Cuban recipe
Guava Pie with Homemade Pastry and a Lattice Top
A guava pie with homemade butter pastry and a golden lattice that reveals the glossy red filling.
- Preparation40 min
- Cooking55 min
- Total time4 h 20 min
- Servings1 pie, 23-24 cm, 8 servings
- DifficultyMedium
This pie combines the style of an American lattice pie with a Cuban guava filling. The shortcrust pastry is made from scratch, and the red guava filling peeks through its lattice top.
It's a dessert to share for an afternoon snack or at a celebration. Let it cool thoroughly before cutting so the filling can set.
Ingredients
Check off the ingredients you have.
For the homemade pastry
For the filling
For finishing
Method
Homemade pastry
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt. Work in the very cold butter cubes with a pastry cutter or your fingertips, without warming the butter, until visible pea-sized lumps remain.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba - Add the ice water little by little, just until the dough holds together when pressed. Do not knead it like bread or overwork it.
- Divide the dough into two disks, one with approximately 60% for the base and the other with 40% for the strips. Wrap and refrigerate them for 45 to 60 minutes.
Filling
- Put the chopped guava paste in a saucepan over low heat. Add the water in small batches and stir until the paste softens; stir in the lemon or lime juice and the pinch of salt, if using.
- Continue stirring until the mixture is very thick and smooth, not runny. Remove it from the heat and let it cool completely: it should hold its shape when cool.
Assembly and baking
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger disk to about 3 mm thick. Place it without stretching in a 23-24 cm round pie pan, covering the bottom and sides and leaving an overhang of about 2 cm. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba - Spread the completely cooled guava filling over the base, keeping it below the inner rim of the pan.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba - Roll out the smaller disk and cut equal strips 1.5 to 2 cm wide. Weave two sets of strips, alternating over and under, to form an open lattice with wide gaps that reveal the guava. Orient the pie so the openings appear diamond-shaped.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba - Trim the ends of the strips, fold them over and seal them to the base pastry. Use your fingers to form a wide, fluted edge.
- Refrigerate the pie for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 °C with a baking sheet inside.
- Beat the egg with the milk and brush only the visible pastry, including the strips and edge. If desired, sprinkle with a thin layer of sugar.
- Place the pan on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 200 °C. Lower the temperature to 180 °C and bake for another 25-35 minutes, until the lattice and the entire edge are well browned and the filling glistens between the openings. If the edge browns too quickly, protect it with foil.
- Let the pie cool on a wire rack for 1 to 2 hours before cutting it into triangular slices.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
