Every year, just before Chinese New Year, i will order my fave pineapple tarts from a friend's friend who makes the most amazing melt-in-the-mouth pineapple tarts ever. However, this year she stopped baking them..and i am left with no pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year! Arggh...! Pineapple tarts is my all time favorite goodies during Chinese New Year among others like 'bak-kwa' (..like beef jerky..but it's pork and sweeter and juicer), love letters (almost like tuiles and traditionally done under charcoal fire with a patterned metal clamp..which i remembered i did help out when i was a little kid..), Lapis cake, Suji cookies, Bangkit, etc.. I wanted to give pineapple tarts a miss this year but one of my amazingly talented flickr friend, "Sweet-Tooth-Fairy" had to tempt me with her recipe and her pineapple tarts that i am left with no choice but to bake some for myself. And so my quest for the perfect pineapple tarts (to my tastebuds that is..lol!) began...
My first batch of pineapple jam was a bit too moist (4 pineapples in total). But nonetheless was still ok but a bit more difficult to handle so the shaping of the soft pastry was a bit difficult. So instead of round, it was a bit 'dome' shape - see photo below..supposedly to be a bit round..but ended up dome..lol! It's sweeter but the pastry does have the melt in the mouth texture. Overall, it was good but still room for improvement. My husband said the pineapple jam was a bit sweet and has no tangy flavor.
For experiment no. 2, I actually wanted to buy store-bought pineapple jam at the speciality bake-store but last minute all the ready-made jam were sold out..so i had no choice but to cook my own jam again! This time, i bought 6 pineapples (not totally ripe) and grated them all together and cooked them in a non-stick wok and till dry. I'm not too sure if it is because i had more experience or what, but i shaped the pastry much neater this time and faster too. See the pastry below is more compact and neater..and the jam inside is drier too.
My husband likes the 2nd batch better as the pineapple jam has a bit of sourness/tangy taste and the pastry is not as sweet, has more texture but still maintaining the melt-in-mouth quality..except he thinks the pastry is a tad too buttery. He said if i cut down on the butter a bit more would be perfect....but that would be experiment no. 3..after Chinese New Year... Although i still have pineapple jam stored away in the freezer..:)..but i need a break from pineapple tarts..LOL!
Wishing all a Happy & Prosperous Chinese New Year!
And May the Year be Tigerrific! :)
新年快乐，身体建康，万事如以，恭喜发财！
11 comments:
Hi Faithy, Good attempts and I think you had done a good job. The pineapple tarts look perfect :)
Happy year of the Tiger to you too! Your tarts look beautiful. Isn't it fun to be on a culinary journey?
These sound lovely, I have not tried pineapple jam but I am sure I would love it. Happy New Year!
OOoohhhh.. I want some.. can you send some to the US? :)
Happy Chinese New Year Faithy. Gong Xi Gong Xi!
Happy New Year Faithy!
Your tarts look amazing. I don't know where you find the time - though I do understand the power of the promise of a good recipe.
They sound delicious! Can't wait to see your perfected recipe!
Yum Faithy! These sound delicious. I had never heard of them before so googled and Wikepedia'd to learn all about them. What spices did you like added to the jam? Most said cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise. The pastry sounds divine. Never too flaky or buttery for me!
Thank you ladies! :)
@Jenn: I would love to send some your way but are we allowed to mail food into US? I don't think so right? I know some countries are very strict with food rules, ie, what can be brought into their country
@Vicki: Yes..i did add all the spices you mentioned and you have to cook the grated pineapples till reasonably dry so that it will have longer shelf-life..otherwise it will turn moldy very quickly if left outside at room temperature. Just the jam took me around 3 hours to cook them since we don't use pectin. There are different varieties..of the tarts..the ones i made are the closed ones..and theres the open-faced ones..the pastry is a bit harder and the pineapple jam on the outside. :) It's also equally yummy! :) They are quite addictive esp. bite size so i keep popping them in my mouth..LOL!
Your tarts look good! I have never tasted pineapple jam but I'm sure if I do I'll like it.
Happy new year.
Cheers,
Gong hey fatt choy!
Oh, I know what you mean here! It does take you several tries until you get satisfied with the results. Though it can be time-consuming and tiring, it's so fun & rewarding! No worries! Yours still look fine to me! I don't mind having some.
Happy CNY, Faithy. The goodies sound delicious, especially the pineapple tarts.
Post a Comment