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Pastelitos de Carne (Cuban Beef Puff Pastries)

Flaky puff pastry squares filled with savory picadillo and brushed with a light syrup, like a Cuban bakery.

By Wanda Oyola 2 h Medium

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Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.

Square golden puff pastries with a shiny glaze on a cooling rack, one cut open to show the ground beef filling.

Pastelitos de carne are a Cuban bakery favorite and a must at birthday parties: squares of flaky puff pastry filled with savory picadillo and brushed with a little syrup as soon as they come out of the oven. That shiny, barely sweet top against the seasoned beef inside is what makes them so hard to stop eating.

In the Thermomix® TM7™, the syrup cooks first, then the onion, pepper and garlic are chopped and sautéed and the ground beef simmers on reverse with tomato sauce, olives and cumin until the filling is moist but not runny. Store-bought puff pastry keeps the rest simple, and the oven does the baking.

Made in the Thermomix® TM7™

Pastelitos de Carne (Cuban Beef Puff Pastries)

Makes: 18 pastelitos

  • Prep40 min
  • Cook50 min
  • Total2 h
  • Serves18

Ingredients

For the syrup

For the picadillo

For the pastry

Instructions

  1. Place the sugar and water in the mixing bowl and cook 4 min/100°C (212°F)/speed 2, until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the syrup into a cup and let it cool.
  2. Place the onion, bell pepper and garlic in the mixing bowl, chop 5 sec/speed 5 and scrape down the sides. Add the oil and sauté 5 min/120°C (250°F)/speed 1.
  3. Add the ground beef in small pieces. Place the simmering basket on the mixing bowl lid instead of the measuring cup and sauté 8 min/120°C (250°F)/reverse/speed 1, so the beef cooks and breaks into crumbles.
  4. Add the tomato sauce, olives, wine, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and raisins (if using). With the simmering basket still on the lid, cook 15 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed soft, until the liquid has almost evaporated and the filling is moist but not saucy.
  5. Spread the filling on a plate and let it cool completely, about 30 minutes. Warm filling melts the butter in the pastry and the pastelitos will not puff.
  6. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut each puff pastry sheet into 9 squares of about 8 cm (3 in), for 36 squares.
  7. Place 18 squares on the baking sheets. Put 2 heaping tbsp (about 30 g) of filling in the center of each, brush the edges with beaten egg, cover with another square and press the edges firmly with your fingertips. Brush the tops with egg.
  8. Bake in the oven, one sheet at a time, for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and deep golden. Brush the pastelitos with the syrup as soon as they come out of the oven.
  9. Let them cool for 5 minutes and serve warm.

Tips

  • Make ahead: the picadillo keeps 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
  • To freeze unbaked pastelitos, set them on a tray in the freezer until hard, then pack them in a freezer bag. Brush with egg and bake from frozen, adding 5 to 8 minutes.
  • The same pastry makes pastelitos de guayaba: fill each square with a thin slice of guava paste, plus 1 tsp of cream cheese if you like, instead of the picadillo.
  • Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge. Reheat them in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 8 minutes so the pastry crisps again.

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