Apr 18, 2010

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.

10 comments:

mr. pineapple man said...

yum yum yum! i want a piece of that!

Anonymous said...

What is the guava curd that you used as a topping? Is there a recipe for it? I have also made this cake and have opted not to use the author's guava topping as well. Instead I try to make a thicker, guava topping using the Hawaiian sun concentrate and corn starch. But it just seems too runny, and your topping looks like it stays nicely in place!

kk said...

I actually did use the original recipe for the Guava topping. I opted not to use the guava mousse for the frosting but made a plain whipped cream instead. The recipe for the Guava curd is listed above as Guava topping. I might have cooked it longer so that it was thicker. Happy baking! =)

Anonymous said...

Did you ever find a way to improve the Guava flavor in the chiffon cake? I also used the Hawaiian Sun concentrate and found it to be extremely mild. I also tried Lorann Guava flavor, it tasted very artificial.

kk said...

No, unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to make this Guava Chiffon Cake again. I did see guava conentrate at the gourmet section of Foodland or at Yhata that looks more promising. I haven't tried it though. Thank you for the heads up on the Lorann brand.

Honokaigirl said...

Is the chiffon stable enough for cupcakes or should I use a different cake batter

Honokaigirl said...

Is this chiffon stable enough for cupcakes or should I use a different cake batter

kk said...

Im sorry, I haven't tried this chiffon cake as a cupcake, but I imagine it would be ok. Make sure though only fill the batter half way so it had room to rise. Good luck!

Oisin said...

Based on the comments about light guava flavor I simmered 1cup of Hawaiian Sun concentrate down to the specified amount. Everyone said it had good flavor & I agree.

Oisin said...

Based on the comments about light guava flavor I simmered 1cup of Hawaiian Sun concentrate down to the specified amount. Everyone said it had good flavor & I agree.

 

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