Pineapple Tarts

Time flies! Chinese New Year comes early this year on January 23. It seemed to me that January 1 was just yesterday.

Sweets are very important for Chinese New Year. Everybody wants a sweet new year right? I am making pineapple tarts for the New Year.

This recipe is all about patience as it requires a lot of attention and standing and stirring at the stove. However, the luscious golden coloured jam is very rewarding.

Well, bring your stool into the kitchen and lets get started!

Pineapple Tarts
Filling
400g fresh pineapple, about 1 skinned and cored
100g sugar
1 tablespoon maltose (from Asian supermarket)
50g unsalted butter
35g glutinous rice flour

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/350F. Lay the glutinous flour in a flat layer and bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, mixing it up half way through. *Tips: do not use convection, the fan will blow the flour to the heating element and may cause burning and smoke.
2. Roughly chop fresh pineapple with a knife and reserve the juice. Do not use food processor.
3. Add the chopped pineapple and juice in the pan and add caster sugar. Bring to a boil at low heat.
4. Add 1 tablespoon maltose, continue to cook and stir until the mixture thickens and the juice reduce to jam consistency.
5. Add unsalted butter, stir and continue to simmer until big bubbles form. Do not add the butter until you have reduced the pineapple just down in step 4.
6. Slowly add the prepared glutinous rice flour in 2-3 batches until the mixture is very thick. Test with your fingers, the mixture should not be tacky. You may not need all the flour so keep testing.
7. Let cool completely before use.

Pastry
95g unsalted butter, room temperature
20g icing sugar

20g grated Parmesan cheese
15g whole milk powder
1 whole egg
120g cake flour
40g all purpose flour

1. Sieve the flours, set aside.
2. Using a whisk, lightly whisk unsalted butter until pliable. Add icing sugar, Parmesan cheese and milk powder one at a time and whisk until incorporated.
3. Lightly beat the egg in a separate bowl. Add half the egg to the butter mixture before adding the other half. Mix until just incorporated.
4. Using a spatula, mix the sieved flour into the butter in 2 batches. Mix until just combined to a dough. Divide the dough in 30g portions and roll them into balls. Cover and rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Make your own rings! Cut a piece of cardboard to 3cm wide strips. Wrap the cardboard in aluminum foil. Make it into 5cm diameter cylinders and staple the ends together.

Assembly
1. Roll the pineapple filling into 22g balls. If the filling is sticking to your hands, roll them in baked glutinous rice flour. Freeze the filling for about 10 minutes.
2. Roll out a ball of pastry to 3/16" (4mm) thick. Put the lightly frozen filling in the center and enclose it at the bottom. Roll it into a ball again and put it in the ring. Continue with the rest of the pastry. At this stage you can keep them in the fridge and bake them as needed.
3. Preheat the oven to 340F. Bake the pastry in the rings for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool in the rings on a rack.