![Fruit Salad](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/07/11/multimedia/as-fruit-salad-bjcv/as-fruit-salad-bjcv-mediumThreeByTwo440-v2.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Fruit Salad
Ali Slagle
380 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
380
20 minutes
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a parchment sling, leaving some over hang on the long sides.
Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder and kosher salt until combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the egg whites, in three additions, beating about 1 minute after each. Reduce speed to low, add the oil and mix until combined, about 1 more minute.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, guava concentrate, vanilla and food coloring (if using). On low speed, alternate between adding the wet and dry ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer, mixing well after each addition.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually increase the speed to high and whip until it’s light and fluffy with stiff peaks, another 2 to 3 minutes. (Don’t overwhip!) Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl.
Replace the bowl on the stand mixer and fit the machine with the paddle attachment (there’s no need to clean the bowl). Place the cream cheese in the bowl and mix on medium until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar and kosher salt and increase the speed to high. Beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Lower the speed to medium and add the food coloring (if using). Add the guava concentrate in four additions, mixing well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after the second and the final additions. Increase the speed to high and beat until smooth and well incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from stand and, using the spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream in three additions, incorporating completely after each addition.
Spread the frosting on the cooled cake, using an offset spatula to smooth it over the edges. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Cut into 24 pieces and serve immediately.
I used a 14 oz bag of Goya frozen guava pulp and the cake turned out wonderfully. The 14 oz bag was also had exactly the right volume for the recipe. I used the defrosted pulp straight out of the bag without reducing it or adding water.
Ceres guava "juice" contains Apple and/or Pear Juices plus Guava Puree (guava fruits are about as juicy as avocados). Check the ingredients on Amazon. "No added sugar" is meaningless: the first two have enough sugar. I'd substitute the more widely available (and considerably cheaper) Guava paste (guava pulp, sugar, citric acid) - 120 gm plus 120 ml water. The paste has a lot of added sugar, so I'd reduce the sugar in the recipe from 250 to 180 gm.
DaFruta has a concentrate without added sugar, 100% guava. I purchased a bottle from my Latin food market but it is also available on Amazon! About $5.99 a bottle.
Made this with mango puree (Kesar, reduced sugar by 1/4) and worked out beautifully! Added about 1/4 more mango to frosting.
I made this recipe as 24 cupcakes. They baked perfectly at 350 for 16-17 minutes. Also, I agree with other posting that the batter needs closer to 6 drops for the rich pick color.
After reading everyone's comments about it turning out dense, I decided to beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them in at the end. It worked like a charm- fluffy and delicious! I also split it into two 9-inch rounds, which worked out well; they were done in ~25 minutes. I doubled the frosting just in case, but didn't end up needing it all. (Either way, it was so good I kind of wanted to eat it with a spoon!) Verdict from my mother, whose birthday I made it for: it tastes just like Hawaii!
I split the batter into 3, 9” rounds. Took about 20 minutes to bake and had the perfect texture. The cream cheese frosting, to me, takes away from the cake’s subtle flavors. Next time I will just use whipped cream and guava. I may also try this recipe with strawberries.
I used a 14 oz bag of Goya frozen guava pulp and the cake turned out wonderfully. The 14 oz bag was also had exactly the right volume for the recipe. I used the defrosted pulp straight out of the bag without reducing it or adding water.
This is a delicious, subtly sweet, and cheerful cake! Took other readers' suggestions to use a 14 oz. package of defrosted guava pulp (La Fe brand)- perfect volume for the recipe. Split the batter between 2 8x8 square pans (one is destined for a dinner party, and the other for work tomorrow). I was concerned about texture/density after reading others' comments, so was extra cautious not to overcream or overmix. Combo of caution + splitting batter into 2 pans yielded a perfect, fluffy crumb.
I noted many others saying the cake was dense, so instead of adding in the egg whites to the butter and sugar, I whipped them separately to soft peaks and added them in at the end of step three. First, a third of the egg whites mixed into the batter and then the other two thirds folded in before pouring the batter in the pan. This made the texture light and lovely.
These are incredible!!! I reduced the sugar in the cake by half a cup to compensate for the sugar in the Ceres juice I reduced. I wish I had added more than four drops of food coloring to the cake to get that nice red color in the photo though! Mine look pretty but they turned out to be more of a peachy color.
I made this as an experienced home baker and it wasn’t successful. I followed the directions to a T, and while easily one of the most beautiful cakes I’ve made (and utterly perfect looking from the outside) - the frosting was bland only mildly fruit flavored, it didn’t add anything and wasn’t really pleasant. The cake was floury, under sweet, and gummy, despite a toothpick test and the sides slightly pulling away from the edge. Very disappointing as I’d had my eye on the recipe for months.
We didn't have a lot of success with this recipe. The cake itself was a bit too dense and the icing was so runny that we kept having to cut it with more whipped cream to get it to thicken. We used Ceres, which reduced nicely, but the final flavor wasn't really as pronounced as we had hoped it would be. Seems like a great cake in concept, but not so much in execution.
I’m so disappointed in this recipe. I read so many of the reviews that warned the cake would turn out dense, and I took the advice of others, beat my eggs separately, was very precautious about over mixing the batter, and it still turned out so dense and flat. I followed the directions for the frosting to a T and it was a liquid-y mess. I put so much effort into it, and I am a pretty good baker, so I felt pretty bad when this didn’t turn out. The recipe needs some real work.
