Pineapple Tarts
A Lunar New Year (and to be honest, year-round) favourite, pineapple tarts are so good that they’re now the ubiquitous souvenir that gets brought home from Singapore, in a round Bengawan Solo tin. Home cooks will tell you however, that better alternatives abound. Many Peranakan families have their own fiercely guarded family recipes, but ours is a hodge podge of techniques from different aunties with too much time on the internet. And we hope you like it.
Ingredients:
For the pastry
350g softened, unsalted butter
100ml condense milk
2 eggs, separated
510g all purpose flour
For the jam
1 ripe pineapple (or 2-3 tins of tinned pineapple)
2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
Granulated sugar to taste
First, beat butter and condensed milk in a mixer at medium speed, until fully combined and softened. Add in the egg yolks and flour in batches, and mix at a low to medium speed to combine until a dough forms.
Remove the dough from the mixer, and shape it into a tight ball. You should end up with a dough ball that is about the size of two baseballs, or a very deflated football. Wrap the dough in cling wrap, and refrigerate until it’s needed.
Next, chop and blend the pineapple in a food processor until a purée forms. For a finer texture, use a juicer instead.
Transfer pineapple purée into a saucepan, and slowly cook over medium to high heat, stirring constantly. Add in a teaspoon of cinnamon and combine.
Cook the pineapple mixture until all the juice has evaporated, and you’re left with an amber mass that should pull away from the edges of the saucepan. At this stage, add in sugar and the rest of the cinnamon to taste. Note though, that by adding sugar, the jam will be a little more watery and may need to be cooked a little more. Once ready, set the jam aside to cool.
(Optional) For very even tarts, divide up the pineapple jam into 7-10g sized balls, and the pastry into 10-12g sized balls.
To form the tarts - flatten a piece of dough into a round circle, that is about as thick as a dumpling skin. Place a very small dollop of pineapple jam in the centre, and slowly pinch the sides of the dough to wrap the jam in pastry. If you are eyeballing amounts, use less jam to start - these explode easily. Roll the pineapple tart to seal, and set aside. Repeat until all of the jam has been used up.
Just before baking, lightly score a cross-hatch onto each tart, and brush with egg whites. Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C, or until golden brown. These keep for about a week!
Note: this makes 80 - 100 tarts. Happy snacking!