So, I ventured out and invested on some baking ingredients and tools (such as a dough mat, sifter, rolling pin, etc., unfortunately, I was not able to track down the molds/cutters for pineapple tarts). I'd never thought I would ever own a rolling pin, but here I am, a rolling pin owner. And a whole pineapple. I'm going to make some pineapple tarts!
Through my research on pineapple tarts, its traditions and history, I learned that pineapple tarts are yet another food that undisputedly originated from Malaysia, specifically by the Baba Nyonya who settled in Malacca. This article in Travel Guide Malaysia, entitled "Prosperity, Come Forth," is my favorite piece as I found myself gained most knowledge on the history and evolution of the pineapple tarts as they relate to my own roots. According to the article, pineapple or "Ong Lai" in Hokkien, idiomatically translates to "Prosperity Come" which means the coming of prosperity, fortunes, or luck. The writer also mentioned that one can get good pineapple tarts all year round in Malacca, which reminded me that my friends, Helen and Chin Ling, took me to Jonker Street in Malacca for the famous Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls when I was back in Malaysia in 2006. And right outside the chicken rice shop was a street stall selling pineapple tarts and other cookies. My expressions at the time could probably be described as "a village girl who've never seen pineapple tarts before!" Not surprisingly, I "sapu" some pineapple tarts to appease my cravings.
I think the man in white shirt is carrying some pineapple tarts in the orangy plastic bag...
In preparing for my baking adventure, I stumbled upon many recipes for pineapple tarts. Some even provided shortcuts for the pineapple filling. At the end, I've selected the few that I thought are most labor intensive and mashed them together. I figured that since I'm learning, I might as well start from square one.
The pineapple filing was not difficult, though grating the pineapple can be quite time-consuming. But then, the sweet smell of the pineapple, mixed with cinnamon, star anise, and cloves, imparted while the jam was cooking was almost magical and put a smile on my face. That, was sufficient motivation for me to continue with making the pastry dough. The dough was a little tricky for me, primarily due to lack of experience on my part. I made two batches. The first batch, I thought was too dry as it tends to break when I was rolling the strip around the pineapple filling. As for the second batch, I might have add too much of water (10 tsp instead of 5) and made it too moist. I also think I need a quality engineer/controller to help ensure that I make the pineapple tarts in consistent size!
My pineapple tarts in various sizes!
My better-looking and more comparable in sizes pineapple tarts :)
Ah Po doesn't bake, at least not that I can recall; the baker in the family would be Mom. But as Chinese New Year is approaching, Ah Po will unfailingly ensure that all our favorites or customary cookies is stocked up in our household. Every year, we will have kuih kapit, kuih bangkit, pineapple tarts, and peanut cookies, to name a few. Of course, the mandarin oranges, bak kwa, and nin kou will not be left out as well. I would devour the fare, mostly the cookies, and Ah Po would call me "wai sik" and grumpily said that the cookies will be long gone before New Year day arrives, to try to put a stop to my ravenous appetite. After I left home, Ah Po would inquire my return around Chinese New Year, every year. If I do go home, be it in May or August or November, Ah Po would save a medium-sized-Milo container of kuih kapit for me as kuih kapit is my favorite. She would even go to the extend of traveling from Bandar Utama to Klang to buy them from one of our old neighbors, who made the best kuih kapit. When I get home, she would urge me to eat them soon in fear that the kuih kapit may not be fresh anymore. And I remember vividly, her smile and the happiness and joy that shines through her eyes as she place the cookies before me; she was just so happy to have me back at home and that she could shower me with her love through all the food I love. To think of it, I haven't had kuih kapit for about 4 years now...
Pineapple Tarts
Pineapple Filling:
A pineapple, about 4 lbs
500 gm of white sugar
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp of butter
1 pc of cinnamon stick
8 cloves
1 - 2 star anise
Remove skin and black eyes off the pineapple.
Grate/shred pineapple into a large bowl.
Strain off half of the juice. Save the rest of the juice.
Put the grated pineapple and all the ingredients into a saucepan and cook till the jam is thick and on the dry side. This takes about 45 - 60 minutes.
Adjust the sugar to your liking. If the jam is too dry, you can add in some pineapple juice that you saved in the previous step until you get the right consistency.
Cool the filling before use and/or storing.
Pastry:
(First recipe I tried)
125 gm of butter
30 gm of icing sugar
220 gm of all purpose flour (remove 2 tbsp and replace with corn flour)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
Lightly beat 1 egg yolk with 1 tsp of water for glazing
Cream butter with icing sugar until light.
Add in egg yolk and vanilla extract, cream until combine.
Add in flour and mix into a dough.
Put dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out dough to 5 mm thick using groved rolling pin to get a striped pattern. Then roll diagonally to form checked pattern. (I couldn't find a groved rolling pin. So, I rolled out the dough. Then, use a knife to create the checked pattern.)
Cut into strips. Turn pattern over. Fill the initial section with pineapple jam. Roll pastry over and trim off the excess. Repeat.
Glaze and bake in preheated oven at 350 F for 15 minutes.
(Second recipe I tried)
340 gm of all purpose flour
2 tbsp of icing sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
200 gm of butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
5 tsp of ice cold water
1/2 tsp of baking powder
Lightly beat 1 egg yolk with 1 tsp of water for glazing
Lightly beat egg yolk with vanilla extract.
Sieve flour, baking powder, and icing sugar into mixing bowl. Stir in salt and mix well.
Cut the butter into 1/4 inches and put into flour mixture.
Use rubbing-in method to rub the butter into the flour until it is bread crumbs like.
Add egg yolk and ice water into flour and use a fork to blend well to form a dough.
Separate the dough into 3 - 4 portions. Slightly flatten the dough with palms and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll out dough to 5 mm thick with rolling pin. Make checked pattern with knife.
Cut into strips. Turn pattern over. Fill the initial section with pineapple jam. Roll pastry over and trim off the excess. Repeat.
Glaze and bake in preheated oven at 350 F for 15 minutes or until golden color that you desired.
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