Castella Cake

Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line a long 26.5x7.5cm loaf tin with parchment on the base and sides. Sift the flour into a bowl from a height twice. Mix the 2 tablespoons of honey with the 2 tablespoons of hot water and set aside.

Place a large bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water and have a temperature gun or thermometer ready. Whisk the eggs and caster sugar for about 5 minutes on medium speed until it becomes thick and fluffy. Check the temperature and once it hits 43C/109F remove the bowl from the saucepan and then continue to whisk on the benchtop. Add in the honey mixture and whisk on low for 30 seconds or so. Once you start to get ribbons and the mixture becomes 3-4 times the volume it is ready for the flour.

Sift half the flour into the egg mixture and then whisk in on low speed. Sift the remaining flour in and repeat until you have a uniform consistency of batter. If it isn't uniform the cake will separate into a heavy layer and a light layer.

Pour into the prepared tin and take a skewer or knife and run through the cake to disperse the air bubbles. Tap cake tin gently on benchtop and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

When removing the cake from the oven drop it a couple of times on the bench - this is to prevent it from shrinking. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool for 3 minutes. Lay out a large sheet of cling film and wrap the cake inside this completely and let it cool inside the plastic. This keeps the cake very moist. Keep it in this for 24 hours.

Trim the sides with a very sharp knife and slice into pieces. This cake is best on day 2 or 3 after baking and stores well in an airtight container in the fridge.