Guava Chiffon Baby Shower Cupcakes: Great Only if You Like Guava

This weekend I was tasked with making tropical themed baby shower cupcakes. I could have made my margarita cupcakes, but I don't repeat flavors and the baby shower cupcakes were no exception.

Back in February, I got an email from reader Joe asking if I had a recipe for guava cupcakes.

I am a big fan of your blog! I tried out the Super Bowl cupcakes (Beer & Cheddar) using a special local microbrew that can only be found in Hawaii - a coconut porter beer by the Maui Brewing Company. But I digress...

Speaking of Hawaii, I was wondering if you had any good cupcake recipes(or ideas) for some kind of guava based cupcake. I was thinking a guava cupcake with coconut frosting and a pineapple chunk on top. Would something like this even be feasible?

First of all, I want some of that coconut porter. Joe says it's so good that it has ruined all other beers for him. I did not have a guava cupcake recipe, but I told him I would get to it. The tropical baby shower seemed like the perfect time to try out guava cupcakes!
How were the Guava Chiffon Baby Shower Cupcakes?
My main experience with guava is the form of guava paste. One of my good friends introduced me to eating guava paste with Mexican cheese as a snack. Damn is that good!
Guava juice, as it turns out, tastes nothing like guava paste. The guava juice flavor in the cupcake tasted sort of like a combination of a bunch of fruits that you might find in a cheap mixed fruit cup. I didn't like the flavor. I especially didn't like the flavor after the lifesaver candy dissolved in the cupcake, creating a lifesaver-guava blend. If you like the flavor of guava, fruit cups, or lifesavers, you may like these more than I.
But what did the guests think?
Bride 2.0 said that it was in the top 25% of the cupcakes she had tried. Not bad.
Groom 2.0 wasn't at the shower but he tasted one on a later date. He reported back that he enjoyed the texture of the cake and the frosting, just not the guava flavor. The good news is that this cake can be made with any fruit juice flavor.
The person being showered thought my Passover flourless chocolate cupcakes were the best cupcakes she had ever had in her life. There was no hope of these comparing. However, she did say they were a great, light summery cupcake.
Another pregnant guest said that she always loves the frosting on my cupcakes and these were no exception.
My Mother-In-Law wasn't at the shower either, but I always save one for her. She said, "Another winner... These were spring-y but with robust flavor. Also incredibly cute."
Several guests had two cupcakes - you know I monitor these things!
While the general consensus was positive, I'd love to see how this cupcake went over in a crowd of people who really like the flavor of guava. I bet they would be a hit!
The Guava Chiffon Baby Shower Cupcake Recipe

I got the recipe for the guava chiffon cupcakes from Honolulu Star Bulletin. It is a cake recipe which I converted to cupcakes. I am reprinting with my notes below.

Makes 28 cupcakes

Batter

• 2 3/4 C flour
• 2/3 C sugar
• 4 t baking powder
• 1 t vegetable oil
• 1/2 C water
• 3/4 C guava juice concentrate (thawed, undiluted)
• 5 egg yolks slightly beaten
• 1 t vanilla
• (the original recipe calls for adding 2-3 drops of red food coloring - I didn't see the need to dye the cake red.)

Meringue

• 7 egg whites
• 1/2 t cream of tartar
• 1/2 C sugar

1. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. Add oil, water, guava concentrate, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat with a spoon until mixture is smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff.
4. Gently fold the batter into the meringue until barely mixed.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Guava Chiffon Frosting Recipe

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 C sugar
• 3/4 C guava juice concentrate (thawed, undiluted)
• 1 C whipping cream
• 1/4 t vanilla

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar.
2. Add guava concentrate.
3. Place in saucepan and cook over low-to-medium heat until thick about 8 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, bring to room temperature, and place in the fridge to chill.
5. Whip cream until soft peak form and add vanilla.
6. Fold cream mixture into guava mixture.

Making Babies on the Baby Shower Cupcakes

The guava chiffon frosting is the perfect color for a Caucasian baby. I set a small bit aside to color for the pacifier and spread the rest to make the baby's face.
I used gel frosting to draw the babies' faces and hair and then piped a bit of the colored frosting on top for the pacifier and shoved in a lifesaver candy for the handle part.
Each baby looked a bit different - just like in real life.
I can't claim to have come up with the lifesaver pacifier concept on my own. I saw it on Coolest Birthday Cakes. The ones that are featured there by Brooke S. use chocolate for the face and a candy melt for the pacifier.

Final Recipe Notes

1. Eat these right away. As I alluded to earlier, the lifesaver will melt after it has been in the cupcake for a while. This makes it look like a creepy Halloween baby, not a cute baby shower baby.
   
2. The cake recipe on Star Bulletin also featured a recipe for a guava topping. I actually made the guava topping as well but opted not to use it. It is really tasty and might make for a good cupcake filling. It was a bit runny to put on top of a cupcake.