The Best Nata Pound Cake (Panqué de Nata)
If you’re a fan of indulgent, creamy desserts, then you’ll love this panqué de nata or Mexican nata pound cake. Nata is the thick cream that rises to the top when boiling milk, and in Mexico we use it to make desserts and it’s an absolute must-try treat.
What is Nata
Nata is the thick cream that forms atop of raw milk when boiled to pasteurize. I’m sure you’ve seen it before, it’s that layer of thin skin that covers the top of the milk.
In Mexico nata is considered a delicacy and instead of being discarded it’s used to make desserts like bundt cakes or panque de natas, gorditas de nata which are like softer and sweeter English muffins.
Another delicious way to use nata is to slice a concha in half and slather on the nata on one half – similar to like a strawberry shortcake. Sometimes nata is also used to make to cream sauces.
Growing up in Mexico one of my abuelitos would always save the nata from boiling milk and make it into delicious treats for us. If not he would serve it on top of a bolillo bread roll and it was insanely delicious.
When buying nata try to do so at a Mexican food store and look for nata. There’s some confusion with other Latin American countries and Spain, were they call nata líquida or nata montada what we in Mexico call crema para batir or in the US it’s whipping cream.
The Mexican nata you want is something like a wetter clotting cream. See the image below for reference.
Occasionally when I see nata for sale (it seems like it’s becoming less popular so not as easily available anymore, at least where I live), I buy a container to make either nata pound cake or gorditas de nata.
Today I’m going to share the pound cake recipe and another time I’ll share the gorditas recipe. I’m also working on getting you all vegan versions, it’s just a little tricky replacing eggs in vegan baking sometimes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Nata is a must try creamy, decadent treat.
- This Mexican panqué de nata recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make!
- Makes a perfect sweet bread to accompany a cup of coffee either in the morning or with dinner guests.
- You can enjoy it for dessert or for breakfast if you like a sweet start to your day.
Nata Pound Cake Ingredients
You can find the ingredients just about anywhere nowadays. The nata you’ll find in the dairy section and you’ll have the best luck at Mexican grocery stores or Hispanic markets.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- sugar
- salt
- nata
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- orange zest, optional
- powdered sugar aka icing sugar or Confectioners Sugar
The orange zest is optional and adds such a lovely citrus burst that combines perfectly with the creamy nata and fragrant vanilla. If you don’t have orange you could do lime or lemon zest.
If you’d like to skip the orange zest you could add some chopped walnuts, pecans or slivered almonds.
Substitutions
In a pinch when you can’t find nata you cold substitute it with clotted cream, mascarpone cheese or crema mexicana or Mexican sour cream. Though they won’t give you the exact same results as the nata, but they’ll still be delicious. I’ve also seen some recipes where people substitute the nata with cream cheese and add in a bit of milk to keep the batter moist.
How to Make Panqué de Nata
Step 1: Butter a loaf pan with a thin layer of butter then lightly dust with a little bit of flour. Discard any extra flour and set aside. (You could use a small bundt cake pan instead.)
Step 2: Use a metal sifter to sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. If you don’t have one you can use a mesh sieve instead. Sift into a medium bowl and set aside.
Step 3: Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat on low speed until airy. Then pour in the sugar and beat until well incorporated.
Step 4: Pour in the nata, the vanilla extract then the orange zest. Beat until well incorporated.
Step 5: Add half of the sifted flour mix into the bowl. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Then add the remaining flour mixture and beat until it’s well combined and there aren’t any lumps. Use a spatula to scrape off the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren’t any chunks of unincorporated flour.
Step 6: Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use the spatula to smooth out evenly.
Step 7: Bake in the center of oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Checking on it at about 35 minutes by inserting a long toothpick or a butter knife into the center, if it comes out clean it’s ready to come out and if not it needs to bake longer. You can cover with aluminum foil if the top is getting too golden.
Step 8: Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
Step 9: Once completely cooled and right before serving, dust with powdered sugar. You could also decorate with some orange slices if desired.
How to Serve Mexican Nata Pound Cake
Mexican nata pound cake is a versatile dessert that pairs beautifully with various accompaniments. For an authentic Mexican experience, enjoy a slice with a steaming cup of rich café de olla or or café con leche, on a hot summer day with a refreshing glass of agua fresca.
Alternatively, top it with a dollop of whipped cream, or a drizzle of homemade cajeta for an extra touch of decadence.
How to Store
Store any leftovers unsliced and in an airtight container. This nata cake will keep fresh for about 4 days.
To freeze wrap individual slices or the entire cake tightly in plastic wrap then aluminum foil, and store it in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
More Must Try Mexican Desserts
- Easy La Lechera Flan Recipe
- Jericalla (Mexican Custard Dessert)
- Easy Pan de Elote or Mexican Sweet Corn Cake with Cream Cheese
- Easy Stuffed Conchas
- Carlota de Limón (Mexican Lime Icebox Cake)
- Fresas con Crema
- Easy Mango Ice Cream Recipe
- Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
The Best Nata Pound Cake Recipe
Amigos, I really hope you give this nata pound cake recipe a try. It’s so easy to make and pretty hard to mess up – baking is not my forte and I’ve yet to mess this easy Mexican cake up.
Panqué de nata tastes sweet, citrusy and it’s airy, soft and moist. It’s such a treat. When I make it I Iove to enjoy it with a warm cup of coffee. Usually it’s an afternoon treat after I’ve had lunch or after dinner.
Do let me know if you make my recipe and how you liked it. Don’t forget to leave a star rating if you want to support me and my website. Muchas gracias!
The Best Nata Pound Cake Recipe (Panqué de Nata)
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1.5 cups nata
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest optional
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar aka icing sugar or confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Butter a loaf pan with a thin layer of butter then lightly dust with a little bit of flour. Discard any extra flour and set aside. (You could use a small bundt cake pan instead.)
- Use a metal sifter to sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. If you don’t have one you can use a mesh sieve instead. Sift into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat on low speed until airy. Then pour in the sugar and beat until well incorporated.
- Pour in the nata, the vanilla extract then the orange zest. Beat until well incorporated.
- Add half of the sifted flour mix into the bowl. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Then add the remaining flour mixture and beat until it’s well combined and there aren’t any lumps. Use a spatula to scrape off the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren’t any chunks of unincorporated flour.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use the spatula to smooth out evenly.
- Bake in the center of oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Checking on it at about 35 minutes by inserting a long toothpick or a butter knife into the center, if it comes out clean it’s ready to come out and if not it needs to bake longer. You can cover with aluminum foil if the top is getting too golden.
- Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
- Once completely cooled and right before serving, dust with powdered sugar. You could also decorate with some orange slices if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nancy Lopez is a food blogger and author of the cookbook Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Born in Mexico, raised in the US, and currently living in Southern Mexico, she has followed a meatless diet for almost 10 years. It is her passion and mission to share all she has learned about vegan Mexican cooking and vegetarian Mexican recipes. Mexican Made Meatless is a blog dedicated to preserving the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine just without the meat. It’s a place to celebrate Mexican culture and all it’s delightfully delicious traditional foods. Read more…
I’ve been looking for this recipe for a while. Going to make it this weekend. Gracias!
I’m so happy you’ll finally be able to make the panque. Enjoy 🙂