Looking for an easy recipe for golden pineapple tarts that you can make in your own kitchen? We have just what you need. Granted, the delicious dollops of pineapple jam will require a stovetop, saucepan, and a good three hours to cook from scratch, but fear not! All the effort that goes into making your own fresh pineapple tarts with zero preservatives or additives will be worth it.
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The humble pineapple tart, a Lunar New Year staple
In sunny Singapore, the delicious Nyonya pineapple tart is a popular traditional snack that will make its appearance during Chinese New Year without fail. There are many different versions of this sweet treat, but none quite as famous or adorable as the flat, open-faced tart sporting a dollop of deep golden jam sitting neat and pretty on top.
Our version is a simple one, which only requires a basic cookie cutter for the base. Of course, you can use any sort of cookie or pastry cutter to make any number of lovely shapes with the pastry dough — from open-faced floral shapes to rounded balls with jam stuffed inside. Get creative!
Easy Nyonya Pineapple Tarts Recipe – Homemade Jam and Pastry
Cuisine: Nyonya, ChineseDifficulty: MediumA festive pineapple jam “cookie” that is popular during Chinese New Year in Singapore and Malaysia.
Ingredients
- Pinapple Jam
2 medium pineapples
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 stick cinnamon
- Pastry
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons corn flour
4 tablespoons icing sugar
a pinch of salt
225 grams butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks
Preparation
- Preparing the jam
- Skin the pineapples and cut them into small chunks. Purée the chunks in a blender.
- Add purée to a medium-sized saucepan with the sugar and cinnamon stick.
- Simmer on low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is reduced to about 20% and the colour changes to a dark gold. This may take several hours. Do not let the mixture boil or the jam will burn.
- Once the mixture reaches a desired viscous state, remove from heat, spoon mixture into bowl (discard cinnamon stick), cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until needed.
- Preparing the pastry
- Combine flour, corn flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well.
- Roughly cube the butter, then cut the butter into the flour mixture (or rub butter into the flour with fingers) until the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolks and combine thoroughly, kneading the mixture until it no longer sticks to your hands.
- With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to desired thickness (~ 1cm thickness is ideal) and cut out shapes. Place shapes on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.
- Roll the chilled pineapple jam into small balls. Put a jam ball on top of each pastry cut-out and flatten slightly.
- Decorate the tops with a small pinch of pastry from leftover dough scraps.
- Bake at 180°C for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden. Once baked, transfer tarts to a wire rack to cool completely before eating (they will be a little crumbly when hot, but will firm up after cooling).
Notes
- When preparing the jam, try to drain as much liquid from the pineapple as you can before cooking. This will speed up the cooking time. You can do this by squeezing the freshly-cut pineapple pieces and leaving them in a colander to drain any excess liquid. Also, use a wide and shallow pan when cooking the jam for easier reduction. Always remember to stir frequently when cooking!
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