Guava Cheese Tart

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The thought of a steaming empanada, fresh out of the frier....mmmm - but not what you were thinking of, huh?

Empanadas were the first taste I've ever had of the popular Latin flavor combo of guava & cheese. As an avid, self proclaimed sweet-and-salty combo connoisseur, this has got to be one of my absolute favorite ones. Now, if you've never tried a guava before, from just the initial smell of it, you get hit with an extremely sweet and tropical scent. Some have compared the taste of it to a cross amongst mango, pineapple, and strawberry, but of course the only way to truly find out is to taste it for yourself! Popular in many Latin desserts is guava paste, which condenses this tropical guava essence into a beautiful, deeply fuchsia-colored, extremely sweet block that can be cut into slices and eaten with cheese [and crackers] as a Cuban-style snack or cooked into whatever you can imagine. Aside from baking, I've used leftovers from my guava block to add some pizzazz into my morning oatmeal or even melted into some cream for a sweet, tropical drizzle over mango sticky rice.

Aside from the endless possibilities, here's one delicious option in a tart form:

* makes for 1 loaf-tin-sized tart #usewhatyouhave !

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour (plus a little more for dusting your surface when rolling out)

• 1/4 tsp salt (optional: plus a pinch more to sprinkle on top before baking)

• 3/4 tsp sugar

• 3/8 cup (3/4 stick) of unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup of sour cream or plain greek yogurt

• 1 block of cream cheese

• 7 oz. (half a block) of guava paste

METHOD

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and whisk well.

2. Cut the butter into small cubes and evenly toss into the dry ingredients.

3. With clean hands, rub the butter and dry ingredients to break up the butter into small bits while combining it all together. This should result into smaller bits of butter amongst a shaggy-textured meal.

4. Using a fork, combine the sour cream/greek yogurt into the meal until a dough starts to form.

5. Using your hands, press the mixture into a dough ball and form into a flat semi-rectangular block.

6. Wrap the dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

7. Preheat your oven to 375°F.

8. With a floured surface and rolling pin, roll out the dough into something that resembles a rectangle that is around 0.5 cm in thickness.

9. In a buttered loaf pan or tart pan (use whatever you have is one of the lesson of #StayAtHome season), evenly lay your dough into the pan.

10. Cut the cream cheese block into slices 1 cm thick and lay them evenly across the dough.

11. Cut the guava block into slices 1 cm thick and lay evenly over the cream cheese. Optionally, sprinkle a bit of salt (flaky or course) on top.

12. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 375°F to start the browning process and begin cooking through the dough, the bake for another 15 minutes at 350°F to fully brown the crust and melt the guava paste and cream cheese.

13. Cool, slice, and serve!