Guava Cake
Guava Cake is made with an easy doctored cake mix with a tropical twist using real guava juice. This dessert is so easy!
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HAWAIIAN GUAVA CAKE RECIPE
I made this cake after returning home from Hawaii to give my kids a little taste of what they didn’t know they were missing.
Although we didn’t actually eat this while we were in Hawaii, we used to eat it in college at our local Hawaiian joint. And nothing says I miss you like cake.
This classic Hawaiian dessert starts with adding guava juice to a strawberry cake mix which gives it a nice pink color.
A cream cheesy whipped topping layer is lathered on top and topped with a guava gel. The guava mixture is made from boiling guava juice with sugar to make a guava concentrate. Mmm. So much flavor.
OTHER HAWAIIAN RECIPES
- PINA COLADA POKE CAKE
- KEY LIME PIE ON A STICK
- COCONUT LIME SUGAR COOKIES
- STRAWBERRY COLADA CUPCAKES
- COCONUT LIME COOKIES
Guava Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 strawberry cake mix
- 1 cup Guava juice, if your cake mix calls for more or less water, replace the entire amount of water with guava juice
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Cream Cheese Layer:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed
Guava Topping:
- 2 cups guava juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Prepare cake batter according to package directions replacing the water called for on the box with guava juice (mine happened to call for 3 eggs and 1/3 cup oil but if yours is different follow the box directions). Bake cake in a greased 9X13 baking pan according to package directions. Let cake cool completely.
- While cake is baking prepare the cream cheese layer and guava topping.
- For the cream cheese layer: In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with hand mixer until fluffy.
- Add sugar and vanilla and beat in.
- Slowly fold in the Cool Whip and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the Guava Topping:
- In a medium sauce pan, bring the 2 cups guava juice and 1/2 cup of sugar to a boil.
- Make a paste out of the cornstarch with about 2-3 tablespoons of water.
- Remove guava juice from heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture until combined well. Return mixture to heat and bring back to a boil and boil for one minute stirring constantly. Cool guava paste in refrigerator.
To assemble cooled cake:
- Thickly ice the cake with all of the cream cheese mixture. Glaze the top of the cake with guava puree. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
I’m an island girl who loves guava cake! I had a very hard time finding one while visiting the islands this spring. What a great recipe find and extremely easy! This will be my “go-to” recipe, especially when getting homesick. Only notes I’d give for future preparation is to use a strainer when adding cornstarch to gel. I found myself scooping out tiny lumps before glazing top. In addition, I added a couple of drops (2) of red food coloring to the gel preparation to get a light pink color.
Thanks for the tips!
Hi, Ms. Denney! I
posted the attached comment in July and wanted to add to my comment and let others know what I did to correct my gel making. I dissolved the cornstarch in about 1/4 c of the room temperature guava juice in a separate mixing bowl, then slowly added the boiling guava juice mixture with copious wire whisking, creating a smooth gel, no lumps. I then returned it to the stove top to bring to the second boil. So no strainer needed.
” I’m an island girl who loves guava cake! I had a very hard time finding one while visiting the islands this spring. What a great recipe find and extremely easy! This will be my “go-to” recipe, especially when getting homesick. Only notes I’d give for future preparation is to use a strainer when adding cornstarch to gel. I found myself scooping out tiny lumps before glazing top. In addition, I added a couple of drops (2) of red food coloring to the gel preparation to get a light pink color.”
We love this cake! Making it today for my husband’s birthday. Thank you so much for this wonderfully easy and tasty recipe!
Cyndy H, Aurora, CO
Thank you so much for the tips.
Is it 1/2 or 1/3 cup sugar for the guava topping? 🤦🏻♀️
It’s 1/2 cup!
Made this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday. Haven’t had the cake yet, but every taste test from the batter to the guava topping tasted great! I think the juice I used was the Jumex Guava Nectar. I also used cane sugar because that’s what I had on hand, so everything I used it in came out a little darker in color than it would have with white sugar. It was cool to see the ribbons of off-white forming in the cream cheese topping when I was folding in the cool whip. Note to people like me who don’t bake often: Cool Whip was in the frozen section. I didn’t expect that.
