Guava duff

Name: Guava duff
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 190 min
Yield: 8 slices
Cuisine: Bahamian
Ingredients: 350 g Wheat flour, plain, plus extra for rolling; 2 tsp Baking powder; 60 g Sugar; 0.5 tsp Salt; 60 g Butter, cold, cubed; 1 piece Egg, beaten; 120 ml Milk, cold; 350 g Guava paste, cubed; 60 ml Water; 1 piece Lime, juiced, to cut the sweetness; 120 g Butter, soft; 150 g Icing sugar; 1 piece Egg, yolk only; 3 tbsp Dark rum; 3 tbsp Evaporated milk; 1 tsp Vanilla

The Bahamian national dessert: a soft dough rolled around guava, wrapped and steamed for over an hour, sliced and drowned in a butter-rum sauce.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 1 hr 30 min
Rest: 1 hr
Total: 3 hr 10 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Guava duff is a steamed rolled pudding. A soft, slightly enriched dough is rolled out, spread with sweetened guava, rolled into a log like a Swiss roll, wrapped tightly in foil or a floured cloth, and boiled or steamed for an hour and a half until it is set and spongy right through. It is served in thick slices under a pale sauce of butter, sugar, egg and rum beaten to a cream. The traditional filling is fresh guavas stewed and mashed; this version uses guava paste softened with water, which is what most people outside the islands can get. It is a weekend project, not a weeknight pudding.

What you'll need

16 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 16 ready

8 servings

Dough
Filling
Sauce

Ingredients

Servings

Dough

Wheat flour, plain, plus extra for rolling350 g
Baking powder9.9 ml
Sugar60 g
Salt2½ ml
Butter, cold, cubed60 g
Egg, beaten1
Milk, cold120 ml

Filling

Guava paste, cubed350 g
Water60 ml
Lime, juiced, to cut the sweetness1

Sauce

Butter, soft120 g
Icing sugar150 g
Egg, yolk only1
Dark rum44 ml
Evaporated milk (optional)44 ml
Vanilla4.9 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Melt the guava paste with the water and lime juice in a small pan over low heat, mashing with a spoon until it is a thick spreadable jam. Cool completely; it must not be warm when it meets the dough.
10 min
Step 2
Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and rub in the cold butter. Mix the egg into the milk and stir it in to make a soft dough. Knead 1 minute until smooth, then rest 10 minutes under the bowl.
15 min
Step 3
Roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle about 30 by 25 cm and 1 cm thick. Spread the cooled guava to within 2 cm of the edges. Roll up from a long side into a firm log and pinch the seam and ends closed.
10 min
Tip: Do not overfill. Guava that leaks into the water makes a pink mess and a soggy end.
Step 4
Wrap the log tightly in two layers of buttered foil, twisting the ends like a sweet wrapper, or in a floured cloth tied at both ends. Leave a little room for it to swell.
5 min
Step 5
Lower it into a wide pot of simmering water, or onto a rack above the water for steaming, and cover. Keep it at a steady simmer for 90 minutes, topping up with boiling water as needed and turning the parcel once.
90 min
Watch: Never let the pot boil dry. A duff that touches the bottom scorches through the foil.
Step 6
While it cooks, beat the soft butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, then the rum, vanilla and evaporated milk if using. The sauce should be a thick pourable cream; chill it.
8 min
Step 7
Lift the duff out and rest 10 minutes before unwrapping. Slice 2 to 3 cm thick and serve warm with the cold sauce spooned over.
12 min
Tip: The contrast of warm pudding and cold sauce is the point. Do not warm the sauce.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 594 kcal
Protein: 7.5 g
Carbs: 95.1 g
Fat: 21.3 g
Saturated fat: 12.6 g
Fibre: 2.7 g
Sugar: 56.6 g
Sodium: 201 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat
Milk
Eggs

Vegetarian
Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.

Substitutions

Guava paste → A thick guava jam, or in desperation a sharp plum or apricot jam
Guava jam is closest. Other fruit makes a good steamed roll that is no longer a guava duff.
Dark rum → A teaspoon of rum essence or more vanilla
Island cooks would not approve, but the sauce still works without alcohol.

Tips

If you can find ripe fresh guavas, peel and seed about 700 g, stew them with 100 g sugar until collapsed, and mash. That is the real filling.
The sauce contains raw egg yolk. Use a fresh or pasteurised egg, or leave the yolk out and add a tablespoon more evaporated milk.
Duff keeps three days wrapped in the fridge and reheats well in its foil in simmering water for 20 minutes.

History & culture

Guava duff is the dessert of the Bahamas the way peas n rice is its side. It turns up at Sunday dinner, at Christmas and at Independence Day, and a handful of Nassau cooks sell it by the slice from their kitchens with a jar of sauce. Everyone has an aunt whose duff is the standard. The sauce is argued over more than the dough: some add evaporated milk, some more rum.

The method is English. Boiled puddings wrapped in cloth came with Loyalist settlers after the American Revolution and with colonial administration from Britain. Guava grew wild and in every yard, so it replaced jam and suet-and-currant fillings. The butter-rum sauce is a Bahamian addition that owes something to hard sauce and something to the rum trade.

Regional variation — Fresh ripe guavas, peeled, seeded, stewed and mashed with sugar are the real filling. Guava paste thinned with water is the pantry version and is what is written here; it is sweeter and smoother. The sauce omits the raw egg white some cooks fold in.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Guava duff take?

3 hr 10 min all in — 40 min prep, 1 hr 30 min cook, 1 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 8 slices. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.

8 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Stockpot, Rolling pin, Mixing bowl.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at ½ tsp.

How much sugar?

60 g of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Guava paste → A thick guava jam, or in desperation a sharp plum or apricot jam. Guava jam is closest. Other fruit makes a good steamed roll that is no longer a guava duff. Dark rum → A teaspoon of rum essence or more vanilla. Island cooks would not approve, but the sauce still works without alcohol.

What should I watch for?

Never let the pot boil dry. A duff that touches the bottom scorches through the foil.

Any tips from this recipe?

If you can find ripe fresh guavas, peel and seed about 700 g, stew them with 100 g sugar until collapsed, and mash. That is the real filling. The sauce contains raw egg yolk. Use a fresh or pasteurised egg, or leave the yolk out and add a tablespoon more evaporated milk. Duff keeps three days wrapped in the fridge and reheats well in its foil in simmering water for 20 minutes.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.