History

Pastelitos came north from Havana through Tampa's Ybor City Cuban bakeries in the early 1900s, where the Spanish puff-pastry empanada tradition was reimagined with tropical guava paste and sweet picadillo. The form spread to Miami after the 1959 Cuban Revolution and entered Central Florida through the 1980s Cuban-Puerto Rican migration waves. Black Bean Deli's counter on East Colonial Drive is Orlando's flagship pastelito source, with guava-and-cheese the canonical order; sweet picadillo and coconut variations follow.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 25 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 sheets all-butter puff pastry, thawed
  • 200g guava paste (pasta de guayaba), cut into 16 small rectangles
  • 200g cream cheese, cut into 16 small rectangles
  • 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
  • 30g granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water (for the glaze)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Roll each puff pastry sheet lightly on a floured surface to even out. Cut each sheet into 8 squares (16 total, 8 will be bottoms and 8 tops).
  3. Lay 8 squares on the parchment. Center 2 rectangles guava paste and 2 rectangles cream cheese on each.
  4. Brush the pastry edges with egg wash. Top with the remaining 8 squares. Press the edges firmly with a fork to seal.
  5. Cut 2 small steam slits in each top. Brush the tops with egg wash.
  6. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until deeply golden and puffed.
  7. While baking, dissolve sugar in 1 tablespoon water over low heat for a glaze.
  8. Brush the warm pastelitos with sugar glaze and let cool slightly before serving.

Tip from the editors. Guava paste in a tin or block (pasta de guayaba) is at any Latin grocery. Frozen all-butter puff pastry beats supermarket margarine puff for texture and flavor.

Where to eat cuban pastelitos

Cuban pastelitos in Orlando

Black Bean Deli ★ 4.6

Jewish deli$mills-50

Black Bean Deli on East Colonial Drive in Mills 50 has run since 2001, with pressed Cuban sandwiches, cafecito and pastelitos from a family counter.

Try: Cuban sandwiches, pressed cubano, cafecito

1835 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32803

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