Luau Cupcakes

Just the smell of the frosting reminds me of home and watching the sunset on the beach. I've been so homesick lately that this might cheer me up a bit. I decided to bake this for my Ukulele instructor's birthday. I hope he enjoys this treat as much as I do. Happy birthday Patrick!

This cake recipe was very complicated and time consuming. Next time I will just use a simple white cake recipe and add the strawberry guava nectar.

Strawberry Guava Chiffon Cake

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
half a container of Hawaii's own strawberry guava nectar
5 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
8 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare your choice of baking pan.
2. Sift together the flour with 2/3 cups of sugar, the baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the oil, water, nectar, yolks, vanilla, and lemon zest until well combined. Pour the yolks into the flour, and mix until the batter is smooth. Beat together egg whites with the cream of tartar in a clean bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1/2 cup of sugar, and beat until stiff. Gently fold whites into batter.
   
3. If baking in cake pans, bake for 25 minutes then run a metal spatula or small knife around the edges of the cake to loosen, and allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. For regular cupcake pans, bake for 20 minutes, mini cupcakes about 1o minutes.

Strawberry Guava Frosting

1 stick of butter (softened)
8oz of cream cheese (softened)
half a container of Hawaii's own strawberry guava nectar
4 cups of powdered sugar

1. boil guava nectar until reduced by more than half. Consistency should be as thick as syrup. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Mix all ingredients till smooth.