When Christmas time comes around, Puerto Rican Panetela definitely gets added to the dessert menu. This Panetela de Guayaba (Guava Cake) is moist, crumbly and layered between 2 sheets of almond cake. In the center is a thick and sweet guava paste. For that extra sweetness, it’s covered in powdered sugar.
How to Make Moist Guava Cake
I start my Panetela recipe by creating the almond infused cake. I like to take inspiration from my Puerto Rican Mantecadito Cookie recipe which has almond and vanilla extract. Since mantecaditos have a shortbread cookie texture, I adjusted the panetela recipe to have a lighter cake consistency. The result is a perfect, happy medium! Light, crumbly with just enough crunchy cookie exterior.
- Try my Guava Shortbread Cookie recipe aka Puerto Rican Mantecadito Cookies: https://youtu.be/TMcBxpqZkYg
Authentic Puerto Rican Panetela
Most important way to achieve that authentic Puerto Rican panetela de guayaba texture is to use cake flour! All purpose flour is traditionally heavier than cake flour. Keep in mind that guava paste is already dense. Anymore density to the cake would resemble a biscuit – and that’s NOT what you want.
In addition to the cake flour, to create more lightness I love adding a tiny bit of baking powder or baking soda. I also make sure to sift all the dry ingredients extremely well. You want to create air between each dry molecule.
Ingredients
The key ingredients for Puerto Rican Panetela are:
- Guava paste
- Cake flour
- Baking powder
- Almond extract
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Eggs
Puerto Rican Panetela con Queso
A fun variety to the traditional panetela recipe, would be to add a touch of creaminess with queso, specifically cream cheese. This twist reminds me of Cuban guava pastry. It has a slightly less sweet taste but it’s also more dense. If you’re making this version, consider adding baking soda, in addition to the baking powder.
Puerto Rican Panetela (Guava Cake)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour (sifted)
- 10 -14 oz of guava paste
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick of unsalted butter (soften)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup of powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda (only for panetela con queso)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
- With a hand mixer or whisk, cream the soften butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Roughly 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time.
- Once smooth and silky, add in the extracts and quickly mix.
- In another bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift until fully incorporated.
- In small batches, fold the wet and dry ingredients together. It is best to use a spatula in this step, since the batter while be thick.
- Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and add half of the cake batter. Smooth the top ensuring the layer is even.
- On top of the bottom layer, add slices of guava paste. Slices should be 1/4- 1/2 inch thick. Cover the entire bottom layer.
- Cover the guava paste with the remaining cake batter and smooth evenly.
- Bake the panetela for 35 minutes until a very light brown exterior.
- Cool the cake for 15 minutes, before sprinkling the powdered sugar on top.
