I had some leftover guava paste, about 5 ounces, plus some mochiko rice flour, so I decided to make a guava rice cake. I saw this recipe, which I used as a guide.  I like the subtleness of the guava flavor, due to only having about half a cup to use for this recipe. I might make this again with more guava, though.

 

 

 

If you are not familiar with the texture of baked goods when you use rice flour, you might not like this at first. Just reading the reviews on epicurious, I could tell this was happening. It’s what makes it possible for two people to think of this as rubbery and gelatinous, and one might like and expect it, and the other might find it unappetizing. This is true about tasting unfamiliar foods. They grow on you, it’s an acquired taste.

I really liked the outer edges and top of the cake, for its crispness and slightly crunchy texture that contrasts the more dense, (nicely) rubbery aspects of the centers of the cake. It’s an acquired taste.

Although the recipe called for a 1 1/2 hour bake time, my cake took only 45 minutes, using a 9 X 13 dish. I also did not have any coconut milk, so I used 12 ounces of evaporated milk, and 12 ounces of regular whole milk.

 

Sweet Guava Rice Cake (adapted from Sweet Rice-Flour and Coconut Cake)

• 3 cups mochiko rice flour (1  lb box)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12-oz) cans evaporated milk
• 12 oz. whole milk
• guava paste, 5 ounces
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to  350°F.

Whisk together mochiko,  sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In saucepan on stovetop, heat guava paste with 3 tablespoons of water, whisking until melted. When melted, whisk it into the melted butter. Whisk together coconut milk,  eggs, butter/guava paste mixture, and vanilla in another bowl. Add coconut mixture to flour mixture,  whisking until batter is combined.

Pour batter into an  ungreased 13- by 9-inch baking pan, smoothing top, and bake until top is golden  and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. This took about 45 minutes for my oven, not 1 1/2 hours as mentioned in the epicurious recipe. It also says to cool cake  completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours, but always being one who had a hard time waiting, I cut into mine right away! Cut into desired sized squares or rectangles. Enjoy! Can be kept chilled and covered for 3 days.