Hawaiian Guava Cake Recipe (2024)

I used a 14 oz bag of Goya frozen guava pulp and the cake turned out wonderfully. The 14 oz bag was also had exactly the right volume for the recipe. I used the defrosted pulp straight out of the bag without reducing it or adding water.

Ceres guava "juice" contains Apple and/or Pear Juices plus Guava Puree (guava fruits are about as juicy as avocados). Check the ingredients on Amazon. "No added sugar" is meaningless: the first two have enough sugar. I'd substitute the more widely available (and considerably cheaper) Guava paste (guava pulp, sugar, citric acid) - 120 gm plus 120 ml water. The paste has a lot of added sugar, so I'd reduce the sugar in the recipe from 250 to 180 gm.

DaFruta has a concentrate without added sugar, 100% guava. I purchased a bottle from my Latin food market but it is also available on Amazon! About $5.99 a bottle.

Made this with mango puree (Kesar, reduced sugar by 1/4) and worked out beautifully! Added about 1/4 more mango to frosting.

I made this recipe as 24 cupcakes. They baked perfectly at 350 for 16-17 minutes. Also, I agree with other posting that the batter needs closer to 6 drops for the rich pick color.

After reading everyone's comments about it turning out dense, I decided to beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them in at the end. It worked like a charm- fluffy and delicious!I also split it into two 9-inch rounds, which worked out well; they were done in ~25 minutes. I doubled the frosting just in case, but didn't end up needing it all. (Either way, it was so good I kind of wanted to eat it with a spoon!)Verdict from my mother, whose birthday I made it for: it tastes just like Hawaii!

I split the batter into 3, 9” rounds. Took about 20 minutes to bake and had the perfect texture. The cream cheese frosting, to me, takes away from the cake’s subtle flavors. Next time I will just use whipped cream and guava. I may also try this recipe with strawberries.

I used a 14 oz bag of Goya frozen guava pulp and the cake turned out wonderfully. The 14 oz bag was also had exactly the right volume for the recipe. I used the defrosted pulp straight out of the bag without reducing it or adding water.

This is a delicious, subtly sweet, and cheerful cake! Took other readers' suggestions to use a 14 oz. package of defrosted guava pulp (La Fe brand)- perfect volume for the recipe. Split the batter between 2 8x8 square pans (one is destined for a dinner party, and the other for work tomorrow). I was concerned about texture/density after reading others' comments, so was extra cautious not to overcream or overmix. Combo of caution + splitting batter into 2 pans yielded a perfect, fluffy crumb.

I noted many others saying the cake was dense, so instead of adding in the egg whites to the butter and sugar, I whipped them separately to soft peaks and added them in at the end of step three. First, a third of the egg whites mixed into the batter and then the other two thirds folded in before pouring the batter in the pan. This made the texture light and lovely.

These are incredible!!! I reduced the sugar in the cake by half a cup to compensate for the sugar in the Ceres juice I reduced. I wish I had added more than four drops of food coloring to the cake to get that nice red color in the photo though! Mine look pretty but they turned out to be more of a peachy color.

I made this as an experienced home baker and it wasn’t successful. I followed the directions to a T, and while easily one of the most beautiful cakes I’ve made (and utterly perfect looking from the outside) - the frosting was bland only mildly fruit flavored, it didn’t add anything and wasn’t really pleasant. The cake was floury, under sweet, and gummy, despite a toothpick test and the sides slightly pulling away from the edge. Very disappointing as I’d had my eye on the recipe for months.

We didn't have a lot of success with this recipe. The cake itself was a bit too dense and the icing was so runny that we kept having to cut it with more whipped cream to get it to thicken. We used Ceres, which reduced nicely, but the final flavor wasn't really as pronounced as we had hoped it would be. Seems like a great cake in concept, but not so much in execution.

I’m so disappointed in this recipe. I read so many of the reviews that warned the cake would turn out dense, and I took the advice of others, beat my eggs separately, was very precautious about over mixing the batter, and it still turned out so dense and flat. I followed the directions for the frosting to a T and it was a liquid-y mess. I put so much effort into it, and I am a pretty good baker, so I felt pretty bad when this didn’t turn out. The recipe needs some real work.

This looks wonderful! A question, though: I'd love to make this for a birthday party, but would like to gussy it up a bit. Could this volume of batter be split into two round, 9-inch tins and baked into a layer cake? It would be so pretty to slice in to find that beautiful pink sponge, but I'm not sure of the volume of cake this actually produces. Thoughts? As well, I imagine that the baking time would be adjusted down, but thoughts about changing the bake temp?

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.

I’m an experienced baker and do note some of the concerns listed by others. Firstly, if you want that vibrant color, you need way more food coloring than the recipe suggests. I added likely seven drops and it’s still a muted pink color. The cake texture is not going to be a light fluffy cake. I don’t mind the texture personally, I found it moist and with a nice packed crumb. Some only prefer light/fluffy. Everyone who ate agreed, it tastes vaguely fruity, but no one would ever say, “guava!”.

Live in a place where guavas are on every corner and love them, and guava paste and jam is also everywhere so that is covered. But big question is this made in a sheet pan or 9x13 cake pan? I have melted down guava jelly to make a topping for cheese cake before considered that as mix in for the cream cheese icing. Would be a good reference to the cuban desert of cream cheese and guava paste.

I used guava nectar (sweetened) and cooked it down by half, so then just used just 1/2 c sugar in the cake. Also cut back on the sugar in the frosting to 1/4 cup. As others noted, I whipped the egg whites first and folded them in after step 3. I also used cake flour (sifted). The food coloring worked well in both the cake and the frosting. It was quite pretty. I used two 9" square pans (round would be more attractive) and liked that presentation.