RECIPE WITH GUAVA RECIPES

Steps:

• Dice guavas into one inch cubes.
• Place in a large saucepan and cover with just enough water to cover the fruit well.
• Cover and cook till guavas are very tender, about half an hour.
• Cool.
• Cover a large bowl with a muslin cloth and invert fruit onto the cloth taking care to catch the liquid that drips through the muslin, into the bowl.
• Gather the four ends of the cloth and tie a knot and hang this'bag' for about four hours and collect all the drippings into the bowl.
• LIGHTLY squeeze out any juice left in the cloth.
• Discard pulp.
• Measure the liquid.
• For every cup of liquid add one cup of sugar and one tablespoon of lemon juice.
• (Eg. if there are four cups of liquid you would need to add four cups of sugar and four tablespoons of lime/lemon juice.) Put this mixture back on fire and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and cook, stirring constantly (as the liquid tends to boil over), till the liquid starts coating the spoon thickly and the juice/jelly drips from the spoon in jointed drops.
• Let stand for half an hour and pour into jars while still warm.
• Cover and seal.

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.