Ingredients
Dough
- 400 gplain flour
- 2 tspbaking powder
- ½ tspsalt
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- ½ tspgrated nutmeg
- 120 gbutter, softened
- 150 gcaster sugar
- 2eggs
- 120 mlwhole milk
- 1 tspvanilla extract
Guava layer
- 8ripe guavas, peeled, seeded and pulped (about 400 g pulp)
- 80 gsugar
- juice of ½ lime
Rum butter sauce
- 120 gbutter
- 150 gicing sugar
- 1egg yolk
- 60 mlevaporated milk
- 60 mlaged Bahamian rum
- ½ tspvanilla extract
- pinch of grated nutmeg
Directions
- Cook the guava pulp with the 80 g sugar and the lime juice over medium heat for 10–12 minutes until it is thick enough to hold a line when you drag a spoon through it, then cool completely. Cream the butter and caster sugar until pale, beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the sifted flour, baking powder, salt and spices alternately with the milk and vanilla to a soft, rollable dough.
- Roll the dough on a floured cloth into a rectangle about 30 x 25 cm and 1 cm thick.
- Spread the cooled guava evenly over the dough, leaving a 2 cm border, then roll it up from the long side like a swiss roll and pinch the seam and both ends firmly shut.
- Wrap the roll loosely in a floured cotton cloth or two layers of buttered foil — loosely, because it will swell by half — and tie the ends with string. Lower it into a large pot of gently boiling water, weight it with a plate so it stays submerged, and boil steadily for 1 hour 15 minutes, topping up with boiling water so it is never uncovered.
- Warm gently but never boil. Unwrap the duff, let it firm for 10 minutes, and cut into thick slices — the guava should spiral through a moist, close-textured crumb.
Technique
- A duff is boiled, not baked; the wet heat is what gives the dense, steamed-pudding crumb that defines it.
- Wrap loose and tie tight. Wrapped tight, the roll cracks and guava leaks into the water; tied loose, water gets in and the duff turns to paste.
- The sauce is traditionally uncooked and rich enough to be poured from a jug — Bahamian cooks often add a second splash of rum at the table.
Substitutions
- Out of season, 400 g of tinned guava pulp, or guava paste loosened with a little water, works; reduce the added sugar to 30 g.
- For an alcohol-free sauce, replace the rum with 45 ml evaporated milk plus 1 tsp of rum extract.
Variations
- Steamed duff: the same roll set on a rack over simmering water for 1 hr 30 min, giving a lighter crumb.
- Pineapple or mango duff, made identically with the same weight of cooked fruit pulp, common on Eleuthera.
History
Guava rolled inside dough, boiled or steamed in a cloth and served with rum butter sauce, descended from British steamed puddings.
Frequently asked questions
What is Guava duff?
Guava duff is a dessert from Bahamas: boiled guava-swirled dough with rum-butter sauce. Guava rolled inside dough, boiled or steamed in a cloth and served with rum butter sauce, descended from British steamed puddings.
How long does Guava duff take to make?
Guava duff takes 35 min of preparation and 1 hr 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Guava duff?
Yes, within limits. Out of season, 400 g of tinned guava pulp, or guava paste loosened with a little water, works; reduce the added sugar to 30 g. For an alcohol-free sauce, replace the rum with 45 ml evaporated milk plus 1 tsp of rum extract.
What is the most important thing to get right in Guava duff?
Wrap the roll loosely in a floured cotton cloth or two layers of buttered foil — loosely, because it will swell by half — and tie the ends with string. Lower it into a large pot of gently boiling water, weight it with a plate so it stays submerged, and boil steadily for 1 hour 15 minutes, topping up with boiling water so it is never uncovered.
