How to make Authentic Cuban Guava and Cheese Pastry Recipe ?
Guava strudels and Cheese Strudels or pastelitos de Guayaba y queso, are extremely soft, flaky and full of delicious fruity flavor. If U have had the pleasure of being lucky enough to taste a bit of heaven, also called Cuban Guava & cheese strudels from the Porto’s Bakery in Socal and you’re aware of the way addictive these desserts can be.
I’ve seen numerous posts online that use pre-made guava paste, and I was inspired to make my homemade guava jam instead. This recipe offers an easy version that the recipe can be made with your own jam and pastry puff dough shortcuts. You don’t need to stand in a long line just to enjoy them!
Background
Pastelitos de Guayaba & Queso are traditional Cuban puff pastry that is made using Guava paste & cheese filling. It is among the most popular pastelitos also known as “small pastries,” and they’re tasty for a reason. In historical terms, pastelitos are associated with diverse origin stories, including Cuban families developing the small sweets to eat as snacks during meals or slaves employed in sugar mills.
Guava seeds originate originally from Central America and Mexico and believed to have been spread via bird species (or perhaps colonialism) to Cuba and later to Florida. Guava and cheese-based pastries have gained popularity in Miami has been around since the Cuban travel to Miami during the early part of 20th century. Today, thanks to establishments like Porto’s Bakery we can take advantage of them across the world.
The guava paste/jam
After a lifetime of cheese and guava sweets (and waiting in numerous long lines in Porto’s) I gathered lots of pink guavas on my tree. I wanted to make a homemade jam using guavas to make fresh pastelitos.
In the event that you do not have the time to make your own homemade jam from guava or are unable to find guava at your local supermarket, you can buy guava jam in the supermarket. I love making use of Hawaiian Sun guava jam to make an alternative. (I was able to buy this from my local Filipino supermarket).
The cheese filling
The first time I heard of Guava and cheese-based pastries I was confused because I usually associate cheese with savory foods. I recalled that I adore a good cheesecake and this is how I began making my cheese filling recipe.
A lot of recipes use plain cream cheese for these desserts however I wanted a more creamy texture. I made a recipe that is similar as a cheesecake filling recipe to create a more creamy flavor with eggs sugar, salt, and eggs. It imparts a mild and tangy cheese flavour and sweetness from sugar.
The puff pastry
This recipe teaches you how to create a simple quick puff pastry recipe which is the same recipe I used to make the egg tarts recipe. You can still make a home-cooked puff pastry without the need for laminating or folding and rolling for long periods of time.
You can also purchase premade pastry puff dough at the local supermarket Be sure to remove the frozen dough from the counter prior to making your pastry so that you don’t break the dough. I’ve utilized the pepperidge farm ready-made dough for the pate chaud recipe. pate chaud recipes.
Tips for cooking
- Keep the seeds as well as the centers! Guava often has huge centers stuffed with seeds. However, it’s a delicious fruit. You can remove the seeds, put them into water, then strain to extract the maximum amount of taste and flavor.
- Make sure your dough is chilled in the refrigerator before you begin rolling it out and make your pastry. It is important to stop that the butter melts prior to when you start baking. While baking, melting the butter can. This will aid in the creation of flaky layers and help puff the pastry. When the butter is melting in the process of rolling out and assembly the dough may end up being with a little too much dough when baked.
- Add turbinado sugar to give additional roughness. I like sprinkling some sugar turbinado on top of the cakes after I’ve made the egg wash. Its big crystals give an incredible texture.
Serving
This recipe yields approximately 12 medium-sized strudels, or you can be like me and make six huge pastries. It’s a lot of fun to think of various ways to cut the top layer of puff pastry.
Guava strudels and Cheese Strudels taste best fresh from the oven however, you can store these in an airtight jar and store them in the refrigerator for upto 4 days. For reheating, you can roast them in the oven for a short time to warm them up and make the crust crisp again.
Guava and Cheese Strudel Recipe (Pastelitos De Guayaba Y Queso)
Ingredients
GUAVA JAM
- 1 1/2 lb (680.4 g) pink guava
- 4 oz (1/2 c) water
- 250 grams (1.5 C) white sugar in granulated form
PUFF PASTRY FROM SCRATCH (OR BUY FROZEN)
- 8 oz sour cream
- 16 grams (2 Tbsp) powdered sugar
- 6 grams (1 1 tsp) salt
- 400 grams (28 tablespoons) cold butter without salt chopped into 1 inch cubes
- 420 grams (3 c) all-purpose flour
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- 1g (1/8 teaspoon) salt
- 5 OZ cream cheese chilling from the refrigerator
- 25 grams (2 2 tablespoons) sugar▢ 1 egg
ASSEMBLY
- turbinado sugar optional
- 1 beaten egg for egg wash
Instructions
GUAVA JAM
- Cleanse the guava with running water. Cut off the stems and cut the Guava in half.
