Casquitos de Guayaba con Queso

guava shells poached soft in a cinnamon-scented syrup and served with a slice of fresh white cheese, the simple, beloved guava dessert of the Cuban and Caribbean table

Origin: Cuba

From the journey of Guava.

Where the pastelito wraps guava paste in pastry, the casquitos de guayaba keep the fruit whole and fresh: guava shells, the halved fruit with the seedy centre scooped out, poached gently in a light syrup scented with cinnamon and a little lime until soft and translucent, then served cold in their syrup with a slice of fresh, salty white cheese. It is one of the simplest and most beloved of Cuban and Caribbean desserts, the sweet, fragrant, faintly resinous fruit set against the cool saltiness of the cheese, the pairing of guava and cheese that runs through the whole of Latin America. The dish belongs to the home kitchen and the family table rather than the bakery, a way of catching the guava harvest and keeping it through the year, and it is eaten across Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the wider Hispanic Caribbean. Spooned over the cheese, or eaten in alternating forkfuls of fruit and queso, casquitos de guayaba con queso is the guava at its homeliest and most comforting in the islands of its native sea.

Ingredients

The Shells

  • 10 firm-ripe guavas

The Syrup

  • 300 g sugar
  • 750 ml water
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1 strip lime peel, plus 1 tbsp juice
  • 1 pinch salt

To Serve

  • 300 g fresh white cheese (queso blanco), or cream cheese, to serve

Method

  1. Peel the guavas, halve them, and scoop out the seedy centres with a teaspoon, leaving clean shells (cascos). Reserve the scooped centres.
  2. Bring the water, sugar, cinnamon, lime peel, and salt to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then add the strained pulp juice if using.
  3. Add the guava shells, lower to a gentle simmer, and poach for 30 to 40 minutes, until soft and translucent and the syrup has lightly thickened.
  4. Stir in the lime juice, then cool and chill the shells in their syrup, for several hours or overnight.
  5. Serve cold, two or three shells per person with a generous spoon of syrup and a thick slice of fresh white cheese alongside.

Notes

Firm, just-ripe guavas hold their shape best; very soft fruit collapses. Queso blanco or a mild fresh cheese is traditional, though cream cheese is common abroad. The same shells in syrup are tinned commercially as 'guava shells'. Pink or white guavas both work; pink give a prettier colour.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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