Guava Pie

Name: Guava Pie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 3 1/3 cups (about 10 ounce) crumbled Maria cookies; 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter; 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; 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)

Pay de Guayaba del Restaurante Panamá, courtesy Chef Luis Osuna & Chef Olivia Vidaurri

Recipe Yield

2 pies

Cooking time

40 minutes

Rate this recipe

4.5 from 8 votes

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.

Comments

38comments inGuava Pie

Kay

May 14

What is a Maria cookie? I’m in Northern Ca if you can suggest a subsititute

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 17
  
  Vanilla wafers work well Kay, but if you are in California, you will find Maria cookies everywhere 🙂
  
Rosa Amezcua

Mar 07

This is one of my favorite pies!!
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Mar 08
  
  With pleasure Rosa, it is one of my favorites as well 😉
  
Dale Shield

Mar 20

making the guava pie, should I use small, medium or large guavas, or does it matter

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Mar 20
  
  The size really doesn’t matter Dalen, try to find ripe ones which tend to be sweeter 🙂
  
Esmeralda

Nov 02

I loved the Season 8 with all the Sinaloa places as that’s where my family is from. This pay is amazing! And super easy to make ! I’m making it again for thanksgiving.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 03
  
  So glad you liked it Esmeralda, thank you!
  
2. Daviana
  
  Apr 06
  
  I’m not a sweets person , but when I saw your guava pie my mouth was watering so much lol.
  I can’t wait to try it 🙂
  
  1. Pati Jinich
    
    Apr 11
    
    This is perfect for you Daviana! Because of the tanginess and tart of guava, this pie is sweet but not too much and maybe better for you to skip the dulce de leche drizzle; let me know how it comes out!
    
Janeth Lemieux

Sep 26

I love this pie, my family and I. Want to said thank you

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 28
  
  Thanks for the feedback Janeth, greetings to all 😉
  
Marion martinez

Sep 11

I am married to a Cuban man for 42 years and I cook a Cuban food and we both love guava so I’m going to try to make this pie but I’m not sure what you drizzled on top I don’t know what that is is it caramel

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 17
  
  Cajeta is Mexican dulce de leche Marion. You can prepare it at home (https://patijinich.com/pati_2020/homemade-cajeta-or-dulce-de-leche/) or you can buy it. It is really yummy. Enjoy 😉
  
Tom

Sep 05

I was watching the video of the restaurant, and it almost looked like Panamá Restaurantes y Pastelerías serves these pies with seeds removed from the guava. Could my eyes have tricked me while I was watching the video?
My family tried this recipe and completely loved the amazing flavor but did not like the texture from the seeds. I am still wondering how to solve this one.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 06
  
  I guess you can remove the seeds? But I would suggest doing so after letting the guavas sit in the syrup for a little while, so they can soften up 😉
  
Charles H. Rosine

Sep 05

Can’t wait to make it Thanks Patti.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 06
  
  Thanks to you Charles, enjoy 😉
  
Laura Pichardo

Sep 05

Vivo en Connecticut, no es fácil encontrar guayabas, haré lo posible porque suena deliciosa esta receta. Gracias

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 05
  
  Ojala que las encuentres Laura, buena suerte!
  
Amanda Maldonado

Jun 02

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!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jun 02
  
  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!
  
Deb Robichaud

May 02

Can’t wait to try this…saw it on show today and my mouth hasn’t stopped watering!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 04
  
  Yay Deb, enjoy!
  
Liza V.

Jan 14

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…

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 15
  
  Go for it, Liza!
  
Laurie

Jan 04

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

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 23
  
  Oh you don’t have to deseed them. Thanks for catching that, Laurie!
  
Cameron U

Dec 17

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 🙈

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 17
  
  I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Cameron!
  
Gigi Pravda

Nov 21

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! 🙂

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 30
  
  Yay! Your adaptations sound great, and I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Gigi.
  
Gigi Pravda

Nov 17

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!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 18
  
  I hope it goes well, Gigi!!
  
Chuco E.L.A ,ca

Nov 09

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

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 10
  
  I’m so glad you got hooked on the show, Chuco!
  
Anonymous

Nov 04

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!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 16
  
  Try your local grocery store…they might have it, or head to a more speciality produce store, or online like Melissa’s.

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