Tarts in the shape of a pineapple.
Bolster-shaped tarts
Nicely baked tarts to tempt your salivary glands
Roll the dough on the back of a fork for this effect
Generous mound of filling heaped on golden brown pastry
The dough with the crater for the pineapple filling
The tart mould and cutter with a preset floral design
Nenas Moris which I hunted in Johor Bharu
Lots of patience required to simmer the pineapple flesh
Caramelised pineapple fillings shaped into balls
The mould and the pair of tweezers for making the tarts
My tray of tarts ready to be presented to friends
Air and coold the tarts before keeping them in bottles
My Deepavali gifts for my friends
PINE FOR TARTS
My mum has a wonderful recipe for the pineapple tarts she has been making since we were young. I simply love the taste of the pastry which is not too soft and crumbly nor does it coat and stick onto your enamel when you put it into your mouth. But it is perfect for the bite that you have been longing and yearning for - something sweet and lingering to enjoy a lovely afternoon tea with. The crust should taste creamy with a slight salty taste to it. The next bite should allow the pineapple filling to be mixed with the not too sweet pastry to make your eyes roll upwards while your soul float to some far away idyllic islands. The sweet and creamy combination of the pastry and the sweetened pineapple jam which by now should be moist with the enzymes in your saliva must be relished till you are ready to push the ball of heaven down your digestive tract.
Now that mum has definitely declared that the kitchen boundary is no longer under her iron-nail regime, the task of making those delicious pineapple tarts fall on me. The first thing I had to make sure was that the tarts would taste just as good or even BETTER than what mum used to bake. Off course deep down, I know that I would never beat mum’s superb culinary and baking skills no matter how hard I try.
I swear by using only one brand of butter for the dough to maintain as close as possible the quality of tarts which mum used to bake. It’s got to be SCS salted butter for me and nothing else. We have faithfully used this brand of butter since 1960s and I would never switch for another brand for all the cookies and cakes I need to bake.
Another ingredient important for baking successful fluffy tarts is the pineapples. You need to choose the right pineapples for making the jam or the filling. Honey pineapple would be too watery. Sarawak pineapples would be too coarse in texture. We would hunt for Nenas Moris to get the perfect formula and sweetness to fill in the crater of the tart dough. It’s a tough job to remove the hard and scaly skin of the pineapples. Then you have to scour those beady eyes of the fruit before chopping and blending the flesh for the right smoothness and required consistency that you desired for.
I usually discard the core stem of the fruit. However, when we were young, my siblings would devour the core as reward for chopping the flesh of the pineapples. Some of the juice of the pineapple has to be squeezed before you add the sugar. Too much juice means that you have to boil and stir it longer. The mashed pineapple is next boil over a slow fire to caramelise it. To give the extra shine and gloss, I usually add a dollop of butter as the last ritual to making the pineapple jam.
As for the flour, my top choice brand is the Orchid brand from Australia. Its lightness and airiness usually result in very good dough. Sieve and air it in room temperature for a day or two before using it. Once the dough is ready, make it into several balls. While you roll out a ball of dough, cover the rest with a piece of wet towel to prevent them from drying up. The dough should not crack or stick on the rolling board when you flatten it with the rolling pin. With the cutter, press the floral shape of the tart and lift it up gently, making sure it does not stretch and go out of shape. At this stage the dough is very pliable and has to be handled gently.
Nowadays, the tart cutter comes with a pre-cut design, so busy housewives and career women need not use any tweezers to pinch the design around the circumference of the cut and pressed round shape of the tart dough. It’s a good idea to prepare the pineapple fillings into small balls first before you put them into the crater of the dough. This way, you would ensure that the fillings are of the same size. Bake straight away once a tray is ready for the butter in the dough may melt under room temperature and harden your pastry when it is baked.
I feel great when the glossy golden pineapple filling pops out against the rich yellow pastry for attention when I pull the baking tray out from the oven. The heavy aroma of the freshly-baked tarts would envelope the house. My sons and husband would come scrambling from their hide out for a taste of the heavenly tarts. And where were they when I needed them most in the kitchen?
My mum has a wonderful recipe for the pineapple tarts she has been making since we were young. I simply love the taste of the pastry which is not too soft and crumbly nor does it coat and stick onto your enamel when you put it into your mouth. But it is perfect for the bite that you have been longing and yearning for - something sweet and lingering to enjoy a lovely afternoon tea with. The crust should taste creamy with a slight salty taste to it. The next bite should allow the pineapple filling to be mixed with the not too sweet pastry to make your eyes roll upwards while your soul float to some far away idyllic islands. The sweet and creamy combination of the pastry and the sweetened pineapple jam which by now should be moist with the enzymes in your saliva must be relished till you are ready to push the ball of heaven down your digestive tract.
Now that mum has definitely declared that the kitchen boundary is no longer under her iron-nail regime, the task of making those delicious pineapple tarts fall on me. The first thing I had to make sure was that the tarts would taste just as good or even BETTER than what mum used to bake. Off course deep down, I know that I would never beat mum’s superb culinary and baking skills no matter how hard I try.
I swear by using only one brand of butter for the dough to maintain as close as possible the quality of tarts which mum used to bake. It’s got to be SCS salted butter for me and nothing else. We have faithfully used this brand of butter since 1960s and I would never switch for another brand for all the cookies and cakes I need to bake.
Another ingredient important for baking successful fluffy tarts is the pineapples. You need to choose the right pineapples for making the jam or the filling. Honey pineapple would be too watery. Sarawak pineapples would be too coarse in texture. We would hunt for Nenas Moris to get the perfect formula and sweetness to fill in the crater of the tart dough. It’s a tough job to remove the hard and scaly skin of the pineapples. Then you have to scour those beady eyes of the fruit before chopping and blending the flesh for the right smoothness and required consistency that you desired for.
I usually discard the core stem of the fruit. However, when we were young, my siblings would devour the core as reward for chopping the flesh of the pineapples. Some of the juice of the pineapple has to be squeezed before you add the sugar. Too much juice means that you have to boil and stir it longer. The mashed pineapple is next boil over a slow fire to caramelise it. To give the extra shine and gloss, I usually add a dollop of butter as the last ritual to making the pineapple jam.
As for the flour, my top choice brand is the Orchid brand from Australia. Its lightness and airiness usually result in very good dough. Sieve and air it in room temperature for a day or two before using it. Once the dough is ready, make it into several balls. While you roll out a ball of dough, cover the rest with a piece of wet towel to prevent them from drying up. The dough should not crack or stick on the rolling board when you flatten it with the rolling pin. With the cutter, press the floral shape of the tart and lift it up gently, making sure it does not stretch and go out of shape. At this stage the dough is very pliable and has to be handled gently.
Nowadays, the tart cutter comes with a pre-cut design, so busy housewives and career women need not use any tweezers to pinch the design around the circumference of the cut and pressed round shape of the tart dough. It’s a good idea to prepare the pineapple fillings into small balls first before you put them into the crater of the dough. This way, you would ensure that the fillings are of the same size. Bake straight away once a tray is ready for the butter in the dough may melt under room temperature and harden your pastry when it is baked.
I feel great when the glossy golden pineapple filling pops out against the rich yellow pastry for attention when I pull the baking tray out from the oven. The heavy aroma of the freshly-baked tarts would envelope the house. My sons and husband would come scrambling from their hide out for a taste of the heavenly tarts. And where were they when I needed them most in the kitchen?
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