Tiny Pineapple Tarts

Just like fruit cake, vanilla crescents and minced pies spell Christmas, pineapple tarts is just one of those staples of Chinese New Year.

Making pineapple tarts is literally a labour of love. Each tart comprises of 2 parts: The dough which forms the base of the tart, individually moulded, pinched and decorated, and the pineapple filling which is made from sweet, ripe pineapples, grated and then cooked with sugar and some cloves until dry enough to roll into balls. If you don’t want to bother with making the pineapple filling, then you may be able to purchase them from the local bake supply store.

The mould for the base of the tarts comes in several patterns. You can use a plain round or fluted cookie cutter and use serrated tweezers to decorate the edges or you can purchase the all-in-one mould which combines the shapes and the edge decorations.

Make them small enough to eat them whole.

Pineapple Tarts

Ingredients (Dough)

500g butter

700g plain flour

1 egg + 2 yolks

Method (Dough)

1. Cream the butter and eggs till creamy.

2. Add flour and gently knead – do not overwork the dough to get that melt-in-the-mouth effect.

3. Shape dough into a ball, wrap well in cling film and refridgerate for 15 mins.

4. Shape dough using mould.

5. Top with pineapple filling and decorate with pieces of dough.

6. Bake in 175C degrees for 10 to 15 mins until golden brown.

7. Cool well and store in air-tight containers.

Ingredients (Pineapple Filling)

1 kg of fresh ripe pineapples

600g white sugar (adjusted to taste)

4 cloves

1 star anise

Method (Pineapple Filling)

1. Grate or chop pineapples and drain to remove juice.

2. Place grated pineapple, sugar and spices into a large heavy based pot.

3. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until almost dry.

4. Cool and store until ready to use.

Happy Baking!