Hawaiian Guava Cake is a classic Hawaiian dessert that is made using strawberry cake mix, guava nectar, cream cheese and a guava gel glaze. It is easy to make and totally delicious!
My family and I took our first Hawaiian vacation last year to Kauai, Hawaii and one of the things we loved the most was this famous Hawaiian dessert.
As soon as we got home, I just knew that I had to figure out how to make this classic Hawaiian dessert so we could enjoy the flavors of Hawaii again and again.
If you’ve never tried guava cake before, it’s a fruity and sweet cake with just the perfect amount of a creamy frosting covered in a guava glaze. It has a tropical flavor and is not overly sweet.
The guava cake was first introduced in the 1960s at the famous Dee Lite Bakery in Honolulu, Hawaii. It has since become a famous Hawaiian dessert served in kitchens around the world.
I truly think this is one of those Hawaiian recipes you’ll enjoy for years to come. It will bring a little piece of Hawaii into your home with every bite.
Looking for more cake recipes? Try our 2-Ingredient Dr. Pepper Cake, 2-Ingredient Mountain Dew Cake or our 2-Ingredient Coke Cake.
Helpful Tips:
- The cake is meant to be spongy as it pairs well with the whipped cream cheese layer and guava glaze.
- If you want a brighter pink color, use a few drops of pink food coloring in the cake mix before baking.
- The cake tastes best when it has time to chill in the refrigerator overnight allowing the cake to cool, flavors to infuse, and the glaze to set.
- Guava juice, guava nectar and guava concentrate are all pretty similar and will bring that guava flavor to this cake.
- Cover the cake with tin foil or plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to a week.
- You can make these into cupcakes by putting the cake batter into cupcake liners before baking. Continue making the toppings as-is for Hawaiian Guava Cake Cupcakes.
- You can top off with chopped pecans, walnuts, freshly sliced strawberries and coconut shreds.
Ingredients Needed to Make A Hawaiian Guava Cake
For The Cake
- Strawberry Cake Mix
- Guava Nectar or Guava Juice (Kern’s, Jumex, or Goya)
- Eggs (room temperature)
- Coconut Oil (liquid)
For The Guava Gel Topping
- Guava Nectar or Guava Juice (Pink is better)
- Granulated Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Water
- Sweetened Coconut Flakes to garnish (optional)
For The Cream Cheese Layer
- Cream Cheese (room temperature)
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Cool Whip (thawed)
Items needed:
- 13×9 Baking Dish
- Large mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula
How to Make Hawaiian Guava Cake
This guava cake recipe is quite easy to make. It requires baking a homemade cake using boxed cake mix and adding in a few extra ingredients.
You will then layer the cake with a homemade cream cheese frosting followed by a thin layer of a guava paste.
The full step-by-step process is in the recipe card below. Enjoy!
Hawaiian Guava Cake
Ingredients
For The Cake:
- 1 Strawberry Cake Mix 15 oz
- 1 ½ cups Guava Nectar or Guava Juice Kern’s, Jumex, or Goya
- 3 large Eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup Coconut Oil liquid
For The Whipped Cream Cheese Layer:
- 10 oz Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 8 oz Cool Whip thawed
For The Guava Gel Topping:
- 2 ½ cups Guava Nectar or Guava Juice Pink is better
- ½ cup granulated Sugar
- 4 tablespoons Cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons Water
- 4 tablespoons sweetened Coconut Flakes to garnish optional
Instructions
For The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 13 x 9 baking dish with vegetable spray.
- Mix together the Cake Mix, Guava Juice, Eggs, and Coconut Oil in mixer, and blend 30
seconds on low, scrape bowl, then beat 2 minutes on medium-high. - Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake 24-26 minutes, until light golden on edges. Cake is done when inserted toothpick comes out clean, or with a few crumbs.
- Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
For The Cream Cheese Layer
- Beat Cream Cheese with mixer until fluffy. Add Sugar and Vanilla and mix well. Slowly fold in the Cool Whip, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- When cake has cooled, spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cake. Place in fridge (or freezer) until cream cheese layer sets.
For The Guava Glaze Layer
- In a medium saucepan, bring the 2 1/2 cups Guava Juice and sugar to a low boil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Make a slurry of the Cornstarch and Water. Remove Guava Juice mixture from heat and stir in the Cornstarch mixture with whisk.
- Return to heat and bring back to low boil, and boil for one minute. Cool in refrigerator.
- Glaze the top of the cake with Guava Gel, gently spreading it over the cream cheese layer.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Slice and garnish with Coconut Flakes if desired. Enjoy with milk, guava juice, or ice cream!
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is a rough estimate only; actual values will vary based on the exact ingredients used and amount of recipe prepared.