cinnamon. Set aside.

Directions :

Place 2 sheets of phyllo in the bottom of prepared dish. Brush generously with melted butter.

Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all the nuts, butter, and phyllo are used.

End with about 6 layers of phyllo on the top. If you still have some butter left, brush it over the top layer

Using a very sharp knife, cut through all layers of the baklava. Cut 3-4 sliced length-wise.

Then make diagonal cuts to make diamond shapes.

Bake in heated 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until golden and crisp.

While baklava is baking, heat honey in a sauce pan until close to boiling. Stir in vanilla and lemon zest.

When baklava is done baking, immediately pour the honey mixture over the top.

Let cool completely in the pan.