One of my favorite desserts growing up in a traditional Cuban household was cascos de guayaba con queso crema. Translation, guava shells my mom would peel and boil until soft with water and sugar. The shells and syrup turn a beautiful candied red, and are served with a piece of contrasting white cream cheese. I know it sounds strange for those unfamiliar, but it's absolutely delicious! It still remains one of my favorite desserts.With this nostalgic treat in mind, I created my Guava Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. It's inspired by Paula Deen's Hummingbird Cake made on the Martha Stewart Show. The cake is light, moist, and delish! The guava and syrup give it a sexy rose color, perfect for a Valentine.
For the Cake:
3 cups of all-purpose flour, and a little extra to dust the pans
3 tsp of baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cup of canned/jarred guava shells and syrup, pureed (puree a little extra if you want to use it to decorate the top of your cake)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup of shredded, un-sweeten coconut
Butter to coat the cake pans
For the Frosting:
1 lb (1 box) confectioner's sugar, sifted
16 oz. (2 packages) of cream cheese, soften and at room temperature
1 stick of unsalted butter, soften and at room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly dust with flour 2, 9" round cake pans. Set aside.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix sifted ingredients with the remaining ingredients (except for the coconut) until evenly combined. Fold in the coconut.
3. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Shake and tap the pans to release any air bubbles in the batter, and smooth out the top with a spatula.
4. Bake, rotating cakes halfway through. Cake is done in 26 to 28 minutes, or when a toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into the center of the cakes.
5. Pop cakes out of the pans and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
Frosting:
1. Combine all frosting ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until smooth. You may need to add a little milk if the frosting is too thick.
2. Frost the top of one cake and stack the second cake on top of it. Frost the rest of the cake and decorate with extra guava puree.
In class, Peggy taught us that the best way to frost a cake is to start from the sides with a generous amount of frosting, and then do the top. It's important to continuously check the frosting on your knife and pick off any crumbs. For a professional smooth finish, dip your clean knife in water and very lightly brush it over the frosted cake to smooth away any marks.
The pictures shown are from my first attempt at the cake. I made half the batter to test the receipe and filled mini heart-shaped molds, the batter works great for cupcakes too! The table linens featured are samples from my new collection of handprinted fabrics soon to be released! I put all of my fabrics and home furnishings to good use before making them available for sale. This pattern is called Coral Garden. The color is a soft blue-gray hue reminiscent of our island sky as a storm rolls in, and is fittingly called Storm.
Warm Wishes,
CC
3 cups of all-purpose flour, and a little extra to dust the pans
3 tsp of baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cup of canned/jarred guava shells and syrup, pureed (puree a little extra if you want to use it to decorate the top of your cake)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup of shredded, un-sweeten coconut
Butter to coat the cake pans
For the Frosting:
1 lb (1 box) confectioner's sugar, sifted
16 oz. (2 packages) of cream cheese, soften and at room temperature
1 stick of unsalted butter, soften and at room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly dust with flour 2, 9" round cake pans. Set aside.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix sifted ingredients with the remaining ingredients (except for the coconut) until evenly combined. Fold in the coconut.
4. Bake, rotating cakes halfway through. Cake is done in 26 to 28 minutes, or when a toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into the center of the cakes.
5. Pop cakes out of the pans and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
Frosting:
1. Combine all frosting ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until smooth. You may need to add a little milk if the frosting is too thick.
2. Frost the top of one cake and stack the second cake on top of it. Frost the rest of the cake and decorate with extra guava puree.
In class, Peggy taught us that the best way to frost a cake is to start from the sides with a generous amount of frosting, and then do the top. It's important to continuously check the frosting on your knife and pick off any crumbs. For a professional smooth finish, dip your clean knife in water and very lightly brush it over the frosted cake to smooth away any marks.
The pictures shown are from my first attempt at the cake. I made half the batter to test the receipe and filled mini heart-shaped molds, the batter works great for cupcakes too! The table linens featured are samples from my new collection of handprinted fabrics soon to be released! I put all of my fabrics and home furnishings to good use before making them available for sale. This pattern is called Coral Garden. The color is a soft blue-gray hue reminiscent of our island sky as a storm rolls in, and is fittingly called Storm.
Warm Wishes,
CC
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