Guava and cream cheese pastries are a delectable and flavorful treat that combines the tropical sweetness of guava with the creamy richness of cream cheese. This pastry is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert and can be easily made at home with a few simple ingredients. The combination of tart and sweet flavors creates a unique and unforgettable taste experience. Whether you are a seasoned baker or just starting out, this article will provide you with the best recipe for guava and cream cheese pastry, so you can enjoy this delightful pastry in the comfort of your own home.
Here are our top 5 tried and tested recipes!
PASTELITOS (GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE PASTRIES)
In Havana - and in Cuban neighborhoods across the U.S. - pastry shops make many types of cakes and cookies, but the best-sellers are always the pastels and pastelitos, flaky pastries filled with meat, cheese, coconut custard or guava jam. According to "Paladares: Recipes from the Private Restaurants, Home Kitchens, and Streets of Cuba" by Anya von Bremzen (Abrams, 2017), the shape of the pastel correlates with the filling: Triangular pastels are filled with guava paste and cheese, while rectangular ones are filled with just guava. Versailles, a Cuban restaurant in Miami, follows this rule, but at home, just make them rectangular, and add a swipe of cream cheese if desired. You can find guava paste in bricks at Latin American grocers, or swap in about 1/2 cup jam or preserves for a nontraditional take.
Provided by Daniela Galarza
Categories snack, finger foods, pastries, dessert
Time 1h
Yield 8 pastelitos
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Prepare an egg wash: In a small bowl, beat the egg with a pinch of salt and set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one sheet of puff pastry into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle roughly the size of a standard sheet of paper. (Keep the other puff pastry sheet in the refrigerator.) Dust off any excess flour and lay the rolled pastry sheet on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Dip a pastry brush into the egg wash, and paint a line in lengthwise along the center of the pastry sheet, followed by three crosswise lines, evenly spaced, forming a grid of 8 rectangles, each approximately 3 inches wide and 4 inches long. Brush edges with egg wash. Lay a slice of guava paste in the center of each rectangle (or dot with dollops of jam or preserves, if using). Spread some of the cream cheese, if using, on top of the guava paste (about 1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese per pastry).
- Remove the second sheet of puff pastry from the refrigerator, and roll it out into an 8-by-11-inch rectangle, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Lay the second sheet of puff pastry on top of the first. Using the side of your palm, press around and between the mounds of filling, pressing out any excess air, and to glue the top pastry to the bottom, creating 8 even, rectangular pockets. Paint the top sheet of puff pastry with egg wash. Sprinkle the surface with sugar.
- Using a knife or bench scraper, cut out and separate the 8 pastelitos following the original grid in between the indentations in the dough. Trim the perimeter to neaten the rectangles. The dough should still be cool to the touch; if it is warm, return the pastelitos to the refrigerator on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to firm up before baking.
- Bake pastelitos until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
GUAVA CHEESE TURNOVERS (GUAVA PASTELILLOS)
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Sprinkle the sugar on your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry to an 8 by 8-inch square. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each sheet into 4 squares.
- Make the turnovers: Set a pastry square in front of you with 1 of the corners pointing toward you. Place 1 piece of cream cheese diagonally over the center of the bottom of the square. Top with a piece of guava paste. Brush the edges of the square with beaten egg. Fold the upper half of the square over the filling to make a neat triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat with the remaining turnovers, placing them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet as you go.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
- While the turnovers are baking, mix the confectioners' sugar with the milk and vanilla, stirring to dissolve any lumps. Set aside.
- Cool the turnovers on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then drizzle the glaze over them. Serve warm or at room temperature.
GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE TWISTS
In Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean, pastelillos (also known as pastelitos) are flaky pastry turnovers that taste like bliss when eaten fresh from the bakery, their jammy guava centers fused with creamy cheese. These cookies capture a bit of that magic in packable, sturdy sweets that can be kept for days and easily shared or shipped. Instead of being filled with perishable cream cheese, these have it blended into their buttery dough to incorporate that tangy richness. Guava paste seals into the pastry while baking, delivering a chewy fruitiness with each bite.
