The Guava and Cream Cheese Borreca — The Cuban-Jewish Mashup You Never Knew You Needed!

Video Description

Learn how to make delicious Guava and Cream Cheese Borrecas — The Cuban-Jewish Mashup You Never Knew You Needed! Their golden, flaky dough is insanely easy to make, and as far as the filling goes — it’s store bought guava paste and cream cheese! It really doesn’t get any easier than that! They’re a wonderful, handheld treat, that takes advantage of the culinary genius of my Sephardic-Turkish grandmothers, and meshes it with a Cuban staple — guayaba y queso crema! Just like my ancestors (and me), they’re a fusion of Sephardic-Turkish and Cuban. We are lovingly known as Jewbans, and these Guava and Cream Cheese Borrecas are the embodiment of who we are. 🩷💜 Ingredients for the Dough: • 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour • 1/2 tsp Salt • 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil, Plus an Extra Tbsp, if Needed • 1/2 Cup Lukewarm Water • 1 Egg, for an Egg-Wash Ingredients for The Filling: • 8 Ounces Cream Cheese (Block), Chilled • 8 Ounces Guava Paste (Block), Chilled Directions: To Make the Dough: Add your all purpose flour and salt to a medium bowl and combine well. Add your vegetable oil, and using a serving fork, combine the ingredients until you no longer see white flour and the mixture has the appearance of sandy pebbles. You may add 1 more tablespoon of oil to your mixture, if it looks a bit dry and pebbles haven't formed. Then, warm up your water in the microwave (for 30 to 40 seconds), and add the water in. Once again, use your fork to combine the ingredients until a smooth dough has formed. Use your hands to bring the dough ball together and to make sure there are no dry lumps in your dough, then place it back in the bowl, and cover it to allow it to rest while you prepare your filling. To Prepare The Filling: Cut a chilled 8 ounce block of cream cheese into 18 equal squares. Cut off an 8 ounce piece from your chilled guava paste block, and then cut that piece into 18 equal squares. Preheat your oven to 350°. Divide your dough into 18 pieces. Flatten each piece into a round or oval shape, one at a time, using your fingertips, the hard part of your hand, a handheld roller, or a rolling pin. Flatten a cream cheese square with your fingers, and place it on the flattened piece of dough, leaving a clean edge of dough all around. Grab a square of guava paste, cut it into two, then lay both pieces flat onto the cream cheese. Carefully fold the dough over the filling, and press or pinch the two edges of dough together to form one. Braid the edge of the dough using the "pinch and fold' technique that is shown in the video. Place the now shaped borreca onto a baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper. Repeat to form 18 borrecas. Then, beat an egg and brush the top of each borreca with it, using a pastry brush. Then, prick each one twice with a long thin knife. Bake on a center rack for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the guava and cream chesses borrecas from the hot tray and place them onto a cooling rack to allow them to cool down. The guava filling will burn you if you try to eat it when it’s too hot, so be patient, and allow them to cool down before biting into them! Then, sit back and enjoy!