Guava Duff
“Bahamian guava duff — a sweet yeasted (or quickly-leavened) dough spread with guava paste, rolled like a jelly roll, wrapped in cloth, and steamed in simmering water for an hour. Sliced into rounds and served warm with a brown-butter-rum sauce. The iconic Bahamian dessert.”
Where it comes from
Guava duff is the most-Bahamian dessert — a steamed sweet roll directly descended from British steamed puddings (suet pudding, jam roll) brought via Loyalist refugees and adapted to use local guava. The 'duff' word is British dialect for 'dough'. The brown-butter-rum sauce is the Bahamian flourish; Bacardi rum (historically Bahamian-distilled) is the traditional choice.
On the plate
Cut a thick wedge of guava duff — pale spiral of golden dough wound around bright fuchsia-pink guava filling, the rum sauce pooled below glossy and amber. Bite: the dough is soft, slightly sweet, faintly nutty from steaming; the guava is intensely fruity, tropical-floral, just-tart; the rum sauce is buttery-warming, brown-sugar-deep, the rum a glow at the back. With a Goombay Smash cocktail or strong coffee, this is a Bahamian wedding-and-Christmas dessert that pulls every island family to the table.
How it works
Steaming (rather than baking) keeps the dough moist and pale — the steamed-pudding tradition is what distinguishes duff from sweet rolls. The cheesecloth+foil wrap prevents water from soaking the dough. The brown-butter step is critical for the sauce — undercooked butter is bland; over-browned is acrid. The rum is added off heat to preserve its volatility.
Variations
Guava duff with rum-soaked raisins. Pineapple duff (substituted fruit). Coconut duff (with coconut filling). Mango duff. Chocolate duff (modern). Sister Sarah's Andros guava duff (the legendary Andros recipe, more buttery sauce).
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
11 steps · Show ↓50 min active · 70 min waiting
How it's made
11 steps · Show ↓- 13 min
Make dough: in a bowl, combine 500 g all-purpose flour, 100 g sugar, 1 packet (7 g) instant yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg.
- 213 min
Add 2 large eggs, 80 g melted butter, 250 ml warm milk; knead 10 min into a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
- 360 min
Cover; let rise in a warm place 60 min until doubled.
- 47 min
Make guava filling: combine 300 g guava paste (or 400 g fresh guava puree + 100 g sugar reduced), 2 tbsp lime juice, and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. Cook 3 min over medium heat to a spreadable jam consistency.
- 56 min
Punch down dough; roll on floured surface into a 30 x 40 cm rectangle.
- 68 min
Spread guava filling evenly, leaving a 2-cm border. Roll up tightly from the long side, jelly-roll style.
- 74 min
Wrap the roll tightly in cheesecloth, then again in foil; tie the ends with kitchen twine.
- 862 min
Place in a large pot; cover with simmering water; cover the pot with a lid; steam-boil 60 min, adding water as needed.
- 96 min
Make brown-butter-rum sauce: melt 120 g butter in a small pan, cooking until it browns and smells nutty (4 min). Add 100 g brown sugar, 4 tbsp white rum, juice of 1/2 lime, 1/2 tsp vanilla; whisk to a smooth glossy sauce.
- 1012 min
Lift the steamed duff carefully; rest 10 min, then unwrap, slice into 2.5-cm rounds.
- 111 min
Serve warm with the rum sauce drizzled generously over each slice.
