One sunny morning, David Guas and his father Mariano hopped into their rented Mustang convertible in Fort Lauderdale and headed to Miami. Ray-Bans on, and a specially made CD of Cuban tunes blasting from the stereo, they cruised down the highway for a little research trip. Guas junior was looking for inspiration in creating his dessert menu for Ceiba, the sister restaurant of DC Coast and TenPenh restaurants in Washington, DC, whose sweets he would also be responsible for, as Executive Pastry Chef of all three establishments.  Little did he know that he would have to look no further than…downstairs. 

The Guas boys were staying with their cousin Suzy, a daughter of Mariano’s 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 he asked her excitedly 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 make 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 calabasa, or pumpkin fritters, by cooking pumpkin, mashing it, combining it with flour and eggs to make little dumplings, 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 boiled simple syrup. It was the best thing he tasted in Miami—in fact, he had it every night for dessert! 

Ceiba, which opened in September 2003, features Latin American- and Caribbean-influenced contemporary cuisine. The desserts on the menu Guas developed directly reflect his Cuban heritage, from the flan to the rice pudding – all with least a splash of condensed milk.   

In the September 2003 issue of Bon Appétit, Guas was featured as one of eight “Dessert Stars” in the country; the Vanilla-Bean Cheesecake with Guava Topping and Mango-Lime Salad he created 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 Washingtonian, states that Guas’ desserts are “worth saving room for,” and goes on to rave about the warm churros, in particular.  In June, 2004, Guas was named Pastry Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.   

Such sweet rewards, for all that grueling Miami research …