Guava & Cream Cheese Cupcakes
Guava and cream cheese cupcakes are so tasty because that sweet, tart tropical fruit gets mellowed out with the rich, creamy frosting. These cupcakes are so easy to make, but deliver on flavor!
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Leftovers… Repurposed
In a short span of time, I had made some carrot cake cupcakes for my husband’s birthday and lemon blueberry cake. Both recipes gave me some leftover cream cheese frosting lounging in my freezer. I also had some extra guava puree from when I made the guava cheesecake. What’s a girl to do?
Since I knew there was a big guava fan at my husband’s work, I figured I should throw these leftovers together to create something new and tasty. Vanilla cupcakes would make the perfect delivery system for my guava and cream cheese leftovers.
Cream Cheese Frosting
This buttercream flavor has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. It’s so rich and creamy, but with that subtle cream cheese tang. Pairing it with just about any fruity flavor is almost always a guaranteed win.
When you’re making your cream cheese frosting, be sure not to over whip it. Unfortunately, if you beat it too long or too hard, the cream cheese can start to separate. Focus on beating the buttercream just until everything is smooth and combined, not necessarily light and fluffy.
Guava Goo
I used all of my guava goo on the guava cheesecake, but I did have more guava puree from Maui Fruit Jewels leftover that needed to be used up. For this recipe, I decided not to use cornstarch.
Guava is naturally high in pectin, so it will thicken up quite nicely on its own. In fact, when I cut into one of my guava and cream cheese cupcakes, the guava goo barely moved. Unlike the limoncello lemon curd in these lemon cupcakes.
Vanilla Cupcakes
My secret to vanilla cupcakes that are soft, moist, and flavorful is all in the ingredient list. Cake enhancer and dried buttermilk are the big stars here, but also a combination of butter and oil means these cupcakes have the best texture. Any of the ingredients new or confusing to you? Read all about my most used cake ingredients.
You can use this recipe for regular sized cupcakes or mini cupcakes. With regular cupcakes, you should get 15, and with mini cupcakes, about 45- 50. For a larger batch, check out this recipe for vanilla cupcakes.
Related Reading: Cupcake & Cake Prep for Home Bakers
Top Tips for Cupcakes
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help everything blend nicely and give your cupcakes a nice texture.
- Scrape down your bowl often. Butter and sugar can hide out at the bottom of your bowl. Make sure everything gets blended!
- Do NOT over mix. Once you add the wet and dry ingredients, keep the speed on stir and only mix to combine.
- Place some dried rice (½ – 1 teaspoon) in the bottom of each cupcake cavity before adding your paper cases.
- Use a large cookie scoop to perfectly portion your cupcake batter.
Assembling Guava & Cream Cheese Cupcakes
Use a 1M piping tip, or any other medium tip that you like, to pipe a nest of cream cheese frosting on top of your vanilla cupcakes. Fill in the nest with a generous portion of guava goo. Congrats! Your guava and cream cheese cupcakes are ready to eat!
I decided not to fill these cupcakes with the guava goo and just used a small dollop on top. I was worried the goo would soak into the cupcake too much. It probably would be fine, but you’d need to make a little bit more guava goo than this recipe calls for.
Enjoy!
Soft vanilla cupcakes, rich cream cheese frosting, and a dollop of tart guava goo make this dessert an absolute delight for the tastebuds. With a batch of guava and cream cheese cupcakes, you can travel to a tropical island without ever leaving your house.
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Guava and Cream Cheese Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 4 oz all- purpose flour
- 1 ½ oz cake flour
- 2 Tbsp dried buttermilk
- 1 ½ tsps baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 ½ oz unsalted butter softened
- 7 oz white sugar
- 1 Tbsp cake enhancer optional
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 4 fl oz water
- 1 ½ Tbsps canola oil
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz unsalted butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese soft, but still cool
- 21 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice optional
- ½ tsp vanilla
Guava Goo
- 8 oz guava puree
- 3 oz sugar
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper cases and set aside.
- Sift the flours, dried buttermilk, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
- Add the butter, sugars, and cake enhancer (if using) to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream on a medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape the bowl down once or twice during the process.
- Add the vanilla to the bowl and beat on medium until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl down.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, add an egg and mix for about 15 seconds before bumping the speed up to the next lowest setting. Mix until combined, about 15 seconds more. Repeat the process with the remaining eggs, scraping the bowl down occasionally.
- As the eggs finish incorporating, combine the water and oil, then set aside.
- Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients. Begin with a third of the dry and mix on the lowest speed until just combined. Drizzle in half of the liquids and beat on low until nearly combined. Scrape the bowl down and repeat this process with another addition of dry, then wet ingredients. Scrape the bowl down and finish with the final bit of dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Use a cupcake scoop to divide the batter among the cupcake pans. Bake for 20- 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when tapped on top and a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a cooling rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and light, about 4 minutes. Scrape the bowl down and add the cream cheese. Beat until combined and light, another 4 minutes.
- Add about one third of the powdered sugar. Beat for 1- 2 minutes, starting on low and bumping up to medium. Add another third of the sugar. Beat for another minute. Add the remaining powdered sugar, lemon juice (if using), and vanilla. Beat for a minute or two until combined and smooth.
Guava Sauce
- Combine the guava puree and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5- 10 minutes, or until the mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
Assembly
- Pipe a nest of cream cheese frosting onto each cupcake. Fill the empty space with cooled guava goo.
Notes
- If not using the guava goo that day, cover and place in the fridge.
- If you'd like to fill the cupcakes with guava, you'll need to increase the goo portion of the recipe.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
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