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A moist and fluffy coconut cake topped with billowy guava cream cheese frosting. This Coconut Guava Cake is as beautiful as it is delicious, and it’s a dessert that you’ll love!
All proceeds from this post for 2025 will go to the Pasadena Humane Society. They have taken in hundreds of displaced and lost animals as a result of the Los Angeles wildfires. Many of these animals are being treated for smoke inhalation, burns, and other injuries.
All you need to do is visit this page, sharing it on social media would also be awesome! Because the more views it gets, the more money we raise. Please help in raising funds for relief efforts and continued care for these injured, terrified, and loved animals.
We appreciate you
Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
A helping hand
I wanted to do more for the fire victims. These are my neighbors, my friends. I’ve shared several things we can do to help on my Facebook page. But I want to continue to help. So, I decided to create this recipe.
A good blogger friend of mine at Shockingly Delicious lost her home in the fires. And, though I don’t know these bloggers, I understand they lost their homes as well: The Heart of Food and Wine, Leisure Fan Club, and Cooking on the Weekends. One of the ways I can help her and the other bloggers is by inviting my readers to visit their sites. They will all continue to make money from visits to their blogs.
I did a little looking into foods that are well known in the Malibu area. One of the foods that popped out at me was a Coconut Guava Cake. It’s from a restaurant in Malibu, and though my version is quite different than what’s served in the restaurant, I’m super happy with the results.
It’s almost like a light Guava Cheesecake on top of a beautiful coconut cake. The guava frosting is adapted from Eva Bakes.
What does guava taste like?
Guava is a tropical fruit that’s native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Which means that many people grow it here in Southern California. The first time I tried it was when the cooks at the restaurant I worked at offered me some home grown guava with chili powder. It was delicious!
It has a light fruity flavor, almost reminiscent of fruit punch. It’s sweet with just a nice amount of tang. So it goes really well with the coconut in this cake.
If you can’t find guava paste, I have a link to Amazon for you. If you’re in another country and that doesn’t work, or you want to try something else, quince paste or a thick guava jam would be my next suggestions with similar flavors. The next thing I’d suggest is a thick seedless strawberry jam or preserves. Know that the flavors will change a bit with each of those subs.
How to make
The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can find important photos, as well as tips and tricks in the post.
prep work
Separate the eggs. Cold eggs will separate better than room temperature eggs. Save the egg yolks for another use.
At least 30 minutes before making the cake, take the butter, eggs, and sour cream out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.
Position the oven rack to the center position. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare the 9-inch cake baking pan with non-stick spray and parchment paper.
Make the cake
Sift the dry ingredients together. Whisk the salt in, and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. The mixture should be very pale yellow after mixing.
Add in the extracts. Slowly add in the egg whites.
Mix the coconut milk and sour cream together in a small bowl. Alternate adding the dry ingredients into the bowl in three additions with the milk/sour cream mixture in two additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed between additions until fully incorporated.
Pop the batter into the cake pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan completely on a cooling rack before turning out of the pan and frosting.
Make the frosting
Use a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer to whip the cream until you achieve stiff peaks, and set aside.
Next, you’ll whip the cream cheese, then whip in the sugar and salt, and red food coloring if desired. You can skip the food coloring, but it makes such a pretty pink color.
Soften the guava paste in the microwave for a few seconds, or on the stove in a small saucepan.
Mix the softened guava paste into the cream cheese.
Then, gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Frost the cooled cake using an offset spatula. Chill the cake for at least 2 hours before serving. The chilling will help the frosting set up. Garnish with shredded coconut.
Notes
Store the cake covered in foil or plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The cake can be made into cupcakes if you want. Cupcakes will take about 18-25 minutes to bake, and will make about 12 cupcakes. Don’t forget to line the cupcake pan with paper liners and spray the inside of the liner with cooking spray.
Do you love coconut? You gotta check out my Toasted Coconut Ice Box Cake, Gluten-free Coconut Muffins, and Coconut Meringue Cake with Lemon Curd Filling.
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Recipe
Coconut Guava Cake
Ingredients
Coconut Cake
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 1/3 cup egg whites (about 2 large eggs)
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons full fat canned coconut milk
Guava frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounce cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 drops red food coloring optional
- ½ cup guava paste
Instructions
prep
- Separate the eggs. At least 30 minutes before making the cake, take the butter, eggs, and sour cream out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.
- Position the oven rack to the center position. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare the 9-inch cake baking pan with non-stick spray and parchment paper.
Make the cake
- Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Whisk the salt in, and set aside.1 ½ cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing. The mixture should be very pale yellow after mixing.½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar
- With the mixer running on medium/ low speed, add the vanilla and coconut extracts. Next, slowly add the egg whites while the mixer continues running. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically as you slowly incorporate the egg whites.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon coconut extract, 1/3 cup egg whites
- Mix the sour cream and coconut milk together in a small bowl. Alternate adding the dry ingredients into the bowl in three additions with the milk/sour cream mixture in two additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed between additions until fully incorporated.¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream, ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons full fat canned coconut milk
- Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350° F for about 22-26 minutes. Carefully take the cake out of the oven when the cake is firm but springs back when gently pressed in on the center, or when a cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan completely on a cooling rack before turning out of the pan, removing the parchment paper, and frosting.
Make the frosting
- Use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand-held mixer to whip the cream on high speed until you achieve stiff peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and set aside.1 cup heavy cream
- Replace the whisk attachment with the paddle attachment on the stand mixer (you don’t need to clean the bowl). Mix the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar and salt beat on high for 2-3 minutes. Turn the mixer down to low and add the red food coloring if using.8 ounce cream cheese, ½ cup granulated sugar, Pinch kosher salt, 2 drops red food coloring
- Place the guava paste in a microwave safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds to a minute to soften and melt the paste.½ cup guava paste
- Add the softened guava paste in 4 additions, making sure each addition is fully incorporated into the frosting before adding the next, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Turn the mixer to high and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Using a spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
- Frost the cooled cake using an offset spatula. Chill the cake for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with shredded coconut.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Debi
This cake is amazing. Rich and so good! Not too difficult to make either. And, anytime you visit this page in 2025, you’ll be earning money for the animals! Thanks for your help! Debi, author, Life Currents
April J Harris
What a lovely recipe, Debi. I am not sure if I have ever had Guava before, but I would definitely like to try it. And what a lovely way to support the animals and people affected by the LA Wildfires. Sharing this post and popping over to visit the bloggers who you mentioned. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the fires.
Susan
This is crazy but I’ve never had guava. I’m going to hunt down some guava paste so that I can make this. It looks beautiful and I love that the proceeds from this post will be donated to the Pasadena Humane Society!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
Ooo! This cake! How delightful – the color and the flavor! YUM! And so glad I stopped by for a great recipe and great cause! Thank you!