Pineapple tart

This is blog post on how to make Pineapple tart from scratch. Recently we celebrated Chinese New Year here in London. I have been making lots of cookies for this Chinese New Year festive season. By sharing this recipe as the pastry base can be use to make all sorts of tart desserts. I will post more tart recipes in time to come.

Pineapple tarts are big during Chinese New Year as it symbolizes and translates to gold in Chinese. During the festive season prosperity cookies and food are eaten to usher in the New Year in.

For this recipe I have also made the jam from scratch. It taste so much better than shop bought ones. Growing that is what I always have at home. Cooking from scratch. I still do till today as much as I can whenever I can. The jam recipe I have found from elsewhere as well. I have just adapted it to the use of pineapple instead of rhubarb.

Making pineapple jam

1 large size pineapple (after removing the skin it’s about 400 grms left)

3 tablespoon sugar

5 cloves

1 sachet of pectin (I use pectin I got from Tate & Lyle link here)

To make the jam

Just peel and slice the pineapple then blend it in a blender so that it is coarse and not puree. it all depends on how you like it.

Shortcrust pastry recipe

This recipe can be used to make different kinds of tart. Just a different type of filling. The method of cooking will differ with different types of filling. As some of the fillings is more moist than some. This will make a difference to the end result.

500 grams plain flour (i use about 470 grams and leave the rest for flouring the worktop this is to stop the pastry from sticking to surfaces)

200 grams butter, left to soften at room temperature

2 medium size eggs

2 tablespoon icing sugar

1-2 tablespoon of ice cold water

Method of making shortcrust pastry.

In a mixing bowl (I use a pyrex mixing bowl) if you any other types of bowl feel free to use it. Or use a clean worktop surface.

Mix the dry ingredients together. the plain flour and icing sugar.

Then add the butter mix it with your fingers till it binds with the flour mixture and become crumbly. After that add the egg and slowly add ice water so that it binds together.

Once the mixture binds together like a dough, let it rest in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. This is shortcrust sweet dough ready made for any sweet/ dessert tart recipe.

Making pineapple tart

Take a small amount of the dough and start rolling out with a rolling pin. With a cookie cutter or cookie press. Make the open mould for pineapple tart. Depending on the mould you choose following the instructions. This pineapple tart open mould I got all the way from Baking Fenzy a cooking and baking suppliers company based in Malaysia and they posted it all the way to the UK. Took awhile, it got here in the end.

My 4 year old wanted to help to make these tarts and I allowed him to do so. he thinks he playing with play dough. Personally I think it’s good for them to be around in the kitchen and help out.

Once the mould is done and ready to go, add the pineapple jam that is made earlier.