Cuban pastries (known in Spanish as ''pasteles'' or ''pastelitos (also the name for Venezuelan pastries made in region of los Andes)'') are

baked Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferre ...

puff pastry–type pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings. Traditional fillings include cream cheese ''quesitos'',

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

(''pastelito de guayaba'') and

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, pineapple, and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

. The sweet fillings are made with sweetened fruit pulps. The cream cheese filling is also a slightly sweetened version of cream cheese, that resembles the flavor and texture of a

cheesecake Cheesecake is a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. If there is a bottom layer, it m ...

. The savory fillings are usually beef, but sometimes chicken or ham and

are used. The beef fillings consist of a seasoned but not spicy meat, made in a tomato-based sauce. It is typical to include raisins and green

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s as part of the meat filling. It is also typical for a sweet glaze to be applied to the top of even savory fillings. The pastries are typically consumed at any time as a snack. In Miami, one can find many "window cafeterias" with customers having a ''pastelito'' with coffee throughout the day. They can be found at many Hispanic cafeterias and have also been introduced into the American retail market by Goya Foods. The pastries are also available in wholesale for the foodservice industry by several companies, including Hispanic wholesale frozen bakery manufacturer Latin Flavors.

References

Cuban cuisine Pastries {{Cuba-cuisine-stub

See also

References