Guava sponge cake

You may be wondering why I was obsessed with guava with the amounts of Instagram guava pastry posts.  That's not it.  I never knew much about guava before (other than juice).  It was just that my cousin had bushels of the fruit, they were were so ripe and just falling off his trees, so we would get a load delivered to the house weekly.  The scent is intoxicating, and the flavor delicate and exotic.

I would look at the guava and think, what can I do with this (other than smoothies and soups for the tangier ones, believe it or not, a filipino regional specialty), not a fruit I'm accustomed to working into cakes.  I learned how to make a guava cream gelatin so created this soft sponge cake with whipped cream frosting and guava gelatin in between and on top.  The pink is so surprising, both as a color and taste, which is almost pure guava.  

Also, this was the last photo shoot I did in Arizona before coming back to France. The dessert bloom was spectacular as it followed about a week of heavy downpour, being monsoon season.  The weather cooled down enough, about 15-20°F less, that we were able to sit outside without anything melting!

Here's the recipe for my aunt's sponge :

Sponge cake :

6 eggs, separated

1/4 cup salted butter

1/3 cup sugar + 1/2 cup

1 cup cake flour

1/4 cream of tartar

1/4 cup cream

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Guava gelatin

8-10 guava (about 1/12 cup), peeled, seeded and mixed in a blender until creamy

(if you don't have fresh guava, use guava nectar, but add another half a sheet of gelatin)
2 leaves of gelatin or 1 teaspoon gelatin powder or 1-1/2 tsp agar agar
1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon softened butter

Whipped cream frosting

1 8 oz softened cream cheesse

1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

For decorating : berries, petals, macarons...

Preheat oven 350° F/ 180° C. Line 2 round cake pans with parchment paper. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in a bowl until they form soft speaks.  Add 1/3 cup sugar and beat until the meringue thickens, about 2 minutes.  In another bowl, mix butter and 1/2 cup sugar, add yolks, then cream, and mix until it lightens in color, about 2 minutes.  Sift in cake flour and baking powder.  Pour into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the middle is firm.  Set on cooling racks cool, then remove parchment paper.

For the guava gelatin, soften gelatin sheets in cold water.  In a saucepan, in medium heat, warm pureed guava with sugar until simmering.  Add the softened gelatin sheets (or a teaspoon of powdered gelatin), and whisk in until dissolved. Add butter until melted, then lemon juice.  Allow to cool, and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the whipped cream frosting, in a bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar until creamy.  In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.  Add 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and continue to whip until thickened, about 2 minutes.  With a spatula, fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the assembly, take one disk of cake and lay face down on a serving plate. Pipe a ring of frosting along the inner edges and fill the middle with the guava gelatin.  Add another disk of cake, face up, cover with guava gelatin and pipe more frosting to decorate.  Add fruit and other edible decoration, I added sampaguitas which were in full bloom, adding a delicate jasmine flavor.

Enjoy, everyone!