Anyways, just another update of my CNY cooking. This week, I bring to you one of the most famous traditional dessert that HAS to be eaten during chinese new year.. the Pineapple Tart. The tart itself comes in many many various forms from a flat cookie with jam on top to ones that are wrapped in pastry or even shaped in the shape of a mandarin ball. The tart that I made was rolled up and I felt a little 'creative' so I decided to put tiny crosses on them (being Christian and all).
The recipe was an adaptation of many many different kinds on the internet. But most of the credit does go to http://www.malaysiabest.net/ as that was the main source of inspiration and the pastry that was recommended is really really REALLY crumbly... but it melts in your mouth so quickly so its worth the pain and effort rolling it!
PS: I should really work on my presentation. But it was nearly gulfed down in 1 day anyway -_- so .... well... it must have tasted really good.
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| close up view of 'my' pineapple tart |
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| army of pineapple tarts going to battle....the empty stomach |
Filling
2 cans of pineapple rings
sugar&honey
spices(cinnamon,star anise,clove)
cornflour
Pastry
400g flour (made of 300g plain flour, 50g cornflour, 30g custard powder, 20g milk powder)
250g butter (in little cubes)
2 tbsp of caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
Steps
1) You would want to prepare the filling a day beforehand so it actually sticks a lot better. But I prepared mine on the morning itself (no difference to me... so... up to you).
2) Take out the rings from the can and mash them up well (you can also use a food processor if you prefer). After mashing, put the pineapple mush in a saucepan to simmer. Here you add the sugar and honey to the sweetness that you prefer. For me, I added roughly 100g of sugar and 1tbsp of honey and 1/2tsp of cinnamon powder. Once the fluid is nearly gone, add 1tsp of cornflour to thicken up the mixture.
3) After simmering, remove the pan from the heat and put the jam into a bowl to cool. Afterwards, leave it in the fridge to cool for about 2-3 hours.
4) To make the pastry, add the flour, sugar and salt together. Then, add butter and knead till you get an even spread (looks like breadcrumbs). At this point, put in the egg yolks and mix well until the dough sticks together. If it looks too dry still, you can add 1 more egg yolk (if its too wet, add more flour).
5) Soft dough is REALLY hard to work with. So if required, you can leave it in the fridge if the day is too hot. For me, I left half in the fridge first while I worked with the other half.
6) Now, prepare a baking tray lined with baking paper.
*7) Pinch a small ball of dough (depends on how big you want it to be) and flatten into a 3x1cm strip and put a bit of the jam in the middle and roll it into a cylinder then put aside on the baking tray. Glaze the tarts with egg white so it looks shiny and brown when it comes out of the oven.
**8) When you are nearly done, pre-heat the oven to 180celcius and bake at this temperature for 20mins on the middle tray of your oven. Best to take it out and rotate the tray if you dont have a fan-forced oven.
9) When it is done, it should be just slightly brown because of the egg white. You can taste test it if you prefer too..
Tips
* Mine was the rolled up version of the egg tart.. Reason being I don't have a cookie mould. If you prefer, you can roll the dough flat and use the cookie mould to make different shapes and put the jam in the middle.
** Heat variations can lead to cooking time differences. Its always recommended that you have a look at the tarts 10mins in to make sure that the tart is evenly cooked.
And thats it... A relatively simple, easy and delicious recipe. This has been taste-tested by a few lab rats in my house and they approve of it! I'll let you know what my 'english' work buddies think of this!
Your Masterchef buddy,
Doug.
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