Skip to main content

Strawberry - guava cake (gluten-free option)

I've been having fun experimenting with different ways to make even more delicious and varied layer cakes, naturally using seasonal ingredients. This all started out because my cousin dropped off a bushel of guavas from his recent harvest.  Usually I make guava juice for drinks, like guava-lime-strawberry or guava-fizzy water with lemon or orange rind, or daiquiris and margaritas. 

For this week's layer cake, since it was all about guava, and let me tell you coring and preparing them is half the fun since the fragrance is so delicate and delightful, bringing back childhood memories. Not gonna lie, it does take time, but the juice and guava cream are a nice delicate color and flavor for cakes and so worth it. I made a cream from pureed guava (seeds strained) and also a strawberry-guava mousse.  There are 2 mousses in this cake.  Also there are 2 different cakes.  

My little time-saving secret for home-bakers : I usually make one batch of layer cakes one day, baking for example 4-6 disks of the yogurt vanilla flavor and freezing them (remember to label them with the kind of flavor and date, I've made the mistake of forgetting this step, with dire results, bahahaha). The next day I bake the fruit flavor layer, this time guava, other times almond, lemon or cheesecake layers. You can then build a cake pretty readily, just allow 2-3 hours to defrost, layering with a different fruit preserve or mousse or curd or another cake flavor.  I also make the mousses and creams and freeze them (once again, label !). You can then look in your freezer and build a cake. This week it's : 2 layers of yogurt cake - strawberry mousse - layer of guava cake - guava strawberry mousse - whipped vanilla cream and berries. 

Here are some recipes from this week's cake :

Fluffy yogurt cake
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt
1-1/2 cup sugar
3/4 vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cup flour (or gluten free flour + 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt

For chocolate cake : add 1/2 cup of cold coffee and 1/2 cup cocoa powder.
For guava or strawberry cake : add 2/3 cup of pureed guava cream (simmer about a dozen peeled and quartered guavas over medium heat 10 minutes or until softened, +2 tablespoons of sugar, allow to cool then mix in a processor, remove seeds through a sieve) and/or strawberries (softened over medium heat +2 tablespoons of sugar, pureed in a processor) + 1/2 cup of cake flour.
For a lemon layer : add 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice + 1/2 cup cake flour.

Preheat oven 350 degrees F / 175 degrees C. Line 2 round 8"-9" baking pans. Mix ingredients in a bowl, first all the wet ingredients, beating 2 minutes, then folding in the rest, whisking 2 minutes.  Batter should be medium thick, not too runny nor too heavy (add a tablespoon of flour or yogurt to get the right consistency. Pour batter into pans then bake 35-40 minutes or until the center is cooked (test with a toothpick which should come out clean).

For the strawberry-guava mousse :
1/2 guava puree
1/2 cup strawberry puree
1 tablespoon of sugar according to taste
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup softened cream cheese

Whip up the cream in a bowl (make sure it's cold or it won't fluff up as much).  After 2-3 minutes, beat in confectioner's sugar.  Add softened cream cheese and mix until you get a thickened cream, about 1 minute.  Fold in fruit purees.  Store in the refrigerator about 2 hours or until thickened.  You can then pipe between layers of cake or simple spoon on top evenly.  Save some for the top, here I paired the mousse with a homemade whipped cream, then added strawberries.

Enjoy, everyone !

 








Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cotton sponge cake with strawberries and cream cheese frosting

My kids had a birthday to celebrate so I made the cakes and they decorated. I used to do this when my children were small, set up a table for them to decorate cookies or gingerbread houses, even had parties like this, and to this day, they like assembling treats and are good cooks. Here's the batter recipe I often use which you can find in my other recipes (mocha sponge, apple cider cake...) : Cotton sponge cake recipe : 4 eggs, separated 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar 1-1/4 cup (180 g) cake flour 3/4 cup (150 g) confectioner's sugar 1/4 cup cider (60 g) (French kind, or 4.5% alcohol) or beer or carbonated water 1/4 cup (60 g) sour cream (or thick cream) 1/4 cup (60 g) milk (as needed) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 180° F / 350° C.  Line pan with parchment paper.  I used a 7" spring-form pan and a small fluted brioche mold. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add granulated sugar a little at a time and continue
Post a Comment
Read more

Santa Swiss roll

Hello, everyone! Now that it's the season... Had quite a bit of fun making this yule log.  I was dreaming of a red and white Santa-inspired cake with raspberries. I was so pleased with the result, the cake was so soft and not too sweet, the cream light and the raspberries added that perfect tanginess and sweetness. Here's the recipe for the pink velvet and raspberry base: 60 g cooking oil 80 g milk 100 g cake flour 70 g sugar + 3 tablespoons more for the egg whites 6 eggs, separated 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon of coffee extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon red gel food color + fresh raspberries, rinsed and pat dried + macarons, candies, sprinkles to decorate Cream cheese frosting 200 g heavy whipping cream 200 g softened cream cheese 50 g confectioners sugar 1 teaspoon lemon juice Preheat hoven 340° F / 170° C. Line a large rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper (I used a 13" x 17" pan). In a bowl, whisk cooking oil, milk, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, salt
Post a Comment
Read more

Pink Black Forest cake

Hi guys ! A bit late but I did say I would post this recipe, which was a fun cake to put together for a birthday.  I layered pink velvet and fudge brownie cakes with vanilla cream and candied cherries to make this Pink Black Forest cake for October Rose (breast cancer awareness month). Believe it or not, I didn't have fresh cherries, since it was late in the season, but here is reason to believe you can use frozen or preserved cherries and it works out well too. To be honest, I did make this cake over the space of 2 days. First I preserved the cherries, then made one cake layer and refrigerated everything.  The next day I made another cake layer, as well as the cream and assembled it.  Start with preparing the cherries. In a medium saucepan, over low heat, add 400-500 g of frozen or preserved (unsweetened in water) whole pitted cherries and 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup of water, and 2 tablespoons of kirsch. Once simmering, add 1-1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch until dissolved and simmer ab
Post a Comment
Read more