For this week's stop of the 2010 Culinary Tour Around the World, Cuba, I made Cuban pastries known as pastelitos, or "little pies". These are baked puff pastry-style treats with savory or sweet fillings. The savory filling is typically a picadillo-style beef, but can also sometimes include chicken or ham and cheese. The sweet fillings include various fruit pulp fillings, cream cheese, guava, or both sweetened cream cheese and guava which is the filling of my choice for today's recipe.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 sheets puff pastry or homemade pastry
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Guava paste or jelly (I used guava jelly)
Directions:
Prepare simple syrup by bringing water and sugar to boil in a small pot and then simmering until sugar dissolves. Cool the syrup.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Whisk the egg. Place half into a small bowl and mix with a tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Beat the other half of the egg with cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Cut one sheet of puff pastry into 9 squares. On each of the squares place a 1 teaspoon of guava jelly and 1 teaspoon of cream cheese. Cut the other sheet into 9 squares. Cover the squares with the filling and seal the edges with a fork. Brush with egg wash.
Bake for 12 minutes. Take out of the oven and brush with syrup, then bake for 3-5 minutes more or until golden brown.
