Pineapple Tarts for Chinese New Year

 Happy Chinese New Year - the Year of the Ox!

One of the dishes made in Malaysia for Chinese New Year is Pineapple Tarts. Sweet treats are made for CNY because they symbolise bringing a sweet life, and the name of the pineapple, ong lai in the Hokien dialect,  means “fortune come”. 

I had already made the pineapple jam from the recipe in Warm Bread and Honey Cake by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra. Next door to the jam recipe was a recipe for Guyanese pine tarts, a South American delicacy. The recipe for the pineapple tarts and the Guyanese pine tarts was pretty much the same, with the tarts simply made into different shapes, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and make both kinds of tarts from the same pastry.

The Malaysian pine tarts are formed into cross-hatched rolls:

while the Guyanese pine tarts are formed into triangles:

If you fancy making some pineapple tarts (or pine tarts!), this is how to do it:

First, make the Pineapple Jam:

500g fresh or canned, drained pineapple

500g sugar

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Wash 2 jam jars.

Roughly chop the fruit and purée it in a food processor. Put the fruit purée, sugar and lemon juice into a large heavy based saucepan and heat gently, constantly stirring, until the sugar dissolves, then turn up the heat and bring the mixture to the boil.  Allow the mixture to boil for 5 minutes, constantly stirring, until it thickens. Test when it is ready by putting a saucer in the freezer while cooking the jam, and when ready to test, place a small blob of jam on the plate, and run your finger through it.  If the furrow created by your finger stays and the jam doesn’t run to fill it, the jam is ready.  Spoon the jam into the prepared jars, filling them to the top, put the lids on, and turn the jars upside down for 5 minutes, then turn the jars back the right way up and leave the jars on the counter until the jam cools completely.

Then make the pastry:

250g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

125g butter, chilled and cubed

4 tablespoons cold water

Beaten egg, for glazing

Put the flour and salt into a food processor with the butter, and pulse until fine, breadcrumb-like particles form.

Add the water to the processor bowl, a tablespoon at a time, and pulse between each one. Once the dough comes together, stop adding water and pulsing.

Turn the dough out, shape it into a flat disc, wrap in cling film and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To make the tarts:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball, then press each ball into a disc shape with the palm of your hand.  Roll each disc out into a 5” round circle. Put one tablespoon of pineapple jam in the centre of each circle.

For the Malaysian tarts, fold the dough over the top of the jam and cover the jam completely, pinching the edges closed. Form each piece into a ball shape, then gently squeeze each ball into a log about 1-1 1/2 inches long. Place each log shape on the baking tray and using a small sharp paring knife, cut a cross hatch pattern into the top of each tart. Brush the top of each tart with the beaten egg.

For the Guyanese tarts, fold the right side of the dough circle, then the left, over the jam centre, forming a point at the top. Fold up the bottom of the circle over the the remainder of the uncovered jam, then crimp each exposed edge of the dough in the centre of the tart with the tines of a fork.  See the photo at the top of this post to see what it is meant to look like - you should have  a neat triangular parcel of pastry.  Place these tarts on the baking tray and brush the tops with egg yolk.  I made half and half Malaysian and Guyanese tarts (6 of each).

Bake the tarts in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the tops of the tarts are golden brown.

Remove the tarts from the oven on the tray, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Eat or freeze the tarts, as desired.