Giant Gluten Free Guava Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This gluten free guava cake is perfectly-summery, packed with guava, filled with guava whipped cream, and covered in silky cream cheese buttercream
Servings: 20 people
Calories: 600kcal
Equipment
- Four 9-inch round cake pans
- Cake pan strips (link below)
- Electric mixer
- Cake scraper
- Piping bags and tips
Ingredients
For the cake layers:
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 Cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 Cup sour cream
- 2 Cups sweetened guava puree link below
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups white sugar
- pink food coloring optional
- 3 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum)
- 1 1/2 Cup packed blanched almond flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
For the guava whipped cream:
- 3/4 Cup sweetened guava puree cold - link below
- 1 1/2 Cup heavy cream cold
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 4 1/2 Cups salted buttere room temperature
- 3 8 oz packages cream cheese room temperature
- 6-7 Cups sifted powdered sugar
- 2 tsp clear vanilla extract link below
For the pink drip (optional):
- 110 grams good quality white chocolate chopped
- 5 grams cocoa butter
- pink gel food coloring oil-based if you have it
For the decoration (optional):
- 1/3 Cup sweetened guava puree
- fresh flowers
Instructions
To make the cake layers:
- First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and spray your four 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, then set aside. If you're using cake pan strips, start soaking them now in a bowl of cool water. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sour cream, sweetened guava puree, and vanilla extract until smooth. Then sift in the gluten free 1-1 flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk in until fully combined. Finally, add any food coloring you want to use for a pinker cake. Then carefully fasten your wet cake pan strips around the outside of each cake pan. Then spoon the batter carefully into the four pans evenly (you can use a scale to make sure each cake is the same weight if you want perfectly-sized cake layers!).
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before turning out. If you didn't use cake pan strips, use a long sharp knife to slice the bump off of each cake top. Then wrap each layer entirely in plastic wrap and return the layers to their pans. Freeze the wrapped cakes (in their cake pans) for at least an hour (I recommend overnight for really-frozen cakes) so that constructing the cake will be easier.
To make the guava whipped cream:
- Once the cakes are frozen, make the fillings and frosting. First, make the whipped cream, in a medium bowl, whisk the cold cream, or beat using an electric mixer, until stiff peaks form, then fold in the sweetened guava puree carefully until fully mixed, then set aside.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
- In a large bowl (and I mean large), beat the butter by itself for 4-5 minutes until whiter and fluffy (this is how you get really-white frosting). Add in the cream cheese one pack at a time and beat to combine. Add vanilla and one cup of the powdered sugar beat until smooth, then continue adding powdered sugar one cup at a time until the frosting is thick and fairly stiff (it won't get as stiff as regular all-butter American buttercream but it will b close). Then scoop some frosting into a piping bag, cut a 1/2 inch tip, and prep your cake decorating materials.
To construct the cake:
- Finally, construct the cake! Remove cake layers from freezer and place one cake layer on a plate or cake board (I recommend using a cake turn table with a cake board) and then spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on the cake. Pipe a thick ring of frosting around the top edge of the cake, creating a barrier to fill with whipped cream. Fill the ring with about 2/3 cup of whipped cream, spreading it to fill the empty space in the center of the cake. Then place your second cake layer on top and repeat the frosting/filling until you've placed the final layer on top. Then carefully crumb coat the entire cake (apply a thin coat of frosting, using your cake scraper to scrape off the excess), then freeze the entire cake for at least an hour to set.
- Once the cake is set, remove and apply the final coat of frosting. Then decorate! Make your pink drip. Combine the chopped white chocolate and chopped cocoa butter in a heat-proof container or large measuring cup and microwave in 10 second bursts, stirring in between, until it's entirely melted and combined. Carefully add a small amount of pink gel (oil based if you have it) food coloring and stir to combine. Add more if needed. Then pour into a piping bag, let cool for a couple of minutes at room temp, then cut a small opening in the piping bag and carefully apply your drip around the top edge of the cake.
- Finally, spread the extra sweetened guava puree in a circle on top of the cake inside the ring of the drip. Then pipe decorative frosting around the top edge and freeze the entire cake to set for another hour. Add flowers if you want and then serve! To cut the cake, I recommend keeping the cake in the fridge up until serving, and dipping your cutting knife in a pitcher of very-hot water (then drying it) in between slicing.