Puerto Rican Guava Cakes (Panetela de Guayaba)

Three stacked panetela de guayaba bars on a gray plate showing the guava paste layer, with a blue linen and striped wood cutting board in the background.

5 from 1 vote

Puerto Rican Guava Cakes (Panetela de Guayaba)

Panetela de Guayaba is a buttery, tender cake layered with guava paste and baked until golden. Great as a dessert, or midday snack, and coffee.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Cool30

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Servings: pieces

Calories: 211kcal

Author: Zoé Forestier

Equipment

1 8X8 baking pan 9x13 for a double recipe
1 King Arthur Baking Parchment & Mats" class="wprm-recipe-equipment-link" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">parchment paper
1 mixing bowl-medium for dry ingredients
1 mixing bowl-large for wet ingredients
1 electric hand mixer
1 Rubber Spatula wooden spoon
1 offset spatula optional, if available

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick butter at room temperature
2 tablespoon lard at room temperature, substitute with butter or coconut oil.
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon orange blossom water optional
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract optional
1 lb guava paste cut into 16 slices
powdered sugar for decoration

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line with parchment paper and allow the ends to hang on the sides. If you do not have parchment paper, grease the baking pan with butter and set it aside.
Sift together twice the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
In a bowl, cream butter, lard and sugar until light and fluffy
1 stick butter, 2 tablespoon lard, 1 cup sugar
Incorporate the flour mixture with the creamed butter.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. I have added milk to the recipe (which is not a traditional ingredient).
2 large eggs
For a softer cake crumb, I have added milk to the batter between each egg. Incorporate the second egg.
1¼ cup milk
Add the last of the milk along with orange blossom water and vanilla or almond extract.
1 tablespoon orange blossom water, 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
Spoon half of the batter into the baking dish. Use an offset spatula to move the batter in the pan to ensure evenness.
Take the guava paste slices and place them over the batter. The paste will not melt and spread, so keep this in mind while placing them over the batter. An alternative for the paste could be a guava preserve or jam.
1 lb guava paste
Cover the guava with the other half of the cake batter. Again, use the offset spatula to ensure the batter has been spread evenly throughout the pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick or a fork comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Once the pan has cooled, lift the cake out of the pan and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely. Dust the cutting surface with powdered sugar. Place the cake on it and cut the cake into bars, about 12 to 16 pieces, depending on your liking. Once cut, dust the bars with powdered sugar for the final presentation. ¡Buen Provecho!
powdered sugar

Nutrition