Pineapple Tarts
By Ridhi Chhabra
This is a festive recipe, very popular in places like Malaysia and Singapore. Chinese New Year is celebrated in these countries too and people like to celebrate the special day with this special sweet.
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: South East Asian
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 30 pieces
Ingredients:
Pineapple Filling
• 3 baby pineapples
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 clove
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 150 gms liquid glucose
• 2 tsp flour
Pastry
• 350 gms flour
• 50 gms corn flour
• 1 cup butter
• 50 gms icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk (for glazing)
Instructions:
Pineapple Filling
1. Slice and grate the pineapples till fine or use shredded canned pineapples.
2. Strain the grated pineapple.
3. Place in a saucepan and let it simmer until the juice has dried up.
4. Add sugar, star anise, cinnamon stick and clove.
5. Let the sugar melt and stir until the mixture is as thick as a jam.
6. Add the liquid glucose and stir.
7. Add flour and continue to stir.
8. It has to be like a thick jam, but do not overcook it.
9. Let it cool and then shape into small elongated balls and keep them aside.
Pastry
1. Mix the flour and corn flour and keep them aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer.
3. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time and combine well.
4. Add vanilla essence and salt and whisk until fluffy.
5. Fold in the mixed flour & corn flour and form a dough having a crumbly shortbread texture.
6. Roll a piece of dough into a 7 cm long rope in your palm, then gently press it down with your index finger to flatten the dough into an oblong shape around 0.5 cm thick and 3-4 cm wide.
7. Put the pineapple jam ball at the edge of the strip and roll the dough to form elongated roll.
8. Put the rolls on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
9. Use a fork to draw lines on the top of the tarts.
10. Brush the rolls with beaten egg yolk.
11. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Cool the tarts and store them in an airtight jar.
