Recipe
Cuban-Style Nutella and Cream Cheese Pastelitos
Golden puff pastry pastelitos filled with Nutella and cream cheese: a fusion version inspired by the Cuban café pastry format.
- Preparation20 min
- Cooking30 min
- Total time1 h 15 min
- Servings12 pastelitos
- DifficultyEasy
These pastelitos combine crispy puff pastry with a Nutella and cream cheese filling. The format recalls the Cuban café pastelito, with a mix of cocoa, hazelnuts, and cheese prepared without adding sugar to the filling.
The recipe yields 12 pieces and starts with already thawed but still cold puff pastry. Keeping it cold during assembly helps the layers develop well in the oven.
Ingredients
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For the pastelitos
For brushing
Method
Prepare and fill
- Mix the cream cheese with the vanilla and salt until spreadable. Keep the Nutella separate.
- Lightly flour the work surface and stretch each puff pastry sheet into a rectangle about 25 × 30 cm (10 × 12 inches). Cut each sheet into 12 equal rectangles: you will have 24 pieces to make 12 pastelitos.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba - Place 12 rectangles on a metal baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Distribute the cream cheese mixture equally, approximately 15 g per piece, and add 10 g of Nutella to each. Leave about 1 cm of border free.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba - Moisten the edges slightly with water, place the lids, and press gently. Seal with a fork without crushing the center and make two small ventilation cuts in each lid.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba
Chill and bake
- Refrigerate the pieces for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the conventional oven to 200 °C (400 °F). If using two trays, leave enough space between the pastelitos.
- Beat the egg with the milk and brush the lids, avoiding dripping over the cut edges of the puff pastry.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba - Bake in the lower-middle zone for 25–30 minutes, until the puff pastry has risen, is well golden, and the bases are cooked. If baking two trays at once, swap their positions halfway through cooking.
- Transfer the pastelitos to a rack and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving, as the filling comes out very hot.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba
