The guava chiffon cake was born shortly after Herbert and Sue Matsuba opened Dee Lite Bakery on Mokauea Street in 1959. It was the younger sibling of Dee Lite’s first chiffon cake, a coconut version.

The Matsubas called the cake Guava Delite. When I talked to them in 2000, they couldn’t recall why they spelled the cake differently from their bakery name (or the dictionary, for that matter), but whatever the case, the cakes took off.

The Matsubas retired in 1990 and sold the bakery and their recipes to Saint-Germain America, which continues to produce them. Many other local bakeries have their own versions.

Grace Bush passed on a request from her sister in California for a recipe for a guava chiffon. I was never able to get the Dee Lite version, but I do have a good one, developed in 2000 with the help of a "By Request" reader, Charline Griffith.

After 14 years the recipe is worth revisiting and retesting. This is a revised version.

GUAVA CHIFFON CAKE
5 egg yolks (using large eggs)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup guava juice concentrate, thawed, undiluted
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-3/4 cups cake flour
2/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 to3 drops red food coloring
2 to 3 cups whipped cream
>>Meringue:
6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
>>Topping:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Pinch salt
12-ounce can guava juice (or use concentrate left over from cake batter, adding water to make 3/4 cup juice)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
1 tablespoon butter
2 to 3 drops red food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease bottom of an 11-by-13-inch pan (see note).

Separate 6 eggs. Place 5 yolks in mixing bowl, set aside 1 for topping, place whites in separate mixing bowl for meringue.

Lightly beat 5 yolks. Add oil, water, guava juice and vanilla. Set aside.

Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in center; add egg yolk mixture. Beat with a spoon until smooth. Stir in food coloring. Set aside.

To make meringue: Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar until stiff.

Gently fold batter into meringue until no white streaks remain. Pour into pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Loosen sides and remove cake to serving plate. Cake may be frosted as is or cut in half and assembled as a layer cake. Refrigerate cake while preparing topping.

To make topping: Mix cornstarch with water in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve lumps. Add salt, guava and lemon juices and egg yolk. Cook over medium-low heat until thick, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes. (Mixture will thicken more as it cools, but if it seems too thin, combine another tablespoon cornstarch with water and slowly add more to saucepan.) Remove from heat and add butter. For a deeper pink, stir in food coloring. Let cool slightly, but spread while still warm and soft.

Frost cake with whipped cream, then gently spread topping over whipped cream, leaving a 1/2-inch border. If making a layer cake, spread topping evenly over bottom layer, reserving 1/4 cup for top of cake. Place second layer on top layer; refrigerate 1 hour to firm up cake. Frost sides and top with whipped cream, then spread with remaining topping. Chill cake before serving.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Note: If you prefer a round cake, you will have enough batter for 3 round, 9-inch pans. Double topping recipe to make a 3-layer cake. Or fill 2 cake pans and use the extra batter to make cupcakes. Bake 9-inch cakes 25-30 minutes; cupcakes for 20.

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