Pineapple Tarts
Jam Recipe
Ingredients
3 Medium Size pineapples 15 ozs sugar (Taste the pineapple and adjust to taste)
8 pieces of cloves
2 star anise
A small piece of cinnamon (Whole) (If you prefer your jam to have a more golden color, use ground cinnamon ¼ tsp powder).
All these can be omitted if you don’t like the spicy taste of these spices.
Directions
1) Grate the pineapple into a bowl. (Important note: Hand grate the pineapple on the fine side, do not use a food processor. This is laborious but will make a big difference in the final texture of your jam. Please make sure you core the woody center of the pineapple before grating or else the jam will have tough woody pieces. Remove all the eyes of the pineapple carefully so that the small seeds do not end up in your jam).
2) Add in sugar and species and then cook slowly on medium heat until pineapple paste is form. Not to wet, not too dry because during baking the jam will continue to thicken. Continue to stir and have faith! It will thicken eventually.
3) Let this jam rest overnight.
4) Take a rounded teaspoon to scoop out about ¾ tsp of pineapple jam, and shape into little balls before baking.
Pastry Recipe
This is the recipe I prefer to use because the pastry is a short crust pastry.
Ingredients
Plain flour 340 g
2 tbsp icing sugar
½ tsp salt
Cold butter 200g
1 egg yolk (Separate from egg white)
½ tsp vanilla
5 tsp ice cold water
½ tsp baking powder
Egg glace- 1 yolk with 1 tsp water
Directions
1) Lightly combine egg yolk with vanilla essence.
2) Sieve flour and icing sugar into mixing bowl. Add salt and mix well.
3) Cut butter into flour using a pastry blender or with two table knives in a crisscross motion.
4) Use rubbing in method to rub butter into flour until the short crust pastry looks like bread crumb. Do not over handle the dough or it will become tough.
5) Add egg yolk first and blend into dough slightly, then slowly add the ice water. Use a fork to blend well. The dough should just cling together. (You can also lightly knead the dough here a few times before wrapping it up)
6) Wrap the dough ball in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
7) Let the dough thaw slightly before rolling. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and layer another equal size piece of parchment paper on top. (This will prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin). Roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is 7 mm thick.
8) Use the cookie cutter to cut out the pastry shape. Press down to cut and gently push the center of the mould down to stamp the cookies. Then give the whole mould a twist in the clockwise direction. The dough should be “stuck” to the bottom of the mould. Push the center of the mould out, then gently remove the pastry.
9) Bake at 360 F for 10 minutes (make sure the oven is not too hot or else the pastry will bake and expand too quickly and lose its pretty stamped shape).
10) Take the pastry out of the oven, apply egg wash on the perimeter of the tart and place one ball of pineapple jam in the middle of the tart. Slightly press the ball down to flatten it into the pastry.
11) Return this to the oven and bake for an additional 10 mins at 360 F until the pastry has a slight golden color.
Alternate Pastry Recipe
This second recipe is my family’s recipe.
Ingredients
1 kg Plain flour, sieved at least three times
625g Butter
50g Caster sugar (I use icing sugar)
100g Full cream powder
3 Eggs (whole)
1 egg yolk (to brush on tart)
Directions
1) Mix 2 eggs, full cream powder and butter. Stir thoroughly.
2) Add flour slowly into butter while mixing. Knead slowly until dough clings together.
3) Preheat oven to 150ºC (302º F)
4) Sprinkle some flour on top of table. Flatten dough with gentle use of rolling pin. Don't press too hard or the dough will be tough.
5) Use mould to shape dough.
6) Roll a teaspoon full of pineapple jam on top of tart. (Use your personal preference, if you like more jam, put more jam).
7) Brush egg yolk over tarts.
8) Bake tarts until lightly brown, about 20 min.
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