Pay de Guayaba del Restaurante Panamá, courtesy Chef Luis Osuna & Chef Olivia Vidaurri
2 pies
Guava Pie recipe from Pati’s Mexican Table Season 8, Episode 5 "A Taste of Mazatlán"
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 3 1/3 cups (about 10 ounce) crumbled Maria cookies
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
For the filling:
- 1 envelope (about 7 grams or .25 ounce) unflavored gelatin
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 pound (about 2 cups) cream cheese
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 cups fresh guava, cleaned and diced
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
- Cajeta or dulce de leche, homemade or store-bought
To Prepare
To make the crust:
- Set rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Place the crumbled cookies in a medium bowl. Melt the butter over low heat, pour over the crumbled cookies, and mix well. Split the mixture between two pie molds and press into the bottom and sides of the molds to form a crust. Bake for 18 minutes until set and golden, then remove from oven and let cool.
To make the filling:
- In a small bowl, combine the gelatin with the water. Let it puff up and rehydrate, then mix until diluted. If the gelatin won’t dissolve completely, you may want to place over a water bath for a minute or two.
- Fit a mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the cream cheese on medium speed for a couple minutes to soften. Incorporate the heavy whipping cream and sugar, continue beating until well mixed and it holds steady and hard peaks, as if you were making whipped cream, being careful not to over beat.
- Reduce speed to low, add the rehydrated gelatin and mix just until it is all incorporated, puffed up and uniform.
- Turn out into the cooled pie crusts and chill for at least an hour.
To make the topping:
- Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and set over medium heat, once it comes to a simmer, cook for 3 minutes until the sugar dissolves, making a simple syrup. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Place the guava in a bowl, pour the cooled simple syrup over it, and mix well. Strain the guava in a colander for a few minutes to drain off excess simple syrup.
- Top the chilled pies with the guava, sprinkle pecans all around, and drizzle with cajeta.
I split this recipe and made only 1 pie. I also made a mistake and let the gelatin out by accident but the recipe still turned out. My boys loved it but asked next time if we could use canned Guava shells instead because the seeds were hard for them to get past. My husband and I loved it though as we eat the fruit regularly. By the way I forgot how much I love Cajeta, I ended up heating just a few seconds in microwave to get a good drizzle going. I think next time I make this we will try the canned shells at least to appease the boys but we definitely make again!
Thanks for your message Amanda, I think canned guavas will work perfectly, except you might need to skip the simple syrup or use just a little bit, so your topping won’t turn out way too sweet. Enjoy!
Can’t wait to try this…saw it on show today and my mouth hasn’t stopped watering!
Yay Deb, enjoy!
Question…have you ever not made two pies? Can you split the recipe in half with good results? I have everything on hand enough of the cream cheese…
Go for it, Liza!
How do you deseed guavas as the seeds take up most of the fruit? I note your picture looks like seeds are in it… but I tasted before putting it on top seeds are super tough. Flavors are wonderful … but I think I’ll put it through a swivel before serving to company
Oh you don’t have to deseed them. Thanks for catching that, Laurie!
I’ve had this recipe saved since it came out And finally got around to making it. I didn’t have Maria cookies so I used ginger snacks instead. The results were amazing! I just wish I realized the recipe makes two pies because they’re too good not to eat 🙈
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Cameron!
Hi Pati-
Guava pie turned out beautifully. I had to adapt the recipe a bit to accomodate a GF (gluten-free) person and because, unbeknownst to me, my father ate a significant amount of the cream cheese!
I used Alice Medrich’s Oat Flour Tart Crust recipe, cream cheese & fromage blanc + mascarpone cheese to make up the difference & added 1/2t Tahitian Vanilla extract.
Everyone was ecstatic! We had to wait for the fellow from Michoacan & the intoxicating scent of the guavas nearly drove us mad. It hit all the right notes, not too sweet. The only other woman in the group went back for seconds & they all wanted a piece to take home! 🙂
Yay! Your adaptations sound great, and I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Gigi.
Hola Pati! Mmmm…. super yum! Always looking for something to do with fresh guava. I came home yesterday with a 3lb bag of local green ones that are so ripe the whole house smells exotic! Today I will be making this pie for a friend who is from Michoacan, where this is a specialty. I did order Ate, which I planned to layer between the crust & the filling, but it has not arrived so it’s going to be just like yours – fabulous!
I learned of eating cream cheese & guava from my mother, who spent time in Cuba in the 1940’s. They ate it as a sort of appetizer. Cream cheese with diced guava (usually pink) strewn over, then scooped or spread on a biscuit or sweet cracker.
Let you know how it goes!
I hope it goes well, Gigi!!
Looking at you for the first time eating that wuava 🥧 got me hook in your show plus I’m Craving that pie so much thank you
I’m so glad you got hooked on the show, Chuco!
Pati! This recipe looks incredible. I would love to try it, but I have a question. What is the best way to get guava if you live on the east coast? I live in NYC and I know you’re in Maryland, so I thought you might have a suggestion. You’re the best!
Try your local grocery store…they might have it, or head to a more speciality produce store, or online like Melissa’s.