Pineapple Tarts (2016 edition)



I told myself I was not going to make pineapple tarts this year. It's just too much effort and physically challenging (for someone of my age) and I figured I'd just wait for friends passing through Singapore to bring back tarts for me to eat. No thanks to Facebook, I keep seeing posts of pineapple tarts spilled across the page, made by my baker/foodie friends. I tried to resist the temptation, really (for almost a day). I admit I have a terrible weakness for pineapple tarts. I've made them every year since I moved to Sydney and had to D.I.Y. these CNY ("Chinese New Year") delicacies to satiate my cravings. After all, it's not CNY until you've had pineapple tarts (and bak kwa, but that's another story).






And so, last night, I bought pineapples and made pineapple jam, so that I could roll them into balls and make the tarts this morning. By noon, the pineapple tarts were ready and mission accomplished for January 2016 (although that was not my new year's resolution, but an emergency mission to continue my annual tart-making tradition). So there!

There can never be too many pineapple tart recipes out there. Here's mine for this year of the Monkey!

Pineapple Tarts
(Makes about 30)

Ingredients

225g plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp icing sugar
125g salted butter, cut into cubes and chilled in freezer
1 1/2 egg yolks
1-2 tbsp ice-cold water

Egg wash: 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Filling: 300g pineapple jam (approximately from 1 medium-sized pineapple - recipe here) - shaped into 10g balls (or smaller depending on the size of your tart mould)

Method

Combine the plain flour, cornflour and icing sugar in a bowl and mix well. Place the flour mixture into the bowl of a food processor together with the cubed butter. Cover with lid and pulse it several times until it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix the egg yolks with 1 tbsp iced water and drizzle it into the flour mixture with the motor running. If the dough looks dry and doesn't come together  when pressed between your fingers, then add another tablespoon of cold water and pulse/blend again until dough comes together (but not too soft or wet).

Bring the dough together to form a disc and wrap with clingwrap. Set aside in the fridge to rest for 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Roll out the pastry and cut out the shapes with tart mould. Top with pineapple and decorate the top with bits of shaped pastry if desired. Brush the pastry with egg wash and bake in oven for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden. Rest on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy and store leftovers (if any) in an airtight container.

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