When I think of pastelitos de guayaba (guava pastries), I think of the trips I used to take with my grandfather to Holiday or Vicky Bakery in Hialeah growing up. My sister, brother and I would always get into his blue Honda, where you had to roll down the windows yourself and it had those old seatbelts that would just go over your lap and not on your chest, and we would take off to the bakery. He would always buy a box of pastelitos and Cuban bread. For some odd reason, we would also get a pack of balloons from the bakery. He would then pass by Office Depot and buy us a box of chalk so we can draw on the sidewalk or in his backyard.
I’ve only been able to find one bakery that makes pastelitos de guayaba by my apartment in the Upper East Side. It was a bakery in Harlem, but when I went to go buy them, they were $5 a pop and we all know that any bakery in Miami sells those bad boys for a dollar. Hence, I have resorted to making them myself when the cravings hits.
There are a few recipes out there where people just place the guava on the puff pastry and put it in the oven, but I found that it doesn’t melt the guayaba enough so you end up having to bite it. The best part of a pastelito de guayaba is the gooey guayaba that comes out when you take a bite of it, so I have found the way to get that texture is by melting down the guayaba using a double boiler (you can also do it in the microwave, but guayaba has a tendency to burn in the microwave if you aren’t careful). I also add some cinnamon to my pastelitos to give them an extra flavor.
Get to baking! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 11 oz Guava
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 box Puff Pastry
- 1 Egg beaten
Instructions
- Set out the puff pastry and allow it to thaw. Preheat an oven to 375.
- Use a double boiler to melt the guava. Put a put about 2-3 inches of water in large pot and place the pot on the stove on high heat. Once the water is boiling, stack the pot using a bowl that is big enough to snuggly cover the bowl and one that won’t touch the boiling water on the bottom.
- While waiting for the water to boil, cut the guava into tiny pieces. This allows the guava to melt faster.
- Place the guava in the glass bowl once the water starts to boil and cover the pot with the bowl. Stir frequently. You will notice that the transition from solid to creamy guava occurs quickly once it starts. Once the guava starts to melt, add the cinnamon.
- Once your puff pastry is thawed, stack the two sheets of the puff pastry on top of each other. Cut the puff pastry into a 3×3, so you would have 9 square bottoms and 9 square tops.
- Once the guava is melted, add about a tablespoon or so into the center of each puff pastry. I like to use a pipping bag for this. (Be careful, guava is extremely hot when melted.)
- Beat your egg in a bowl. Using the egg wash, lightly place a line of egg wash on two opposite sides of the puff pastry, so that the guava is in the middle. This is going to allow us to seal two sides of the puff pastry, giving it that classic look.
- Place the top on each puff pastry and press lightly on the sides with the egg wash to seal. Coat the top of your puff pastry with egg wash.
- Cook in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the puff pastry are golden brown and fluffy.
- Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes and enjoy!
[…] the comments below and I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! And if you love guava, check out my Guava Pastelito recipe and my Guava & White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies […]
[…] Also, if you love guava as much as I do and are looking for another guava dessert, check out my pastelito de guayaba (guava puff pastry) recipes here! […]