pineapple tarts - recipe included

In my previous post, I did 2 kinds of pineapple tarts: wrapped up ones and open tart ones

As I used recipes from a published book (Delicious Asian Sweet Treats by Oi Lin), it would be inconvenient for me to post it up on the net. The 2 kinds of tarts differed not only in its appearence but it's recipe as well. The wrapped up ones contains eggs, while the open tart ones are eggless (i.e. suitable for vegetarians)

I somewhat remembered that the vegetarian version was up on the web as a 'free' recipe to try for those interested to buy the book. This means, i should be able to post this recipe up =)

This recipe yields tarts that are soft and buttery. So, if you're the sort who loves the soft, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth kind, you're in for a treat. I am also including the recipe for making your own pineapple paste. There are many others out there, but i'm satisfied with how my pineapple paste turns out, so i'd just stick with this. Those who find it troublesome can always ready-made ones from phoon huat or sun lik.

Pineapple Paste/Jam makes about 150g

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe medium sized pineapple
• 70g caster or fine granulated sugar (adjust to your own taste - i used about 55g)

Method:

1. Slice of crown and base of the pineapple. Remove pineapple skin and the dark brown spots.
2. Slice pineapple vertically into 4 pieces and remove the core. It is hard and may taste bitter.
3. Grate the pineapple or use a food processor to puree it. (I blend it using a blender till puree like)
4. Place puree in a non-stick pot and cook under medium heat. Stir occasionally.
5. When the pineapple puree has thickened (about 1 hour), add sugar.
6. Cook on low heat till the puree becomes a very thick paste.
7. Let the pineapple filling cool. wrap and chill overnight to further thicken it. This makes it easier to roll into small balls for use in a recipe.
8. Freeze filling to make it last for a month. Thaw at room temperature before use.

notes:

• there's no right or wrong way in cooking the pineapple paste. much depends on the pineapple itself.
• if the pineapple is ripe/sweet, less sugar is required to sweeten it. If you prefer a more tangy paste, reduce the sugar. Do not add in all the sugar at once, add in some and do a taste test to see whether to add more.
• The timings (1 hour) are just a rough estimate. It also depends on how 'dry' the puree has become. Cook till semi-dry i.e. not much juice left before adding in the sugar. (I cooked for about 1hr15mins)
• The duration of cooking also depends on how moist or dry you like your paste to be. Do remember though that the paste dries out a little further when being baked in the oven.
• amount of pineapple paste at the end also depends on how big the pineapple was.
• [updated]: it does not matter if you grate or blend the pineapple. Grating the pineapple results in more "fibres" while blending is results in a jam that is "smoother".

adapted from Delicious Asian Sweet Treats by Oi Lin

Vegetarian Pineapple Tarts

Ingredients:

• 3 portions (450g) pineapple filling (see above)
• 360g plain flour plus extra for dusting
• 60g icing sugar
• 300g cold unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/4 tsp yellow food colouring (optional)

Method:

1. Sift flour and sugar. Mix Well. Cut butter into small cubes and add to flour mixture. Use fingertips to rub the butter into the flour. Add vanilla essence and colouring and combine to form a dough. Wrap and chill the dough for an hour to firm it up.
2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
3. Divide dough into two portions. Keep one portion chilled. Roll the other portion (on a floured surface) to a thickness of about 7mm. Dip a cookie cutter in flour and cut out shapes. Use a scraper (or knife) to lift the shapes and place on the tray. Brush egg yolk over the shapes if you're baking non-vegetarian tarts.
4. Preheat oven to 190C
5. Roll pineapple filling into small balls and place on shapes.
6. Bake for 12 mins. Allow tarts to cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

notes:

• rubbing in-method: you will not get to the 'breadcrumbs' stage as the propotion of butter to flour is simply too high and impossible. before you know it, a dough is forming. That is ok. Just rub in to form a dough.
• you dont have to chill the dough for up till 1 hour. it all depends on whether you're comfortable with the softness of the dough to roll out. of course, a firmer dough would be easier to roll.
• As a rough guide, i used 1 level tsp of pineapple paste for each tart. More or less can use used, adjust according to your own taste and preference. This is why i like making my own tarts. =)

adapted from Delicious Asian Sweet Treat by Oi Lin

I personally prefer tarts with more structure and not so soft. Will experiment and see if i can come up with something i like better..