Guava Cupcakes

Bought a big carton of guava juice last weekend and was trying to think of what I could make with it.
I suddenly remembered a guava cake my sister had for her birthday a couple of years ago. They bought it from this Hawaiian restaurant and it was possibly the best cake I'd ever had.
So I made guava cupcakes and sent most of them with the hubby to give to his classmates. These are definitely my favorite cupcakes now. But if you ever get a chance to try real guava cake I promise it will be even better. They use a light whipped cream cheese topping that makes the cake...the only reasons I didn't make it is because 1) I didn't have cream cheese, and 2) It would melt and fall off my cupcakes while in transit.

These are the non-melting version:

Guava Cupcakes

Cupcakes: (adapted from Aloha World HERE)
For the cake mix, all you do is prepare the cake according to instructions but replace the water with guava juice. My ingredient list is according to a Betty Crocker cake mix.

• 1 pkg yellow cake mix (I would actually suggest white if you want a nice pink color)
• 1 c guava nectar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• red food coloring

Icing: (This is optional. It's time consuming but makes for extra-moist cakes.)

• 2 T guava nectar
• 1/2 c powdered sugar

Guava Jelly:

• 1 c guava juice
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 T cornstarch

Frosting:

•  3-1/2 c powdered sugar
• 1 c unsalted butter, softened
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 tsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla (try Adam's Best)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare cupcake pans with liners.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, guava nectar, eggs and oil. Add a few drops of red food coloring until you reach your desired color of pink. Pour into the cupcake pan(s) and bake for 14-20 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
To make the guava jelly, pour the guava and sugar into a small sauce pan and heat to boiling. While waiting for that to boil, in a separate small bowl mix the cornstarch with just enough water to make a paste. Remove the saucepan from heat and pour in the cornstarch mixture while stirring. Place back on the stove and heat to boiling again, mixing. Let the jelly cool in the fridge.
Meanwhile in a small bowl mix together the guava and powdered sugar to make the icing. Using a toothpick, poke holes in the middle of each cupcake (don't get too close to the edges or the bottom of the cupcake). Then pour a bit of the icing onto each cupcake. Make sure it doesn't touch the liner or your liners will end up peeling off the cake later. You can do this while the cupcakes are still warm, it will absorb it even better.
Once the jelly is cool enough, take about a teaspoon worth and dollop it on the middle of each cupcake (again making sure it doesn't touch the liners).
Make the frosting by beating together the sugar, salt and softened butter. Then add the vanilla and heavy cream. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes, and all done. Whew.