- Make use of the spoon to scoop out the seeds. Put the seeds in an empty bowl and add the water. Cut the flesh of guava into quarters, then put it in a blender. Repeat until all guava has been prepared. Guava flesh should be measured at around 1 lb at this stage.
- The seeds and the water should be strained in a glass bowl. Then employ a spatula or fingers to move the extra Guava flesh across the strainer. It could be slimy. It should yield about 3/4 cup of liquid guava in the event that you start with 1.5 pounds of Guava.
- Pour the liquid guava and water into the blender along with the chopped guava, and mix until the guava has pure.
- In a pan set over medium-high heat, mix the guava purée and sugar. Make use of an old spoon or spatula to fully incorporate the sugar. Make sure the sugar mixture is brought to a simmer.
- Reduce your heat down to medium, and simmer the mixture for around fifteen minutes, or till the guava mix is reduced to about half. If you think the simmering is too intense it is possible to reduce the heat to low. The final consistency should be like the consistency of a thin pudding. Take it off the heat and allow it to it cool completely in the pan. Its final consistency is likely to be more dense when it cools (see the photo).
PUFF PASTRY FROM SCRATCH (OR BUY FROZEN)
- In the food processor, mix the flour as well as powdered sugar and butter. Pulse several times until the butter has the shape of peas.
- Transfer the mix to an enormous bowl. Add the sour cream. Stir gently until the sour-cream is well incorporated. I prefer using my hands at the end of the recipe so that I ensure that the butter doesn't break too often. The dough will begin to change into an amorphous texture.
- Transfer the dough to an unbleached parchment sheet. Roll the dough into an oval. For the dough to be easier for you to handle cut the dough into two halves.
- Use a second parchment sheet to put it on the top of each ball of dough. Roll out the dough in a rectangle of 12×7 inches and has around 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Repeat with the remaining portion of dough. Note: if at any moment you notice the dough getting too warm or soft you can place it into the freezer and let it sit for 10 mins so that it cools down.
- Take the top layer off of parchment. Make tri-folds by taking one side and folding 1/3 up to make a tri-fold. Next, grab the left-hand side and fold over the fold that you made in the first. The result should be smaller rectangle. The dough is covered with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining portion of dough.
- Place the dough into the freezer to chill for about 15 minutes. Do not leave it in the fridge for too long, or it will melt and freeze, making it too hard.
- When the dough is chilled and slightly hard when chilled, roll the dough again into the size of about 12 x 7 inches. Then, you can create a tri-fold another time. After that, chill the dough within the fridge for about 15 minutes prior to making your pastry.
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- Mix the chilled cream cheese with salt and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Mix in the egg. Make sure not to mix too much cream cheese, or it could be too liquid. If the mixture is too soft, put it into the freezer to set for five to 10 mins to set it.
ASSEMBLY
- Preheat the oven until 400°F.
- Then, roll each piece of dough into a rectangular shape of approximately 14×10 inches, with the size of 1/8 inch thick. The rectangles should be divided into six pieces (if you'd like huge strudels) or 12 pieces (if you are looking for medium-sized strudels). Place the half of the rectangles in a parchment lined sheet pan, leaving at least an inch gap between them.
- A small dish, mix one egg in a small bowl. Paint the egg wash onto sides of half the rectangles (the lower half of your cakes) approximately 1/8" of an inch thick along the border.
- Place the cheese mixture over the middle on the eggs-washed rectangles.
- Sprinkle guava jam over Spread both evenly, but without touching the egg wash.
- For the unfinished rectangles These can be the tops of pastry. Cut 3 slits into the middle for ventilation and to add design. Carefully take one of the rectangles and put it over a filling with cheese and guava piece. Press the edges gently and make sure they are sealed with the fork.
- Apply more egg wash the top. Optional: sprinkle several turbinado sugar on toρ for extra texture. Repeat with the rest the strudels.
- Set the sheet pan and strudels on the middle rack in the oven and cook for about 20-30 minutes. I recommend making a check at 15 minutes to make sure they are still in good condition. their condition. Remove them from the oven once they're puffy and golden brown on the edges and at the top.
- Set them on an air-tight cooling rack for around five minutes so that you aren't burning yourself eating. Serve them as soon as you can or transfer them to the fridge, and they'll last for at least 3 days.
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