Not good. I’m a very experienced baker, and my gut knew this batter contained too much liquid for a good rise. Correct! It’s dense and almost rubbery, with disappointingly little guava flavor (and I cut down the vanilla). I tracked down pure guava concentrate to make this (and it is gorgeous), but the flavor and texture are a total bust.
Very disappointing. I’m from Hawaii and I made this for a party. It took a really long time to boil the guava juice down, more than 40 minutes for me. The cake came out dense, not light and fluffy as the photo suggests. I suspect either I didn’t boil down the guava juice enough because I had more than a cup or so at the end and maybe I had too much liquid in my batter? Unfortunately this was such a time investment for disappointing results so I won’t be trying it again to try to improve it.
Grateful for the foodie community here :-) I did my simple syrup (boiled-tx for the tip) and am boiling my guava juice for the concentrate. It does have added sugar though; how much sugar should I cut from the recipe?
This was a disappointment all around for me. I made it exactly as written. In my past work life, I was a professional baker, so I don't suspect it was over mixing the batter on my part. Agree with the other reviewers who suspect whipping the whites could help. The frosting was VERY soft, almost liquid like, and my cake was gummy. Used DaFruta brand guava concentrate - which might be too much liquid. Next time, I would try concentrating the concentrate, and whipping the whites separately.
Successfully made this for a Hawaiian themed party by following the tip to whip egg whites to soft peak stage and then fold them in. I used two round 9” pans so they would fit on cake plates. As I knew they would be outside for several hours, I had to omit the whipped cream and just make a cream cheese frosting following all the remaining steps including the food coloring. Cake was delicious and pretty!
Cooked and pureed ripe guavas for this. The flavour was lovely, but it was very tedious getting the seeds out.
Unfortunately this recipe is not true to form at all. I've done it three times and it's bland, eggy and heavy. I've followed the instructions, the correct weights, and some of the very insightful comments here (i.e. the comments about whipping the eggs whites longer). I've made sure my baking powder is fresh and used greatly reduced guava juice. It needs to go back to the test kitchen. Kudos to those of you who pulled it off! It really sounds lovely but is not worth the headache to me.
I made this cake with fresh guavas that I got at a farmers market in Hawaii. I peeled them, sliced them and then pureed them in a blender. The flavor was amazing! The cake was slightly dense yes but not overly so. The frosting balances it well. I whipped the egg whites and folded them in at the end as many others did. I enjoyed the cake a lot! And the frosting was great as well. I will be making it one more time from the fresh guavas while I’m still here in Hawaii.
I live in Hawaii and searched high and low for guava concentrate with high guava and low sugar content. No luck. I boiled down a half gallon of (pricey) fresh guava nectar from Whole Foods. The result was OK, though more brown than pink. 12 drops of red food coloring helped with the appearance. Whipped the egg whites separately and folded in at the end. Baked up perfectly and the frosting was wonderful. Well received at a party! I would make this again but search out real guava puree on Amazon.
I, too, was very unhappy with this recipe and I have to agree with the comments about it being too dense and somewhat rubbery. I am a very experienced baker and I baked this cake for my beloved daughter-in-law's birthday, so I was especially disappointed by the result. I intend to develop a better version of a pink guava cake and have purchased some Amoretti natural natural guava flavoring for my endeavor. If I meet with success, I will post my own version here later.
Made this for my 4 y/o's birthday. He loved helping and art-directing. We found frozen guava paste at our local latino grocer which when thawed was perfect. The verdict: adults loved it, but it turns out 4 year olds are iffy if it's not vanilla or chocolate! Still, I enjoyed the process and we enjoyed having the leftovers to ourselves! We made ours in a sheetcake which I would say served 20 or less when including children. This is a more dense fruity cake not a light airy one, even with mods.
This cake is just amazing! Pretty AND delicious. Even picky eaters asked for seconds. I have a strong preference for cakes (and icings) than are lower on the sweetness scale (what’s the name of THAT scale btw?!) I had to adjust slightly because I had guava concentrate on hand which was sweetened with sugar, so I reduced the sugar a bit. Results were perfect — I was lauded by our dinner guests, especially the 6 yr old!
I forgot to comment on texture/density. Yes, this is a dense cake, akin to a pound cake, which I do enjoy very much. But many commenters suggest adding the egg whites last, and that makes complete sense. For a lighter-textured cake, such as layer cakes, I’d follow that advice.
Anyone tried beet powder for the color?
This was terrible. Despite whipping the egg whites separately and folding them into the batter at the end, as others suggested, and using frozen guava pulp with no sugar, I found the taste and gummy texture of this cake quite unpleasant. Although the initial flavor is of the pleasant guava, it quickly gives way to the flavor of cornbread and cardboard. Made it for my son's birthday at his request, and he politely complimented me but never finished his slice. Not making this one again!!
I made this for a tropical themed dinner party and the flavors are sweet and subtle. First time I made it, there was a gummy layer in the middle. Researching, I found that over creaming the sugar, butter, and eggs or overmixing the flour causes the gumminess. Second time, I substantially reduced the time I mixed and the cake was gummy layer free.
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