Pineapple tarts
Pineapple tarts are unique to Singapore and Malaysia. They are usually baked and served during festive occasions such as Hari Raya Puasa and Lunar New Year. But in some families like my husband's, we have them pretty much all year round, whenever the craving kicks in. The tart consists of a delicate buttery pastry and a pineapple jam that has been cooked for hours on low heat until the flavors from the pineapple, cloves, and cinnamon fuse together. The tart is also presented in 2 different forms - one is the open-faced one, and the other one is where the pineapple jam is encased in the pastry.
On my recent trip to Australia to visit C and E, they were both craving tarts and since they didn't fancy the ones with the jam encased in pastry, we searched high and low for a pineapple tart mould but we couldn't find anything remotely close. Finally, we ended up buying a flower-shaped mould and using a bottle cap to indent the middle. The result? Just as dainty-looking tarts
Tarts using flower-shaped mould
A tart using a traditional pineapple tart mould
The easiest way to cook the jam is to buy cans of crushed pineapples (not in heavy syrup but in its own juice). I usually cook more than what I need. The jam keeps well frozen for 3-6 months and can be thawed out to use whenever you need it.
Pineapple jam
Strain the crushed pineapples until fairly dry. Keep aside the juice just in case you need it. Place pineapple in saucepan / stockpot (depending on amount) with cloves and cinnamon stick(s) and sugar. Cook on low heat and stir frequently until consistency is like that of jam (about 2-3 hours). Add pineapple juice / water as and when necessary. Set aside to cool. (Note: Cook this in advance so that you will have sufficient time to cool it down properly and so that you wouldn't spend 1 entire day slaving in the kitchen). Before assembling the tart, you may want to form little balls of about 1-1.5 inch in diameter (depending on how big your mould is)
Pastry
300 g. all purpose flour
187.5 g butter (about 1.5 sticks of butter in the US)
1 large egg
1 egg mixed with some water for egg wash
Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
Rub the flour into the butter until like fine meal. Add egg and blend till it forms a ball. (If you have a food processor, this process will be really fast).
Roll out the dough to about 3/4 inch thick, reserving about 1/8 of the dough
Use a mould to cut out the shape of the tart
Brush pastry with egg wash
Press each pineapple jam ball firmly onto the pastry
Roll out the reserved dough to about 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long. Cut out very thin lattices (like in the pictures above) and assemble them in either criss-cross or 'tic-tac-toe' patterns on top of the pineapple jam
Bake in preheated oven at 350 deg. F. for 6-10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300 deg. F. and continue baking for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
On my recent trip to Australia to visit C and E, they were both craving tarts and since they didn't fancy the ones with the jam encased in pastry, we searched high and low for a pineapple tart mould but we couldn't find anything remotely close. Finally, we ended up buying a flower-shaped mould and using a bottle cap to indent the middle. The result? Just as dainty-looking tarts
Tarts using flower-shaped mould
A tart using a traditional pineapple tart mould
The easiest way to cook the jam is to buy cans of crushed pineapples (not in heavy syrup but in its own juice). I usually cook more than what I need. The jam keeps well frozen for 3-6 months and can be thawed out to use whenever you need it.
Pineapple jam
Strain the crushed pineapples until fairly dry. Keep aside the juice just in case you need it. Place pineapple in saucepan / stockpot (depending on amount) with cloves and cinnamon stick(s) and sugar. Cook on low heat and stir frequently until consistency is like that of jam (about 2-3 hours). Add pineapple juice / water as and when necessary. Set aside to cool. (Note: Cook this in advance so that you will have sufficient time to cool it down properly and so that you wouldn't spend 1 entire day slaving in the kitchen). Before assembling the tart, you may want to form little balls of about 1-1.5 inch in diameter (depending on how big your mould is)
Pastry
300 g. all purpose flour
187.5 g butter (about 1.5 sticks of butter in the US)
1 large egg
1 egg mixed with some water for egg wash
Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
Rub the flour into the butter until like fine meal. Add egg and blend till it forms a ball. (If you have a food processor, this process will be really fast).
Roll out the dough to about 3/4 inch thick, reserving about 1/8 of the dough
Use a mould to cut out the shape of the tart
Brush pastry with egg wash
Press each pineapple jam ball firmly onto the pastry
Roll out the reserved dough to about 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long. Cut out very thin lattices (like in the pictures above) and assemble them in either criss-cross or 'tic-tac-toe' patterns on top of the pineapple jam
Bake in preheated oven at 350 deg. F. for 6-10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300 deg. F. and continue baking for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.