The last time we spent Chinese New Year in Singapore was 1997, the girls were 2 & 3! While they have not grown up knowing what CNY is like in Singapore, I hope they will always remember what CNY is like at home. We try to keep alive a few traditions for them in the US. What is CNY without good food and delicacies? Here is one to remember: my favorite pineapple tarts. The open face tarts are inspired by these beauties; how timely is it that these Thundercloud Cherries bloom at this time of the year. Happy Chinese New Year!
- Prep Time: a lot of time and patience
- Cook Time: 25 minutes for each batch
- Makes about 180 cookies
Ingredients
(A) Pastry
- 560g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 55g icing sugar
- 340g (12 oz) cold salted butter cut into small pieces
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 Tbsp ice cold water
(B) Pineapple filling
- 2 pineapples (~ 1.2 kg after grating and sieving)
- 300g castor sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 5 cloves
Directions
To prepare pastry:
Note: I like to prepare the pastry well ahead and freeze them so that they are ready on the day I want to bake the tarts.
- Sieve flour, salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl.
- Remove butter from the refrigerator, cut into small pieces and add to the bowl.
- Use a pastry cutter, rub the butter into the flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolks and continue to mix with pastry cutter.
- Do not overwork the dough, there should be flecks of butter in it.
- Slowly add the ice water and mix using a standing mixer with the paddle attachment until the pastry binds together and leaves the side of the mixing bowl.
- Divide pastry into 4 flattened discs and wrap with cling wrap; chill in refrigerator until ready to use. If dough is frozen, thaw the pastry discs in the refrigerator overnight before using.
To prepare the pineapple filling:
- Make pineapple filling the day before.
- Peel and cut two pineapples, pulse in a blender and drain the juice.
- Place the grated pineapple, cinnamon sticks, and cloves into a non-stick pot.
- Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the pineapple turns translucent (approximately 15 mins)
- Add the sugar and continue to cook until the pineapple turns golden, and stir constantly once the filling starts to thicken. The filling is ready when it develops a semi-soft sticky texture and looks dry (approximately 60 mins).
- Allow to cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Use two tea spoons and divide the filling into small balls, approximately 1/2 tsp (5g) each for the tart mold I use. I wear food-handling gloves to roll the filling into balls. The powder-free, latex-free gloves works well for handling the sticky filling.
To assemble and bake tarts:
Egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 1/2 tsp water
- Roll pastry to about 4mm thick in between cling wrap.
- Use tart mold to cut out the tarts and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Use a soft fine brush to glaze the tarts with egg wash.
- Place a ball of pineapple filling in the middle of the tarts.
- Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degrees C (338 F) for 25 minutes or until the tarts are nice golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Store in air-tight containers.
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