This Hawaiian guava cake is light and fluffy and is topped with a cloud-like guava frosting. It’s not too sweet or dense and is perfect for your next celebration or gathering.
Addie and I went to our local library for our weekly mother/daughter date. We’ve been going to the same library since she was 2 so it’s been a ritual of ours. This time, my husband came with us, and while Addie was busy looking for books, I went to look for books of my own.
I went to the new releases section and something caught my eye. It appeared to be a Hawaiian cookbook. I flipped through it, did a little happy dance, and skipped back to my family. Addie asked, “What’s that?” When I told her it was a Hawaiian cookbook, she exclaimed, “YES!”
The three of us spent a good 20-30 minutes looking through the cookbook and yelled out the recipes we wanted to try. There was poke, malasadas, and oh yes – this guava cake. The pink hue of the cake and its frosting definitely called our names.
When we went grocery shopping that weekend, I looked for guava puree or guava concentrate. No such luck. However, the store did carry guava juice. So I bought a container, boiled it down and went about the recipe.
The three of us loved this cake. It was light, fluffy, and not too sweet. In fact, the textures reminded me of the soft sponge cakes from an Asian bakery. The frosting was cloud-like and pretty much melts in your mouth.
If you ever need a taste of Hawaii or want a tropical dessert for a crowd, this is it.
Guava cake
Ingredients
Guava cake
- 2 and ½ cups cake flour
- 2 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 and ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites
- ¼ cup neutral oil I used canola
- 1 cup whole milk I used 1%
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup guava puree or guava concentrate See note below
- 3 drops red food coloring optional
Guava frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 drops red food coloring optional
- ½ cup guava puree or guava concentrate See note below
Instructions
Bake the cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease and line a 9" x 13" baking pan and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg whites in 3 additions until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the oil and mix well.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the milk, vanilla and guava puree.
- Alternatively add the dry ingredients with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, whip the cream on high speed until you achieve stiff peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and set aside.
- Replace the whisk attachment with the paddle attachment on the stand mixer (no need to clean the bowl). Whip the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and increase the speed to high. Beat for 2-3 minutes. Turn the mixer down to low and add the red food coloring if using.
- Slowly add the guava puree in 4 additions, making sure each round is fully incorporated into the frosting before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition as well. Turn the mixer to high and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Turn the mixer off and gently fold in the reserved whipped cream in 3 additions.
- Transfer the frosting to the cooled cake and spread using an offset spatula. Chill the cake for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Definitely sounds like one I will try! My wife’s birthday is Monday… Wish me luck!
Author
Good luck, and happy birthday to V!
This was amazing! So perfectly moist and fluffy! I love the real guava flavor in this- thank you so much for this recipe!
Author
You are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. 😄
Amazing recipe! I made my own puree and it’s seriously my new favorite cake flavor. My husband is cuban so this was HUGE hit. Do you have the nutrition information by any chance?
Author
I don’t, unfortunately. I’m glad your husband loves the cake!
Hi Eva,
Can I use guava nectar instead of guava puree or guava concentrate? Would I have to prepare it differently?
Looking forward to making this cake!
Author
Hi Mel! Nectar contains both pulp and sugar, while purée is a pulsed up fruit (no added water or sugar). If you use the nectar, I would recommend decreasing the amount of sugar and liquid. Your cake may not have a concentrated guava flavor because of all the added sugar in the nectar. But it should still be good! I don’t have exact measurements for your substitutions but definitely start by reducing the sugar.
Seems like a step is missing. Are you combining the wet items first? Or are you adding the milk mixture AND the dry ingredients to the egg white mixture?
Author
Hi Magui! You combine the wet ingredients in your stand mixer bowl first (start by creaming the butter, then adding the egg whites one at a time; finally you add the oil). Then you add a bit of the dry ingredients, then the milk mixture and repeat (end with the dry ingredients). Hope this helps!
Hi Eva. I love this recipe, and I’m willing to make. I’m in Dominican Republic and here what we can find is Guava Paste. What would be your recommendation about using it, since its more concetrated and sweeter (I think)?
Thanks!!
Author
Hola Francisco! I’m wondering if you can dilute the paste by adding some water to it so it is less concentrated? I have not tried this myself yet. Don’t add too much water or else your cake will not have the guava flavor you are looking for. The guava puree I used was pretty thick (like applesauce). Keep me posted on your progress!
Hi Eva,
Can’t wait to make this. It looks delicious! I do have one question.
For people that have lactose issues, can we substitute whole milk with coconut milk or any no dairy milk?
Thank you!
Author
I don’t see why you can’t do non-dairy milk like soy or almond. I’m not sure about coconut milk because the consistency is different than other non-dairy milk. I bake with soy milk very often and think it would work here.
My new favorite cake, so it is delicious! When I couldn’t find guava juice without sugar I made my own puree from fresh guavas. I used Ripple (non-dairy milk) and converted to an 8″ layer cake. I’m making the cake again for the Forth and decorating with blueberries and raspberries.
Author
What a great suggestion – I love that you used fresh guava purée! Hope it was a hit for the Fourth!
It was inedible crud. Something is wrong with this recipe. I bake for more than 20 years and cakes are always OK. But this was gooey inside. What a waste of ingredients.
Author
I’m sad this didn’t work out for you, Anna. Thanks for sharing your feedback.