Guava And Cream Cheese Dessert Recipes

PASTELITOS (GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE PASTRIES)

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 AND CREAM CHEESE DESSERT

Steps:

• Drain guava shells, reserving liquid in 2-cup measuring cup; set liquid aside. Reserve 2 of the guava shells for later use as garnish, if desired. Chop remaining guava shells; set aside.
• Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in medium bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice cubes to reserved liquid to measure 2 cups. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted. Remove 1 cup of the gelatin; set aside at room temperature.
• Refrigerate remaining gelatin 30 min. or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Gently stir in chopped guava. Pour into 1-1/2-qt. serving bowl; refrigerate 10 min.
• Place cream cheese in medium bowl. Gradually add reserved 1 cup gelatin, beating with wire whisk until well blended. Spoon over gelatin in bowl. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or until set. Top with the reserved guava shells just before serving. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

GUAVA CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Place the cream cheese and panela or farmer cheese in a bowl and mix well with a spoon.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place l of the puff pastry circles on the baking sheet. Brush a 1-inch rim around the outside edge with some of the beaten egg. Pat the cheese mixture into an 8-inch circle in the center and spread the guava paste or jam evenly over the top.
• Fold the remaining piece of puff pastry in half and place over the first piece. Unfold the pastry to enclose the filling, being careful not to trap air beneath. Gently press the top and bottom edges together and refrigerate about 25 minutes, or until the dough is thoroughly chilled.
• Remove from the refrigerator. Working about 1 1/2-inches from the outside, firmly press the edges of pastry together with the tines of a fork to seal. Then trim the excess dough, leaving an even 1-inch border of crust surrounding the filling. With a sharp paring knife, cut out and discard a 1/4-inch circle of dough from the center, and press out any trapped air. Then, making shallow cuts, trace 6 to 8 circular lines in a spiral pattern from the center hole to the inside edge of the sealed crust (if the dough gets too warm to work with, just return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so to harden).
• Mix the heavy cream, with the remaining beaten egg and brush over the top of the tart: Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
• To bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Transfer the pan from refrigerator to the oven and bake 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown on top. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until the jelly is bubbling and the bottom crust, when lifted with a spatula, is browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Set aside to cool on a rack to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE EMPANADAS

Steps:

• For the empanada dough: Mix all empanada ingredients in a mixer. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
• For the filling: Put the guava paste and cream cheese in a bowl and use a potato masher to mash the two ingredients until they are incorporated.
• To form the empanadas, use half of dough (save remaining dough for another use). Knead the dough. Roll the dough out by hand or with a commercial sheeter. Cut out circles of dough 6- to 7-inches in diameter. Place a dough circle in an empanada mold if you have one, but it?s not necessary; fill empanadas with guava mixture. Wet the edges of the dough with your fingers. Close the mold to seal, or fold dough over filling and use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Use a pastry brush to paint empanadas with an even coat of egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar.
• Preheat convection oven to 450 degrees F, or regular oven to 400 degrees F. Place empanadas on greased baking sheets. Bake for 3 minutes in convection oven or 10 to 15 minutes in regular oven.

GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE PASTRY

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.

PHILADELPHIA 3-STEP GUAVA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Beat cream cheese, guava paste, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended.
• Pour into crust.
• Bake 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

GUAVA CREAM CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• Put approximately 1/2 cup or so of guava paste in a mixing bowl, beat until the color lightens and the texture fluffs/creams up a bit (as opposed to the dense jelly-paste it starts as).
• Add in 3-4 ozs. softened cream cheese and a squeeze of lime and beat until smooth.
• Dump this mixture in a separate bowl then whip approx 1.5 cups heavy cream in a bowl until light and fluffy.
• Fold in the guava-cream cheese mixture, fill a pastry bag and use to decorate cupcakes as desired.