Provided by Genevieve Ko
Time 2h
Yield About 50 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed or a large bowl and wooden spoon, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy and smooth. With the machine running, add sugar and salt, and continue beating until a little fluffy. Add egg yolk and beat until incorporated. (Reserve egg white.) Add flour all at once and mix just until incorporated. Halve the dough, and place each half on plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, press each half into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
- When ready to bake, cut guava paste into 50 1/4-inch-thick rectangles (2 inches long, ½-inch wide). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- On a generously floured surface, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll out 1 dough rectangle until roughly 15 1/2 inches long, 6 1/2 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Trim the edges, then cut into 24 (2 1/2-by-1 1/2-inch) rectangles. (You will have 48 rectangles from the initial rolling; the final two rectangles will come from rolled-out scraps.) Transfer to a prepared sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. If the dough has gotten too soft to handle, refrigerate until firmer but still very pliable.
- Place a guava paste rectangle in the center of each piece of dough on a diagonal. (It should not extend past the dough.) Take the dough corner opposite the top of a guava rectangle and wrap it over the guava paste so that the point meets the opposite edge; press the dough corner gently to secure. Take the corner diagonally opposite to the folded one and fold over the other end of the guava paste, pressing the corner gently against the other edge. Repeat with the remaining dough and guava paste. Chill and reroll dough scraps. If the assembled dough is soft, and you'd like to decorate the tops, chill or freeze again.
- For a sparkly, crunchy and sweet top, lightly brush the top of the dough with the reserved egg white and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. (These taste just as good without any topping.) Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. (The paste may ooze out.) Cool completely on the sheets on wire racks. The cookies are best the day they're made, but will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE PASTRY
Provided by Ruth Cousineau
Categories Milk/Cream Blender Egg Breakfast Dessert Bake Guava Phyllo/Puff Pastry Dough Gourmet Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
- Beat egg with a fork, then put 1 1/2 tablespoons egg in a small bowl with water (1/2 tablespoon) and lightly beat to make egg wash.
- Put remaining beaten egg in a food processor with cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and purée until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Purée guava preserves with lemon juice in cleaned food processor until smooth.
- Put a baking sheet in oven to preheat 5 minutes while you prepare pastry.
- Roll out pastry on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin into an 11- by 9 1/2-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise.
- Transfer 1 piece of pastry to a sheet of foil. Spread cream cheese mixture in a 3 1/2-inch-wide strip down middle of pastry, leaving 1-inch borders on all sides. Dollop 2 rows of preserves lengthwise on top of cheese mixture, about 1 inch apart.
- Fold remaining piece of pastry in half lengthwise and put folded edge nearest you. Leaving a 1-inch border on sides and top of pastry, cut 1 1/2-inch-long slits every 1/2 inch through folded edge to top border.
- Brush some of egg wash around filling. Unfold cut pastry and lay over filling. Lightly press edges to seal and brush top of dough with some egg wash. Bake on foil on hot baking sheet until puffed and golden-brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pastry to a rack to cool completely.
PASTELES DE GUAYABA (GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE PASTRIES)
This is a childhood favorite that conjures up memories of growing up as a gringa in South Florida and sitting in the open air Cuban Cafes and indulging on these sweet pastries! These pastries are wonderful with a café con leche!! They were a special treat that we were allowed to have on occasion for breakfast. It is actually one of the few things I actually miss about South Florida! The recipe is from Alex Garcia.
Provided by NcMysteryShopper
Categories Breakfast
Time 45m
Yield 16-20 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Blend the cream cheese, butter and flour until well mixed; Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll out the dough into a 1/4-inch thick square; Cut the rolled dough into 16 to 20 squares.
- A little off center of each square, place 1 tablespoon guava paste.
- Fold the dough over the guava paste, forming a triangle; Press the edges shut.
- Place the pasteles onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with a thin layer of sugar.
- Bake until the pasteles are evenly browned, about 25 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 403.9, Fat 33, SaturatedFat 20.1, Cholesterol 92.2, Sodium 294.3, Carbohydrate 22.8, Fiber 0.8, Sugar 1, Protein 4.9
Tips:
- Use ripe guavas for the best flavor.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can mash the guavas by hand.
- Be sure to drain the guavas well before adding them to the cream cheese mixture.
- For a smoother filling, you can strain the guava mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.
- If you don't have cream cheese, you can substitute mascarpone cheese or ricotta cheese.
- You can use any type of pastry dough for this recipe, but puff pastry or phyllo dough works especially well.
- Be sure to preheat your oven before baking the pastries.
- Keep an eye on the pastries while they're baking so that they don't overcook.
- Let the pastries cool slightly before serving.
Conclusion:
Guava and cream cheese pastries are a delicious and easy-to-make treat that are perfect for any occasion. They're also a great way to use up ripe guavas. With a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time, you can create a delicious pastry that will impress your friends and family.
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