Hawaiian Guava Cake

Successfully made this for a Hawaiian themed party by following the tip to whip egg whites to soft peak stage and then fold them in. I used two round 9” pans so they would fit on cake plates. As I knew they would be outside for several hours, I had to omit the whipped cream and just make a cream cheese frosting following all the remaining steps including the food coloring. Cake was delicious and pretty!

Cooked and pureed ripe guavas for this. The flavour was lovely, but it was very tedious getting the seeds out.

Unfortunately this recipe is not true to form at all. I've done it three times and it's bland, eggy and heavy. I've followed the instructions, the correct weights, and some of the very insightful comments here (i.e. the comments about whipping the eggs whites longer). I've made sure my baking powder is fresh and used greatly reduced guava juice. It needs to go back to the test kitchen. Kudos to those of you who pulled it off! It really sounds lovely but is not worth the headache to me.

I made this cake with fresh guavas that I got at a farmers market in Hawaii. I peeled them, sliced them and then pureed them in a blender. The flavor was amazing! The cake was slightly dense yes but not overly so. The frosting balances it well. I whipped the egg whites and folded them in at the end as many others did. I enjoyed the cake a lot! And the frosting was great as well. I will be making it one more time from the fresh guavas while I’m still here in Hawaii.

I live in Hawaii and searched high and low for guava concentrate with high guava and low sugar content. No luck. I boiled down a half gallon of (pricey) fresh guava nectar from Whole Foods. The result was OK, though more brown than pink. 12 drops of red food coloring helped with the appearance. Whipped the egg whites separately and folded in at the end. Baked up perfectly and the frosting was wonderful. Well received at a party! I would make this again but search out real guava puree on Amazon.

I, too, was very unhappy with this recipe and I have to agree with the comments about it being too dense and somewhat rubbery. I am a very experienced baker and I baked this cake for my beloved daughter-in-law's birthday, so I was especially disappointed by the result. I intend to develop a better version of a pink guava cake and have purchased some Amoretti natural natural guava flavoring for my endeavor. If I meet with success, I will post my own version here later.

Made this for my 4 y/o's birthday. He loved helping and art-directing. We found frozen guava paste at our local latino grocer which when thawed was perfect. The verdict: adults loved it, but it turns out 4 year olds are iffy if it's not vanilla or chocolate! Still, I enjoyed the process and we enjoyed having the leftovers to ourselves! We made ours in a sheetcake which I would say served 20 or less when including children. This is a more dense fruity cake not a light airy one, even with mods.

This cake is just amazing! Pretty AND delicious. Even picky eaters asked for seconds. I have a strong preference for cakes (and icings) than are lower on the sweetness scale (what’s the name of THAT scale btw?!) I had to adjust slightly because I had guava concentrate on hand which was sweetened with sugar, so I reduced the sugar a bit. Results were perfect — I was lauded by our dinner guests, especially the 6 yr old!

I forgot to comment on texture/density. Yes, this is a dense cake, akin to a pound cake, which I do enjoy very much. But many commenters suggest adding the egg whites last, and that makes complete sense. For a lighter-textured cake, such as layer cakes, I’d follow that advice.

Anyone tried beet powder for the color?

This was terrible. Despite whipping the egg whites separately and folding them into the batter at the end, as others suggested, and using frozen guava pulp with no sugar, I found the taste and gummy texture of this cake quite unpleasant. Although the initial flavor is of the pleasant guava, it quickly gives way to the flavor of cornbread and cardboard. Made it for my son's birthday at his request, and he politely complimented me but never finished his slice. Not making this one again!!

I made this for a tropical themed dinner party and the flavors are sweet and subtle. First time I made it, there was a gummy layer in the middle. Researching, I found that over creaming the sugar, butter, and eggs or overmixing the flour causes the gumminess. Second time, I substantially reduced the time I mixed and the cake was gummy layer free.

I used Guava Paste and whipped the eggs. The cake was light and flavorful. Thanks to all who suggested whipping the eggs.

Guava concentrate can easily be found on Amazon.

From other comments I realized that this cake might be dense and that the frosting may lack flavor. I didn’t make any alterations to the cake recipe though I did use all purpose flour so adjusted accordingly, including the addition of corn starch. The finished product was moist and firm and quite nice. For the frosting I worked into the cream cheese some guava paste leaving some tiny little bits for character and taste. It added some really lively flavor. The entire package was a big hit.