IntelliJ IDEA stores GWT cache files in other location than <ProjectFolder>/gwt-unitCache, which is a default directory for a cache if you are using, for example, Eclipse with GPE (Google Plugin for Eclipse).
In IDEA, GWT cache should be located by default at <your_home>/.IntelliJIdea12/system/gwt (IntelliJ IDEA 12, Linux). For other operating systems you can check Project and IDE Settings.
If you delete mentioned gwt folder contents, IntelliJ will create a new cache, which in turn might solve your Failure in unit cache... (and similar Unable to read from byte cache) problem.