La Segunda Central Bakery ★ 4.8
La Segunda in Ybor City has baked Cuban bread daily since 1915, with 18,000-plus loaves a day and the palmetto frond baked into the top loaf for steam.
Worth the queue: Long Cuban bread with palmetto frond
History
The guava pastelito (sometimes pastelitos de guayaba) arrived in Tampa with Cuban bakers in the late 1800s. La Segunda Central Bakery has filled them with sweet guava paste since 1915. The cream-cheese-and-guava variant (pastelito de guayaba y queso) appeared later. Cuban bakeries in Ybor and West Tampa sell pastelitos by the dozen for $1.50 to $3 each.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry (about 500g total), thawed
- 200g guava paste (pasta de guayaba), cut into 12 small blocks
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water (egg wash)
- Granulated sugar, for dusting
Method
- Preheat oven to 200C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Unfold one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 6 equal squares (about 10cm each). Repeat with the second sheet.
- Place a small block of guava paste in the center of each square.
- Brush the edges with egg wash. Fold each square into a triangle, sealing the edges with a fork.
- Brush the top of each pastelito with egg wash. Dust with granulated sugar.
- Bake 18-22 minutes until deep golden and puffed. Cool 5 minutes on a rack before serving with strong cafe con leche.
Tip from the editors. Guava paste is sold in blocks in Latin grocery aisles. The pastry must be cold when it goes in the oven; warm pastry will not puff properly.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat guava pastelito
Guava pastelito in Tampa
Mauricio Faedo's Bakery ★ 4.5
Mauricio Faedo's Bakery on North Florida Avenue bakes Cuban bread, breakfast Cuban toast and deviled crabs daily, with the family running it since 1955.
Worth the queue: Daily-baked Cuban bread
Alessi Bakery ★ 4.6
Alessi Bakery on West Cypress has run an Italian and Cuban bakery in Tampa since 1912, with famous hand-carved Cuban sandwiches, deviled crabs and cannolis.
Worth the queue: Hand-carved Cuban sandwich
La Caridad Bakery ★ 4.4
La Caridad Bakery on West Columbus Drive has run Cuban bread, pastelitos and Cuban breakfast toast for West Tampa for over four decades. The kitchen leans.
Worth the queue: Guava pastelito
More cities are in research. Want guava pastelito covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.