Guava And Cream Cheese Dessert Food

PHILADELPHIA 3-STEP GUAVA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Beat cream cheese, guava paste, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended.
• Pour into crust.
• Bake 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

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.

HAWAIIAN GUAVA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a parchment sling, leaving some over hang on the long sides.
• Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder and kosher salt until combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the egg whites, in three additions, beating about 1 minute after each. Reduce speed to low, add the oil and mix until combined, about 1 more minute.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, guava concentrate, vanilla and food coloring (if using). On low speed, alternate between adding the wet and dry ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer, mixing well after each addition.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually increase the speed to high and whip until it's light and fluffy with stiff peaks, another 2 to 3 minutes. (Don't overwhip!) Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl.
• Replace the bowl on the stand mixer and fit the machine with the paddle attachment (there's no need to clean the bowl). Place the cream cheese in the bowl and mix on medium until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar and kosher salt and increase the speed to high. Beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Lower the speed to medium and add the food coloring (if using). Add the guava concentrate in four additions, mixing well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after the second and the final additions. Increase the speed to high and beat until smooth and well incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from stand and, using the spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream in three additions, incorporating completely after each addition.
• Spread the frosting on the cooled cake, using an offset spatula to smooth it over the edges. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Cut into 24 pieces and serve immediately.

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 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.

CHEESY GUAVA EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
• Put 3 or 4 of the empanada wrappers on a flat work surface. Spoon 2 teaspoons of cream cheese on the bottom half of each, then spread to create a half-moon shape, leaving a 1/2-inch gap between the cream cheese and the edge. Divide the guava paste into 1-ounce sections; depending on how the paste is packaged, you can either cut it into planks or scoop out about 3 teaspoons per empanada (using 3 teaspoons rather than 1 tablespoon will make the empanadas easier to seal). Finally, top each empanada with about 2 tablespoons of grated cheese.
• Make an egg wash by whisking the egg in a small bowl with a splash of water. Brush the outer edge of each wrapper with the egg wash, then seal by folding each wrapper in half and pressing the edges together with your fingers. Arrange the empanadas on the prepared baking sheets, then crimp the edges of each with a fork, pushing down enough to seal but not enough to go through the dough. Assemble, seal and crimp the remaining empanadas.
• Brush the top side of each empanada with the egg wash, then bake until the outsides are dark golden brown and feel crispy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes, then serve.

GUAVA POUND CAKE

Steps:

• For the pound cake: Slice the pound cake into 2-inch thick pieces and set aside.
• For the guava cream: Place the guavas, condensed milk, cream cheese and lime juice in a blender. Process mixture until smooth. Strain the mixture into a bowl. Discard the seeds. Set aside.
• For the guava compote: Bring the guavas, 1 cup water, the sugars, butter, cinnamon and vanilla to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium low; simmer until almost all the liquid evaporates, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Cover and chill. (Can be made 2 days ahead). Serve warm or at room temperature.
• To assemble the pound cake: Place a slice of pound cake onto a serving plate. Drizzle with the guava cream. Top with a spoonful of guava compote. Garnish with 4 blackberries. Dust with some powdered sugar and serve.

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.

LIME & CREAM CHEESE FLAN WITH GUAVA SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Blend first 3 ingredients in blender until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla and lime zest; blend until combined. Pour into 9-inch round pan.
• Place filled pan in larger shallow pan. Add enough water to larger pan to come halfway up side of smaller pan.
• Bake 50 min. to 1 hour or until knife inserted in center of flan comes out clean. Cool in water-filled pan. Carefully transfer flan from pan of hot water to wire rack. Cool flan completely.
• Refrigerate flan 4 hours. Meanwhile, bring guava pulp and sugar just to boil in saucepan; cook on medium-low heat 15 min. or until thickened, stirring frequently. Cool completely, then refrigerate until ready to use.
• Serve flan topped with guava sauce.