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Quesitos
Puerto Rican bakery pastries: flaky puff pastry rolled around sweet cream cheese and brushed with a sticky glaze
Every panadería in Puerto Rico has a tray of quesitos by the till, and a warm one with a café con leche is a standard island breakfast, from Old San Juan to small-town bakeries in the mountains. Puff pastry is rolled around a log of sweet vanilla cream cheese and baked until it shatters, then brushed with sugar syrup so the top turns glossy and sticky. The filling stays soft and slightly tangy inside the crisp layers. Chef's tip: chill the filling before you roll, so it holds its shape and doesn't squeeze out of the ends in the oven.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the filling
For the pastry
For the glaze
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Beat 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, 1 ¾ oz sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 egg yolk together until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag (or a freezer bag with a corner snipped off) and chill for 15 minutes to firm up.
15 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Step 3: Unroll 1 ⅜ lb ready-rolled puff pastry on a surface dusted with 1 tbsp plain flour and cut each sheet into six rectangles, roughly 10 × 12 cm.
Step 4: Pipe a 2 cm-thick line of filling along one long edge of each rectangle, leaving 1 cm clear at each end. A common mistake is overfilling: the cheese bursts out and burns on the tray. Brush the far edge with a little 1 egg and roll up firmly, finishing seam-side down. Pinch the ends to seal.
Step 5: Set the rolls on the trays, brush the tops with egg and bake for 20–25 minutes, until puffed, deep golden and the layers look dry and crisp at the sides.
25 minStep 6: Meanwhile, simmer 3 ½ oz sugar and ¼ cup water in a small pan for 3 minutes, until clear and slightly syrupy.
3 minStep 7: Brush the hot quesitos with the syrup as soon as they come out of the oven, so it soaks into the top layers and sets glossy. Cool for 10 minutes before eating; the filling is very hot.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does quesitos take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of full-fat cream cheese?
- Mascarpone, same amount.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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