Recipe

Cinnamon and Guava Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Name: Cinnamon and Guava Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 220 min
Ingredients: 450 g medium-strength or bread-making wheat flour; 220 ml lukewarm milk (not hot); 7 g instant dry baker's yeast; 60 g sugar; 1 large egg; 60 g unsalted butter, soft; 6 g salt; Up to 15 g additional flour for the work surface; 45 g soft butter; 60 g brown sugar; 8 g ground cinnamon; 160 g guava paste, in very thin slices or small cubes; 120 g full-fat cream cheese; 60 g powdered sugar; 15 g soft butter; ½ teaspoon vanilla; 5 g butter for greasing

Fluffy yeast dough rolls filled with cinnamon and guava paste, covered with a creamy cream cheese glaze.

CiberCubaNovember 6, 2026

Image generated with AI.CiberCuba

Preparation35 min
Cooking35 min
Total time3 h 40 min
Servings9 large rolls
DifficultyMedium

These rolls adapt the format of cinnamon rolls with a filling of cinnamon and guava paste, and a cream cheese glaze. The result is a large, fluffy roll with a nod to the guava and cheese combination in Cuban pastry.

They are not presented as a traditional Cuban sweet. They are a proposal for a special snack or a family breakfast, with a yeast dough that requires two rises. Respect those resting times and add the glaze when the rolls are warm.

Method

Dough

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the instant yeast. Add the barely lukewarm milk, sugar and egg, and incorporate until no dry flour remains.
Add the salt and knead. Incorporate the 60 g of butter in several batches and continue kneading for about 10-15 minutes, until you have a soft, elastic and slightly sticky dough. Do not dry it out by adding too much flour.
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Place the dough in a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 60-90 minutes in a warm place, until it has almost doubled in volume. The appearance of the dough is more important than the clock.

Filling and shaping

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, degas it gently and roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangle of 36 x 30 cm.
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Leave a 1 cm strip unfilled on one of the long edges. Spread the rest of the surface with the 45 g of soft butter. Mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon, sprinkle it over the butter and distribute the guava in thin slices or small cubes, keeping that strip free to seal.
Roll up from the opposite long edge, without pressing too hard, and seal by pressing the free edge against the cylinder.
Grease a pan of about 25 x 25 cm with the 5 g of butter. Cut the cylinder of about 36 cm into nine pieces of 4 cm and place them spiral-side up in the pan, in three rows of three.
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Cover the pan and let it rise for another 30-45 minutes, until the rolls are puffed and almost touching each other.
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Baking

While they rise, preheat the oven to 180 °C, with top and bottom heat, without a fan.
Bake for 28-35 minutes in the lower-middle zone of the oven, until the rolls are golden and the center of the dough is cooked, not pasty. If they brown before being done inside, cover them gently with aluminum foil and continue baking.
Remove the pan and let the rolls rest for 15 minutes.

Glaze

Beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar, butter and vanilla until the glaze is smooth and lump-free.
Spread the glaze over the warm rolls, never freshly out of the oven and very hot. Serve.

Tips and variations

The yeast must be baker's yeast, instant dry; baking powder does not work. The milk should be barely lukewarm: if it burns your finger, it kills the yeast.

Use firm guava paste. Soft guava jam or guava in syrup moistens the dough too much and the filling leaks out during baking. Cut it into very thin slices or small cubes so it distributes well throughout the spiral.

Do not dry out the dough with flour. It should remain slightly sticky; this way the rolls come out tender. Use only the exact amount of flour needed to roll it out.

The glaze always after baking, over warm rolls. If the rolls are too hot, the glaze melts and runs off.

Storage: keep them covered in the refrigerator, at 4 °C or less, for up to 3 days. Warm the portions before serving.

Allergens: wheat (gluten), milk and egg.