Guava And Cream Cheese Twists Recipes

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 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.

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 CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Place the cream cheese and panela or farmer cheese in a bowl and mix well with a spoon.
• Line in a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place 1 of the puff pastry circles on the baking sheet.
• Brush a 1" rim around the outside edge with some of the beaten egg.
• Pat the cheese mixture into an 8" 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 dough is thoroughly chilled.
• Remove from refrigerator.
• Working about 1-1/2" 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" border of crust surrounding the filling.
• With a sharp pairing knife, cut out and discard a 1/4" circle of dough from the center and press out any trapped air.
• Then, making shallow cuts, trace 6-8 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 450ºF.
• Transfer the pan from the refrigerator to the oven and bake 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown on top.
• Reduce the oven temp to 350ºF.
• Bake until the jelly is bubbling and the bottom crust, when lifted with a spatulas, is browned, 30-40 minutes.
• Set aside to cool on a rack up to 15 minutes.
• Serve warm with whipped topping, if you choose.

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.