My goof: I wound up straining the guava topping, I’ve never made anything like it before so there were some cornstarch lumps. I think I should have poured the slurry in more slowly. I tasted a lump after it cooled to see if it’d be like a gummy candy, and it was just ok, the cornstarch lump didn’t take in any flavor from the juice. The world would not have ended if I let the lumps onto the cake, I just didn’t find them pretty. The ability of the topping to cover the cake in my 9×13 pan was not affected by the lumps I accidentally created. I just wanted to share my blooper in case anyone does what I did so they know they don’t have to start over. It set just fine and tastes great. 🙂
Thanks for all the feedback!
LOVE this cake. Growing up in Hawaii I loved eating fresh guava, drinking guava juice and all the desserts. The first time I made this cake for an office party, they all loved it. It’s nice to share a bit of my home with friends and co-workers.
Please specify the type of sugar to use for the cream cheese layer. Thank You
it’s white granulated sugar
This is a wonderful recipe and so easy to make! Thank you for sharing it with us!
You’re welcome!
It was great easy instructions. I did not follow the cake recipe I bought a box cake mix but followed the filling and topping directions and it was a hit. The first cake we used guava nector juice in a can and the second cake we used strawberry guava nectar juice which out of the two I would definitely use the strawberry guava. For the cake we used yellow cake mix. Definitely a favorite
Thank you!
I was disappointed in this recipe. The strong strawberries completely overpowered the guava flavor in the cake. Also, I think a guava jam/jelly topping the cream cheese mixture would be much better.
Hello do I used the frozen Guava juice that comes in the can? or use Nectar guava? Thank you
Nectar Guava that comes from a can. although the other might work too!
Would guava nectar be the same as guava juice?
Yes. That is!
This sounds amazing! I would like to make these into cupcakes. Any tips please (bake time, fill height, how many it makes)? I assume I can follow the box’s directions? Thanks!
Just make and I would put in cupcake papers about 3/4 of the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes.
just made this cake last weekend for a hawaiian/probowl themed lunch and it was amazing!! baked the cake the evening before and did the toppings the next morning. real quick and super easy. thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
You’re welcome!
Honestly delicious!!!! Just made this as cupcakes and they came out so moist and so delicious! Easy recipe! Thank you!!!! Amazing!!!
Hi I was wondering if I can make the cream cheese topping and the guava topping and refrigerated it and the next day put it on the cake????
Sure! I don’t see why not!
Omg! Guava cake from King’s Bakery in Oahu is my favorite! When I would visit, I would order a frozen one & hand carry it on the plane ride home to San Diego. And I used to do this when I was still in elementary school. I gotta make this cake! I miss it! Have you had a Dobash cake?
I haven’t had Dobash cake. What is it?
I made the recipe for a dinner a month ago. Everyone loved it and I ended up eating way too much, despite usually not liking cake or sweets. Thank you for the great recipe!
Thanks for the recipe! It looks great, but what can I use if I can’t get hold of a strawberry cake mix? Thanks!
Ahh. I don’t know of a good substitute. Strawberry can be morphed into guava flavored but any other flavor I don’t think it would.
Other sites use vanilla cake mixes. Making a guava cake at the request of my soon to be 9 yr old, thanks for sharing!
I made this cake and took it to work for Valentine’s Day. The cake was gone by 3:00p.m. and someone even washed my pan for me as a thank you. Thanks for the delicious recipes Christy!
I had a very hard time finding the guava juice to make this cake the other night. Looked all over Walmart. Used Peach Mango juice instead. It was still delicious and everyone loved it. Today I found Hawaii’s Own Guava juice at Winco. It is only 10% fruit juice but it’s the best I can find so will try that this week.
I was born and raised in Hawaii and after moving to Utah, we’d visit Hawaii and would always have to bring back a Guava Cake and Passion Fruit Cake from Dee Lite Bakery. They’d freeze the cakes so you could carry them onto the airplane. I am looking forward to trying this recipe–guava is one of my favorite flavors!
YUM! This reminds me of whenever my auntie from HI would come visit us in the states. She always made this for us! I can’t wait to try this version.
Uh yeah… totally jealous! (Wink!) What a dreamy vacation and pretty cake!
OMG I need to make this. Looks so pretty too. Need to find a place to get guava juice !
They just sell it in the juice aisle here but I do live in Florida so maybe it’s more common.
This is such a pretty cake, and it sounds like it would taste amazing! You should definitely post some fun Hawaii pics! It seems like a beautiful place!
I have to admit I wasn’t great about taking pics but I added a few…