Guava and Cheese Strudel Recipe (Pastelitos De Guayaba Y Queso)
The gooey, flakey and delicious homemade guava and cheese strudels are simpler to make than you think. Use this recipe to learn the steps to create your very own jam using guava and puff pastry shortcuts as well as cheese-filled filling!
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 12x7 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 14x10 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.
Notes
Important: I have listed the ingredients in weights because it is more precise for baking. If you don't own an scale, and you must utilize volumetric measurements, then I've included the measurements in the recipe above as well, however please keep in mind that the volumetric measurement amounts won't change if you increase or decrease the amount of servings in this recipe. You'll be required to conduct your own calculations to calculate it.