Guava chiffon cake

In Hawaii, guava chiffon cake is pretty popular and you can find it in a lot of local bakeries. I have been looking for a good recipe for guava chiffon cake for a long time and found one from Betty Shimabukuro of Star Bulletin.

I made some adjustments to her recipe. Instead of making a sheet pan, I put the cake batter in two 8" round cake pan. Instead of using the guava mousse as a frosting, I used it as a filling in between the two cakes. I made some extra whipped cream to frost the cake and used the guava curd as the topping.

Mr. G loved the cake, but I thought the guava cake's texture was not fine enough. I used the Hawaiian Sun guava concentrate, and thought the guava flavor was not strong enough. I think next time I will try to use fresh guavas or use a better concentrate. Here's the recipe.

Guava Chiffon Cake
from Betty Shimabukuro's By Request

2 3/4 cups cake flour
2/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup salad oil
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup guava juice concentrate, thawed, undiluted
5 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-3 drops red food coloring

Meringue:
7 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease the bottom of two 8" round cake pans (see note).

2. To make batter, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center; add oil, water, guava juice, egg yolks and vanilla. Beat with a spoon until mixture is smooth. Add food coloring. Set aside.

3. To make meringue, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar until stiff.

4. Gently fold batter into meringue until barely mixed. Pour into pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and invert on a rack to cool completely.

5. Remove from pan gently. Cake may be cut in half lengthwise and frosted as two layers, using the filling and frosting below.

Guava mousse filling
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup guava juice concentrate, thawed, undiluted
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar until lemon-colored; add guava juice, place in saucepan and cook over low-to-medium heat until thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and chill.

2. Whip cream and vanilla, then fold into guava mixture.

Guava Topping
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Pinch salt
12-ounce can guava juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
1 tablespoon butter

1. Mix cornstarch with water to dissolve all lumps. Add salt, guava and lemon juices and egg yolk. Cook over low heat until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter. Spread when slightly cooled but still warm.

Whipped cream
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Beat the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until it reaches soft peaks.

Assembly
1. Cut each cake in half.

2. Fill each cake layer with the guava mousse.

3. Use the whipping cream to frost the entire cake. Top with the guava curd.

Note:

• *The original recipe calls for the cake to be baked in a 11x13 cake pan. The original recipe also uses the guava mousse to frost the cake.