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Let's bring tropical flavors into a dessert with a delicious strawberry guava cake! Topped with buttery coconut streusel, every bite is bursting with summer vibes.
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What makes this recipe special
When I decide to make a certain dessert, I make it my mission to nail down the recipe. My latest idea was to create a strawberry guava cake. After my first attempt, I thought the cake had potential but needed more guava. I continued to make tweaks to the recipe, but for some reason, the cake would continue to sink in the middle. It wasn't until my fifth try that I realized I was adding 1 cup of butter when it should have been half that! I stupidly thought ½ cup of butter was two sticks.
On my seventh try, I ended up going back to the original recipe and only changing the amount of guava. Of course, it ended up being perfect. So, after many foolish attempts, I am finally happy to share with you this wonderful strawberry guava cake with coconut streusel. It's moist, it's flavorful, and it's delicious. Everything that I wanted.
Ingredients
- Toasted coconut flakes: It's important to use toasted coconut flakes to get maximum coconut flavor from the streusel topping.
- Freeze-dried strawberries: To avoid adding excess moisture, we're using freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh berries. This way, you're adding the berry flavor without compromising the texture of the cake.
- Guava nectar: Adds moisture to the cake while adding guava flavor.
- Guava paste: The paste is a key ingredient that adds sweetness and guava flavor to the cake.
Substitutions and variations
- Fruit: Try other combinations with the guava, such as freeze-dried peaches or freeze-dried raspberries.
- Streusel: If you're not a fan of coconut, you can prepare a different streusel like this classic version with a hint of cinnamon from my poppy seed streusel bread or a crunchy sugar topping similar to the one from my peanut butter cinnamon bread.
Recipe
Strawberry Guava Cake
Ingredients
Coconut streusel topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (65 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¼ cup melted butter (57 grams)
- ⅓ cup toasted coconut flakes (32 grams)
- pinch of salt
Strawberry guava cake
- 21 grams freeze dried strawberries plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (195 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup guava nectar (125 ml)
- ½ cup guava paste (150 grams)
- ½ cup softened butter, at room temperature (113 grams)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- Make coconut streusel topping. Mix together flour with sugar, melted butter, coconut flakes, and pinch of salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Add freeze dried strawberries to blender and blend until strawberries turn into powder. Transfer powder to a bowl and combine with flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Puree guava nectar with guava pasta until well combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one a time, fully incorporating the first egg before adding the next.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Add guava pasta mixture and vanilla extract, stirring until combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- Pour cake batter into prepared baking dish. Top with coconut streusel in an even layer. Bake cake for 45 minutes - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let strawberry guava cake cool completely on wire rack before slicing.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Prepare ingredients
Have you ever noticed that a lot of guava desserts also have strawberries? It's like strawberry and rhubarb, they go so well together. Keeping this in mind, I decided to use those flavors to make a cake.
There were a lot of ways to approach this recipe, but I ultimately decided to use guava paste, freeze-dried strawberries, and guava nectar to flavor the cake. I wanted to make sure that you tasted strawberry and guava when you took a bite of this dessert.
Freeze-dried strawberries are a wonderful way to incorporate a bit of tang into your baked goods without adding extra moisture (have you seen my peach shortcake ice cream featuring freeze-dried peaches?). I tried preparing this cake with fresh strawberries, but I personally preferred the flavor the dried berries gave. Not to mention that the fresh berries made the cake a bit soggy.
When you blend the berries to turn them into powder, I recommend blending a bit more than 21 grams. It's challenging to get exactly 21 grams out of the blender, so it's best to add a little extra. You can also use the extra powder as a garnish.
Now, for the guava paste, it's best to blend it with the guava nectar before adding it to the cake. The paste is very stiff, so we need to break it up, making it easier to incorporate into the batter.
Step 2: Make cake batter
Cream together softened butter with sugar, then add the eggs one at a time. Add the dry and wet ingredients, alternating between the two, stirring just until combined. We don't want to overmix the cake or it can get tough.
Spread the cake batter into the 8x8 baking dish and sprinkle the coconut streusel on top.
Feel free to make the coconut streusel the day before and store it in the fridge until ready to use. It's also important to use toasted coconut flakes to draw as much of the coconut flavor as possible.
Bake the cake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you choose to bake the cake in a 9x9-inch pan, it'll most likely be ready sooner.
The smell alone from the strawberry guava cake was enough to get me excited for this dessert (yes, all seven times).
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool before slicing. Or you can let it cool slightly and enjoy it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Through all the trial and error, I am happy to say that I can finally check this strawberry guava cake off my to-do list. Was all the effort worth it in the end? Fortunately, it was. The moist cake with the lovely strawberry guava flavors and crunchy coconut topping makes me do a happy dance every time I eat it.
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: You can prepare the coconut streusel the day before. I don't recommend blending the freeze-dried strawberries beforehand because it will clump up.
- Store: Keep the cake in an airtight container and store it at room temperature for 2-3 days. To extend the life, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Frequently asked questions
Guava paste can typically be found in the international foods section of larger grocery stores, especially in the Latin or Caribbean foods aisle. It's also available at Latin American specialty stores and online retailers like Amazon. I used Goya Guava Puree Paste for this recipe.
Yes! This recipe should yield about 12 cupcakes. Fill each cupcake liner about ⅔ full, top with streusel, and bake at 350°F for approximately 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Yes, this cake freezes well. Cool the cake completely before storing it in an airtight container or wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More strawberry dessert recipes
Looking for more strawberry desserts? Try these:
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