Miami Vices
David Guas, Executive Pastry Chef

The Guas boys were staying with their cousin Suzy, a daughter of Mari’s favorite aunt Tia Rosa, and her elderly housemate Teresita, both from Cuba. When David awoke the first morning, a sweet smell familiar to any good pastry chef came wafting under his door. What greeted him downstairs was a table full of flan—oodles of rectangular pans—waiting to be picked up by the owner of a local café in Little Havana. Teresita greeted David in Spanish and when he returned her greeting, he asked about the flan. “Oh, that’s just something I do on the side,” said the sprightly 70-year-old former schoolteacher. “I make it for a few cafés and restaurants. Sometimes they come pick it up. Sometimes I drop it off.” Thus she modestly described her central role in supplying desserts to a number of the restaurants in Little Havana. Guas spent three days with Teresita, learning the secrets behind those authentic Cuban sweets.

And so it was that Guas, who is from New Orleans and thus knows that “first you begin with a roux,” found out that in making Cuban desserts, first you open a can (or two) of condensed milk. In addition to helping Teresita with flan, David also learned how to make calavasa, or pumpkin fritters, by cooking pumpkin, mashing it, combining it with flour and eggs to make little dumpling, and deep frying it. Teresita’s flyer also advertises natilla, a very sweet pudding made with eggs, milk, corn starch, and condensed milk; pudin de pan, or bread pudding; and torrejas, Cuban-style French toast, served cold. David was intrigued by the torrejas, which is served with almibar, a simple syrup that is brought to a boil. It was his favorite thing he tasted while in Miami—in fact, he had it every night for dessert!

Ceiba, which opened in September 2003, features Latin American-Caribbean-influenced contemporary cuisine, specifically Yucatan (Vera Cruz and Cancun), Brazilian (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero), Peruvian, Caribbean, and Cuban. On any given day, three of the seven desserts on Guas’ menu reflect his Cuban heritage. Certainly, there is always a flan, and since Guas has always been a fan of rice pudding, he typically offers one of those as well, and you can be sure it will have a pinch of cinnamon and at least a splash of condensed milk.

In the September 2003 issue of Bon Appétit, Guas is featured as one of eight Dessert Stars in the country; the Vanilla-Bean Cheesecake with Guava Topping and Mango-Lime Salad he developed for Ceiba is anchoring the cover. Of Guas’ sweets at Ceiba, Restaurant Critic Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post writes “I have yet to find a single dessert I can say no to”, and Thomas Head, writing in The Washingtonian, states that Guas’ desserts are “worth saving room for” and goes on to rave about the warm churros, in particular. Such sweet rewards, right off the bat, for all that grueling Miami research…