Guava Cream Cheese Filling 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 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.

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 EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Pulse the cream cheese, egg, sugar, lime zest and lime juice in a food processor until smooth.
• Put 1 tablespoon guava paste in the center of each empanada wrapper, then top with 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Fold the dough over the filling and press the edges with a fork to seal.
• Heat about 11/2 inches vegetable oil in a wide saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the empanadas until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. (Return the oil to 350 degrees F between batches.) Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

GUAVA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Combine flour, sugar, lime zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl.
• Fit pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate. Arrange guava slices on the bottom of the prepared pie crust, mounding slices of guava in the center of the crust. Sprinkle guavas with flour and sugar mixture. Drizzle pie filling with lime juice and dot with butter pieces.
• Cover pie filling with the second pie crust and crimp the edges together. Make several slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape.
• Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees (175 degrees C) and bake until the filling is tender and the crust is golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

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.

CREAMY GUAVA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• For the Crust: Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add flour, salt, and sugar then pulse. Add in the cold shortening and pulse until it looks like peas. Then add water one tablespoon at the time and then process until it forms into a ball.
• Press with floured hands to a 5 to 6 inch circle, place dough between floured wax paper and roll out to desired thickness, remove top piece of wax paper and flip dough into 9 inch deep dish pie plate, remove other sheet. Fit in pie plate with hands and trim access dough from around edge. Prick with fork all over sides and bottom. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
• For the Creamy Filling: In medium size bowl add heavy whipping cream, and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Then add powdered sugar and vanilla, continue beating until firm peaks form. Set aside. In separate bowl add cream cheese and sugar, blend until sugar dissolves. Then fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Spread on bottom of pie crust and refrigerate.
• For the Guava Topping: In medium size sauce pan on top of stove over medium heat add the water and bring to a simmer. Then add guava cubes stirring constantly until cubes are melted, then remove from heat and add the gelatin, sugar and food coloring, stirring until well blended. Then pour gently over cream filling and place in refrigerator till set.
• For Whipped Cream Topping: In medium size bowl add cream and beat with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, continue beating until firm. Spoon topping into pastry bag and decorate as desired leaving some of the guava top showing.

GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE TWISTS

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed or a large bowl and wooden spoon, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy and smooth. With the machine running, add sugar and salt, and continue beating until a little fluffy. Add egg yolk and beat until incorporated. (Reserve egg white.) Add flour all at once and mix just until incorporated. Halve the dough, and place each half on plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, press each half into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• When ready to bake, cut guava paste into 50 1/4-inch-thick rectangles (2 inches long, ½-inch wide). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• On a generously floured surface, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll out 1 dough rectangle until roughly 15 1/2 inches long, 6 1/2 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Trim the edges, then cut into 24 (2 1/2-by-1 1/2-inch) rectangles. (You will have 48 rectangles from the initial rolling; the final two rectangles will come from rolled-out scraps.) Transfer to a prepared sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. If the dough has gotten too soft to handle, refrigerate until firmer but still very pliable.
• Place a guava paste rectangle in the center of each piece of dough on a diagonal. (It should not extend past the dough.) Take the dough corner opposite the top of a guava rectangle and wrap it over the guava paste so that the point meets the opposite edge; press the dough corner gently to secure. Take the corner diagonally opposite to the folded one and fold over the other end of the guava paste, pressing the corner gently against the other edge. Repeat with the remaining dough and guava paste. Chill and reroll dough scraps. If the assembled dough is soft, and you'd like to decorate the tops, chill or freeze again.
• For a sparkly, crunchy and sweet top, lightly brush the top of the dough with the reserved egg white and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. (These taste just as good without any topping.) Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. (The paste may ooze out.) Cool completely on the sheets on wire racks. The cookies are best the day they're made, but will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.