Recipe: Pineapple Tarts (Open Face)

Note: Receipe updated again - Feb 2, 2014.

It's already Christmas Eve and the Chinese New Year is just 5 weeks away.  Pineapple tarts are a staple of CNY celebrations back home in Singapore.  I think my mum's version is the best I've had...but I haven't asked her for her recipe.  Maybe I should, but I'm a mood cook, and I'm in the mood to bake so can't wait for her to write it down and send to me...that is if she wants to do so.  Maybe one day.

So I went on one of my "late" night ("late" nowadays requires redefining because we've been sleeping before midnight) web surfing sessions and found several recipes.  I fell for this recipe that didn't look complicated and claimed to be the most buttery version out there, free of cream cheese and condensed milk and other distractions.  So last evening, I made batch 1.  

Pui! It was so firm the crust tasted like cookies.  The husband was very excited by it, and I think it's because the pineapple jam was good.  I didn't make the jam - we bought pre-made jam of the Red Man brand from Phoon Huat during our recent home trip.  And boo-boo - the recipe didn't tell this novice cook how to ensure the pastry is easily removed from the mold.  I thought batch 1 was ugly, but friends on Facebook went up in arms defending batch 1.  So sweet :o)  I love my friends.  If I were in Singapore, all of you brave pineapple tarts defenders would get a jar of tarts made with the recipe I'm sharing below!

I'm not going to promise that this recipe will be buttery or crumbly or perfect for you.  I've learned over the past year of experiments in the kitchen that pastry is a temperamental creature, and climate wrecks havoc on baking chemistry.  What I'd advise is that you try the recipe once, then adjust wet and dry ingredients slightly depending on how the pastry turned out for you.  How to adjust?  I'm sorry but my way is by feel...and I'm hardly a baker.

Anyway, batch 2 was pretty good by my standard :o)

Ingredients (remember that I use proper baking measuring spoons)

350g plain or all purpose flour

275g salted butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

Egg wash - 1 egg yolk

More flour in a bowl for dusting your pineapple tart mold

(There are many recipes for pineapple jam online.  Those with access to Red Man pineapple jam in Singapore - those are good.  If you're making your own jam, just know that you need thick, dry jam for this type of tarts.)

1. Pre-roll pineapple jams into little balls.  They should not be too big; maybe scoop about 1/3 to 1/2 tsp of jam and roll that into a ball.  Chill in the fridge.

2. Add in salt to flour and mix well.

3. Cut butter into small slices (easier to rub in with) and add to flour mixture.  Use your finger tips to rub the butter into the flour.  It helps to work in a cool environment so that the butter doesn't melt too quickly.  The end result should resemble breadcrumbs.  Don't overwork it; it doesn't matter if there're little bits of butter clumps in there.

4. Beat an egg and another egg yolk, and add in the vanilla essence.  Pour into flour mixture.

5. Using your finger tips again, coax everything together.  Do not knead.  Just kinda squish everything together.  It'll come together in a lump; have a bit of faith here.

6. Once you've a lump of pastry, cover and pop into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.  Or if you working a cool environment (between 65F and 70F like me), you can start working with it immediately.

7. Get your worktop ready to make the tarts:

- wipe it clean

- cut a large piece of parchment paper, maybe A3 in size, and fold in half. I find it helpful to make an additional 3/8 inch fold to guide me in rolling the dough to a consistent thickness

- get out your rolling pin

- prepare a bowl of flour for dusting your mold.

8. Take the pastry out from the fridge and pinch out about half.

9. Stick the pastry between the paper and roll to about 3/8 inch thickness.  I've been eyeballing it with the help of the additional crease in the paper.  An estimation will do.

10. Dust your mold.

11. Then stick the cutter into the pastry, before pushing in the other half of the mold.  

12.  Remove the pastry gently from the mold - I find using my thumb and pushing down on the edge one circle round the mold gets the pastry out easily.

13. Lay tart - the pastry has now graduated into a tart - on a non-stick baking tray, leaving some space in between each tart.

14. Egg wash the tarts, then put a pineapple jam ball into the center of each tart. Try not to get egg wash on the tray because that burns.

15. Pop the tray into an oven heated to 340F (about 170C) and bake for 25 minutes.

16. Once done, take the tray out of the oven and let the tarts cool.

17.  Handle gently because the edges can be easily destroyed by clumsy fingers.  These are very crumbly.

Note 1: if you don't have the mold, never mind.  Just make little pastry balls slightly larger than the jam balls, flatten the pastry ball and wrap it around the little jam balls instead. That's how I dealt with the last finicky bits of pastry.

Note 2: On another occasion, I wrapped tuna in leftover pastry and it was delicious too.  However, I would add more salt to the pastry dough and make it less crumbly if I were to use it for savory purposes.