Pineapple Tarts for Chinese New Year
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 30 minutes plus 30 minutes refrigeration time
Cooking time: 20 minutes for jam, 22 minutes per batch of tarts
Makes 18 tarts (with some jam left over)
Pineapple & Coconut Jam
- 370g/13ozs. pineapple (fresh or tinned, fruit only)
- 1 cup/250g/8.8ozs white sugar
- 1/3 cup/60ml/2flozs water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 cup/45g/1.6ozs. desiccated coconut
For the dough
- 115g/1 stick butter, softened
- 30g/1oz sweetened condensed milk (I use condensed milk in a tube so I don't have to use up a whole tin)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 155g/5.5ozs. plain all purpose flour
- 20g/1 tablespoon cornflour/fine cornstarch
- 20g/4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons/16g icing or powdered sugar
- Pinch salt
- Beaten egg to glaze
Step 1 - First make the pineapple jam as it needs to cool. Place the pineapple pieces in a food processor and blend until crushed. Place in a heavy bottomed saucepan and add the sugar and water. Simmer on medium heat until the moisture evaporates and the pineapple starts to turn a golden bronze shade (about 10-15 minutes or so).
Step 2 - Then add the vanilla and coconut and allow this to cook and become fragrant and stir so that the jam becomes dry and golden in texture (see picture). Remove from heat and cool and place in a jar and refrigerate until needed. The jam should be dry with no liquid and set firm once chilled.
Step 3 - Make the dough. Place the butter and condensed milk in a mixer bowl fitted with a beater attachment. Beat for 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 30 seconds. In a jug or bowl whisk the two flours, cheese, icing sugar and salt together. Add this dry mixture in on the lowest speed and mix until just incorporated (do not overmix). The dough should not be sticky and should be easy to work with. If it is sticky add a little more plain flour. Separate the dough into two lots and cover one lot with cling film while you roll out the first lot of pastry. You don't need to rest the dough before you work with it.
Step 4 - Line two trays with parchment. Pinch off around 22grams/0.8oz. of the dough. I know it's very precise but I like things to be the same size so that they bake evenly so I eyeball it carefully or weigh it to be super precise. Repeat with the rest of the first lot of dough. Then pinch off 13g/0.4oz portions of pineapple jam and roll into balls. If your palms get too sticky when rolling the jam into balls, then moisten them a little.
Step 5 - Flatten the dough in the palm of your hand and then place the pineapple jam ball in the centre and roll up the dough to enclose it. Roll it into a ball and place on the tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough and jam. Then using a butter knife or a pastry scraper make diamond criss cross patterns on the top of the balls.
Step 6 - Brush the tops of the pastry with beaten egg and then repeat with the next tray and place the trays in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes. Cool and then store pineapple tarts in an airtight container for a week. I also like these gently warmed in the oven - 50C/122F for 10 minutes will do quite nicely. These are best served with coffee or tea although I will say that they are highly addictive so you can't stop at just one!
Personal Note
I was recently at lunch when a lady that I know from a tourism body was talking about me. Apparently she was saying that I would send her random questions, often without context. Once when I was in Thailand I sent her a picture of a pineapple. It was a very small pineapple and I was asking her about it because it was so delicious and so very tiny. But I was of course caught up in my own world so I just sent her a picture of a pineapple without scale and asked her, "What is this called?"
To which she answered "A pineapple?"
I didn't realise how random I was with the questions until she pointed it out. I mean I could see that it was a tiny pineapple but without anything around it, it looked basically like any sort of pineapple. So now I am careful to give context now because while she took it with good humour, I can imagine how some might just think I'm crazy!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you sometimes just start talking about something assuming that people know what you're talking about? Have you ever tried pineapple tarts?