Guava Pastelito Cupcakes Recipes

GUAVA PASTELITO CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 16 cupcake cups with paper liners.
• Cut guava paste into medium squares and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Whisk until melted down but still slightly chunky, about the consistency of jelly (heat more if necessary).
• Beat brown sugar, butter, and eggs together with a mixer in a large bowl until creamy. Add flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt; stir until halfway mixed. Pour in guava nectar and mix until everything is fully incorporated. Fold in heated guava paste until evenly distributed. Mix in red food coloring.
• Fill each prepared cupcake cup evenly with batter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
• While the cupcakes are cooling, blend cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and red food coloring. Mix on low speed until fully blended. Chill for 10 to 15 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes.

GUAVA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Cream the softened butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract. In a large bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and then add the buttermilk. Finally, add the remaining flour mixture and mix until well incorporated.
• Fill the cupcake liners 3/4's of the way up. Add about 1 tsp of guava paste to each cupcake liner and press it down.
• Bake the cupcakes for 22 minutes.
• To make the cream cheese frosting, mix the softened cream cheese, softened butter, and guava paste until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and red food coloring. Mix for 3-4 minutes or until fluffy.

GUAVA CHEESE TURNOVERS (GUAVA PASTELILLOS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the sugar on your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry to an 8 by 8-inch square. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each sheet into 4 squares.
• Make the turnovers: Set a pastry square in front of you with 1 of the corners pointing toward you. Place 1 piece of cream cheese diagonally over the center of the bottom of the square. Top with a piece of guava paste. Brush the edges of the square with beaten egg. Fold the upper half of the square over the filling to make a neat triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat with the remaining turnovers, placing them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet as you go.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
• While the turnovers are baking, mix the confectioners' sugar with the milk and vanilla, stirring to dissolve any lumps. Set aside.
• Cool the turnovers on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then drizzle the glaze over them. Serve warm or at room temperature.

GUAVA CREAM CHEESE CUPCAKES - QUEQUITO DE GUAYABA

Steps:

• Pour 2 cups of guava nectar into a measuring cup and set aside.
• Place the remaining guava nectar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced to 1 1/4 cups. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 cupcake molds with paper liners.
• Prepare the cake batter: Place the cake mix in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the 1 1/4 cup of guava nectar that was reduced on the stove. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and lime zest. Mix until well blended.
• Mix in a few drops of red food coloring (optional) and blend until color is solid.
• Divide batter among the prepared cupcake pans.
• Bake cupcakes until they spring back lightly to the touch, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Prepare the guava glaze: Place the reserved 2 cups of guava nectar in the same medium saucepan along with 1/2 cup sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
• Remove from heat, and carefully transfer 1 cup of the syrup to a heatproof bowl.
• Place the cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk 1 to 2 tablespoons of the guava syrup into the cornstarch to make a smooth paste.
• Return remaining syrup to the stove, whisk in the cornstarch, and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, stirring, until mixture thickens.
• Cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, then remove from heat and stir in the butter. Strain if needed. Set guava glaze aside to cool.
• When the cupcakes come out of the oven, prick them gently with a toothpick, then brush the cupcakes evenly with the reserved guava syrup (the guava-sugar mixture without the cornstarch), letting it soak into the cake.
• Let the cupcakes cool.
• Prepare the frosting: Place the cream cheese, warm guava jelly, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a standing mixer and beat until fluffy.
• Add the confectioners' sugar in parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla, beating well after each addition, until frosting is light and fluffy.
• Spread or pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Drizzle the guava glaze (mixture with cornstarch) over the cupcakes, or swirl the glaze into the frosting.

CUBAN PASTELITO DE GUAYABA

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, add all guava shells and half the syrup from one can. Process until it reaches a smooth consistency. Put puree in a medium saucepan and cook at low heat until reduced to a very thick consistency. Let guava cool and then fill into pastry bag. In a medium mixing bowl, add 4 ounces of water, 2 ounces of butter, and salt and mix until smooth. Then add flour and work well until all ingredients are incorporated. Continue to add water, a little at a time, working the dough until a medium-hard consistency is reached. Form dough into a ball and let rest for 15 minutes. Roll the dough into a flat square, about 1/2-inch thick.
• Place the remaining butter in the middle of square and pat down by hand to form a square about one-half the size of the dough square. Fold over the 4 corners of the dough, 1 at a time, overlapping each other so that a sealed envelope is formed enclosing the butter. Dust with flour and roll out to form a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Now fold 1/3 of the rectangle dough towards the middle and the remaining 1/3 over those 2. Let dough rest for 15 minutes. Now repeat process above of rolling out and folding in 3, 2 more times, resting 15 minutes between each.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll out a final time into a rectangle and fold 1/4of the dough on each side to the middle and then fold 1 more time down the middle to form 4 flaps in the fold. Let rest for 15 minutes. Roll out to a rectangle to about 1/8-inch thick. With a knife, cut the flattened dough into a 4-inch wide strip by length of your baking sheet. Lay strip on sheet pan lined with waxed paper and put filling lengthwise in the middle in continuous stream about 3/4-inch in diameter. Spray edges of strips with water and cover with another 4-inch strip of dough the same size as bottom. Press the edges together by hand very softly all the way around. Brush top with egg wash and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with a simple syrup over the top and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven and cut crosswise into 16 pieces.

MIAMI GUAVA PASTRIES (PASTELITOS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly flour a baking sheet.
• Roll puff pastry into a thin sheet on a floured surface. Cut into squares about the length of your hand and place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Beat egg and water together in a bowl; brush each pastry square with egg wash. Stab each square a few times with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool at least 10 minutes.
• Mix guava paste and jam together in a bowl until smooth.
• Cut a large, vertical slit into each pastry. Spread 1 tablespoon guava mixture into each slit, making sure guava doesn't squeeze out when closed.

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.

PASTELITO DE GUAYABA (CUBAN GUAVA PASTRY)

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, add all guava shells and half the syrup from one can; Process until it reaches a smooth consistency; Put puree in a medium saucepan and cook at low heat until reduced to a very thick consistency; Let guava cool and then fill into pastry bag.
• In a medium mixing bowl, add 4 ounces of water, 2 ounces of butter, and salt and mix until smooth; Then add flour and work well until all ingredients are incorporated; Continue to add water, a little at a time, working the dough until a medium-hard consistency is reached; Form dough into a ball and let rest for 15 minutes; Roll the dough into a flat square, about 1/2-inch thick.
• Place the remaining butter in the middle of square and pat down by hand to form a square about one-half the size of the dough square; Fold over the 4 corners of the dough, 1 at a time, overlapping each other so that a sealed envelope is formed enclosing the butter; Dust with flour and roll out to form a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick; Now fold 1/3 of the rectangle dough towards the middle and the remaining 1/3 over those 2; Let dough rest for 15 minutes; Now repeat process above of rolling out and folding in 3, 2 more times, resting 15 minutes between each.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll out a final time into a rectangle and fold ¼ of the dough on each side to the middle and then fold 1 more time down the middle to form 4 flaps in the fold; Let rest for 15 minutes; Roll out to a rectangle to about 1/8-inch thick; With a knife, cut the flattened dough into a 4-inch wide strip by length of your baking sheet; Lay strip on sheet pan lined with waxed paper and put filling lengthwise in the middle in continuous stream about 3/4-inch in diameter; Spray edges of strips with water and cover with another 4-inch strip of dough the same size as bottom; Press the edges together by hand very softly all the way around; Brush top with egg wash and bake for 35 minutes.
• Remove from oven and brush with a simple syrup over the top and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven and cut crosswise into 16 pieces.