Cuban-American fusion recipe
Cuban Cream Cheese and Cranberry Pastelitos
Cuban pastelitos made with golden puff pastry and filled with cream cheese and cranberry with orange. A seasonal snack inspired by Miami bakeries.
- Preparation20 min
- Cooking35 min
- Total time55 min
- Servings8 medium pastelitos
- DifficultyEasy
Puff pastry pastelitos are an essential snack at Cuban bakeries in Miami. This seasonal version replaces the usual guava filling with a thick cranberry and orange jam and a layer of cream cheese. The result is crisp puff pastry with a creamy, sweet-tart center, perfect with café con leche.
Ingredients
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For the pastelitos
For the cranberry filling
Method
Make the quick jam
- Cook the cranberries with 55 g sugar and the orange juice over medium heat for 10–12 minutes, until the fruit breaks down and the mixture is thick. If it is too runny, add the dissolved cornstarch and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the zest. Let cool completely.
Prepare the cream cheese mixture
- Mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and thick. Refrigerate while you prepare the puff pastry.
Fill and seal
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C (390 °F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the cold pastry sheets and cut 16 equal-sized rectangles to make 8 pastelitos (8 bases and 8 tops).
- Place a small tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture and another of cold jam on each base, leaving a 1–1.5 cm border. Lightly moisten the edge with water, cover with another rectangle and seal with a fork. Make a small slit on top to let the steam escape.
Bake
- Brush with beaten egg and bake for 18–23 minutes, until the puff pastry is puffed, deeply golden and cooked on the bottom. Let cool for 5–10 minutes before serving, as the filling will be very hot.
