A few weeks ago, my friend and editor of The Nosher, Shannon, came to visit. We planned to spend some time together visiting, cooking, and bridging the gaps within our relationship that had developed via email and online correspondence. It was so nice to meet Shannon in person, and we quickly realized we had lots in common.
When Shannon asked me what she could bring to our gathering, I suggested she stop at my all-time favorite bakery, Porto’s, to pick up my #1 treat: Guava and Cheese Pastries, which Porto’s accurately calls, “Refugiados,” or “Refugees.” I’ve explained in the past that I think this is the perfect name for these strudels, because one bite of these babies transports any Cuban-native right back to their motherland! But for my culinary adventure with Shannon, I had big plans for this batch.
Since I no longer live particularly close to this bakery, I decided that under Shannon’s watchful eye, I would attempt to duplicate the guava and cheese magic at home. Fear not, loyal Porto’s fans… I still plan to buy them when I’m in the area, but for the 95% of the time that I am not, I thought it’d be a good idea for me to learn to make them myself. The good news? They’re SUPER simple to make! The bad news? They’re SUPER simple to make!
Although I love to cook, I’ve never believed baking to be my strength in the kitchen. Sure, I can hold my own with a few cakes and breads, but a baker I am not (at least, not yet). Shannon, on the other hand, has proven herself to be a baking maven, and I was so thankful she were here during my big experiment. She suggested alternative tips and tricks to help me master this dish, and in the end, our official taste-testers had a very difficult time telling the difference between the original and the home-made version.
To Shannon, I am thrilled that our mutual love of food and blogging brought us together, and am immensely thankful for the opportunity to be a contributor to The Nosher. You’re welcome to visit anytime!
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*I do hear from time to time that some of the more authentically Cuban ingredients I use are sometimes hard to find. If you have a hard time finding guava paste at your local international market, know that it is easy to find online. Here’s a link to a Kosher variety.
- 1 Tbs. powdered sugar
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 tsp. water
- 1 box of frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
- 1 8oz bar of cream cheese
- 1 package of guava paste
- 1 Tbs. coarse sugar
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Create an egg wash by combining the whisked egg and the water in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar on flat surface, and lay out puff pastry dough on top.
- Cut dough into 12 equal squares, and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In the middle of 6 of the squares, add 1 heaping Tbs. of guava paste and top with 1 heaping Tbs. of cream cheese (Note: The amount of filling depends on personal taste). Brush the perimeter of these squares with egg wash.
- On the other 6 squares, score the top with 3-4 lines, lengthwise, careful not to slice all the way to the top and bottom of the square. Top the the previous 6 squares. Press edges to seal.
- (Optional: You can now add an extra horizontal score on each end of the dough to add in extra puffing).
- Brush the top dough with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and fully puffed.
- Let stand on baking sheet for 3 minutes, and then cool on wire rack.
These look amazing! I can’t wait to try them. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for the kind words!
I love your page!! I’m from Venezuela and my husband is Italia American!!
We go to Miami every year during the winter. My husband loves Latin food and the first thing he does when arrived in Miami is to find a Cuba restaurant for the pastelitos ,have to be Cuba pastels( the best) guava and cheese.
I’m going to try your recipe
Hi!!!! I was raised in the porto’s guava and chesse. My mother worked there and this was all we ate!! In trying out the recipe today. I’m excited to see how they taste! Just waiting for the oven to hurry up!
Hope it was as you remembered!
Hi, I found packages of guava paste that come in 8 oz. and 16 oz. sizes–what size did you use for your recipe? Thanks in advance!
Depends how much leftover you want. Always a good snack with a slice of Gouda and crackers.
Hi! If I can’t find any guava paste, can I sub it with guava jam? Or what can you suggest besides guava jam? Thank you!
I wouldn’t recommend it. I’d use quince paste instead.
I had to buy Goya guava paste via Amazon since I live in the middle of no where Texas and a lot of the reviews said they had to thin down the paste, did you have a problem? I’m missing everything Portos! Next time I’m in southern California I’m bring back a dozen!
No need to thin it for this recipe!
Made it today, and they were amazing!! A good portos copycat! Thank you! Tomorrow Portos potato ball trial! Wish me luck!
Just tried this recipe, and all I have to say is: WOW!
We were raised in northern NJ and NY and we moved to what my husband calls ‘the boonies’. What we’ve missed the most besides family and friends is the food.
These are AMAZING!!!!
THANK YOU for bringing a piece of our childhood back to our home!
Can anyone suggest the best way to reheat leftovers?? Had to put in fridge overnight
Toaster oven
My puff pastry never puffs up on the bottom. Wherever I have placed the guava and cream cheese, the bottom dough stays flat and looks uncooked/wet. Top and sides puff perfectly, wherever there is no guava paste. Anyone have a fix for this?
Thanks for this recipe. My mom made it and it was awesome
Sounds like something my Grandmother made for us in backwoods Florida about sixty years ago. We had guavas everywhere and ate them all the time.
How much guava paste is needed? I got a “brick” as a gift from Havana.
I am kosher and get the kosher guava paste at the 99 cent store in Woodland Hills.