Pastelitos de Guayaba, Everyone’s Favorite Cuban Pastry

Pastelitos de guayaba or guava pastries are an everyday dessert or snack with a strong cafecito for Cubans and lots of other Latino pastry fans. (For Puerto Ricans and Panamanians too, though they go by different names.) And in Emily González’s Cuban-Mexican family, the sweet is served instead of pie every year for Thanksgiving. That’s how much they love this traditional treat made with puff pastry, guava paste, and cream cheese.

”Pastelitos de guayaba hold a special place in the hearts of Cubans and especially my family,” says Emily, 22, of Chicago. Making these pastries brings up memories of ”the warmth of family kitchens and the rich heritage of Cuban culture.”

Guayaba is another name for guava, a soft-pink fruit about the size of a lime native to tropical areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. Jellied paste from the guayaba fruit is a pantry staple in many Latino kitchens.

Her favorite part is the creativity the dessert offers. “Crafting these pastries involves a skillful balance of making delicate, flaky layers and achieving the ideal consistency for the sweet guava filling. I find that puff pastry dough is flakier than making your own traditional dough, which can take days to perfect. Beyond their delicoso taste, these pastelitos de guayaba offer my family a chance for culinary artistry and a canvas for original presentations and decorative patterns. My grandfather, who was very creative, would cut flowers into the guava pastries, which were truly a work of art.”

The creativity extends to fillings, she adds. “These pastelitos de guayaba allow for a ton of variations with choice of cheeses and tropical fruits. This adaptability reflects the dynamic nature of Cuban cuisine and the willingness to experiment with flavors, while preserving traditional roots.”

In the González family, pastelitos de guayaba are not just for Thanksgiving, of course. ”These pastries play a starring role in our everyday meals and festive celebrations, making our family gatherings, birthdays, and holidays extra sweet,” says Emily.

Ready to Make the González Family Pastelitos de Guayaba?

Pastelitos de Guayaba, a Sweet Cuban Treat

Recipe by Emily Gonzalez

3.7 from 3 votes

Cuisine: Cuban

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 6 oz guava paste

• 1 Tbsp flour, to dust counter

• 1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed (2 sheets)

• 1 egg

• 1/4 cup turbinado (raw) sugar, optional

Directions

• Heat oven to 400 F.
• Take the puff pastry out of the freezer to let thaw.
• Slice the guava paste into 1/4”-thick slices.
• Beat the egg in a small bowl. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer), add the cream cheese and salt. Cream the cheese for a minute. Then mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
• Mix until well combined, then scrape the bowl to get every last bit and transfer the cream-cheese mixture to a piping bag, or a plastic bag with the tip snipped off.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the thawed puff pastry to about 1/8” thick.
• Cut the puff pastry into roughly equal squares (or rectangles, if you prefer: up to you!). Repeat the process with the same amount of squares with the second pastry sheet.
• Transfer half the squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Emily can fit 6 on her baking sheet.) Pipe a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture onto each square, leaving about 1/2” of space at the edge of each pastry.
• Place 3 to 4 guava paste slices on top of the cream cheese mixture of each square, cutting each piece as needed to maintain a clear 1/2” edge.
• Dipping into the beaten egg, brush the edge of each pastry square with the egg wash. Then top with a second square of puff pastry. Press the edges together. Then use a sharp knife to trim the edges into pressed, straight lines. This is optional but it helps seal the pastelitos and gives them a nice presentation.
• Brush the top of each pastry square with the egg wash. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, which is a brownish raw sugar used as garnish on baked goods. You can score the top of the pastry if desired with a knife, if you wish. (Or use your knife to cut pretty flower designs into the pastries, like Emily’s grandfather used to do with these pastries.)
• Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown and puffed up. Serve hot or at room temperature.