Pineapple Tarts

Pineapple Tarts

March 14, 2011 · by Fatboo · in ,
Pineapple Tarts
So how does one turn this …
Pineapple Tarts
… into this?
Pineapple Tarts
Well, let me tell you. With a little bit of patience and effort, you can!

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Pineapple tarts is a popular Chinese New Year delicacy in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is one of my favourite snacks when I go visiting during CNY. I wanted to quietly celebrate CNY in Melbourne, so I bought myself a small jar of pineapple tarts from Jerky House for $15.
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They were an absolute fail.
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Clay-like pastry with artificial flavourings and a filling that’s too sweet. I brought the jar to work and even my ang moh colleagues who aren’t that fussy only picked at the jar slowly.
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My friend Aelle was telling me that Singaporean and Malaysian aunties are baking the tarts at home and selling them at Glen Waverley grocers. But I thought, why search for these elusive “aunty tarts” that only arrive at the Glen’s grocers on Saturdays? I should take things into my own hands and make them myself!
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So one sunny Saturday afternoon, Ees and I embarked on project pineapple tarts. It was arduous work, especially for Ees who did most of the stirring and pastry making, but they turned out pretty good. After some taste feedback from Ees and Jo, I made another batch the Wednesday after with some recipe adjustments. I was quite happy with the result. Actually very happy. Feedback from Aunty Rita and her high maintenance Malaysian and Singaporean friends was that we could start a business selling these tarts during CNY. Haha, no thank you. Too leh cheh (tedious).

Pineapple Tarts

A ‘gift’ jar of pineapple tarts for the people I know would appreciate them
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I’m happy to share my findings here and would encourage you to try out the recipe cos I think it’s quite good. But first of all, you have to know my preference profile. Each member of my family likes it differently. I think mum prefers it soft and crumbly. Dad and grandma prefers tarts with a firm pastry. In fact, grandma likes the pastry and filling almost biscuit-like, which is funny cos she.. umm *koff* —> dentures. Lol!! I like my pastry crumbly when bitten and it has to be salty. And I like my pineapple filling to have fibres in it and be on the tart side rather than sweet. Tarts made using store-bought pineapple jams just won’t taste the same nor have the same texture as authentic pineapple filling. And lastly, I don’t like the use of any flavourings and extracts in the tarts.
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So to sum it up, this recipe will probably give you a firm but crumbly pastry that is slightly salty, and a filling that is texturally fibrous with a tangy zing to it. If it sounds good, try it! I’ll post it below. : )
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Pineapple Filling

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You might want to do the filling the night before. The actual grating and cooking process can take quite awhile. I was silently cursing under my breath when I had to stand in front of the stove for a whole hour simmering and stirring the ingredients on low heat until it reduced into a nice golden sticky filling.
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Pineapple Tarts
The only way to get good filling is to use fresh pineapples. If the pineapples are very ripe and sweet, you might need to reduce the sugar in the recipe.
Pineapple Tarts
And to get the fibrous texture in the filling, the pineapples should be hand-grated rather then blended in a food processor. I did blend the bits of hard pineapple core that were difficult to grate though.
Pineapple Tarts
Sieving the juices from the grated pineapple. If you don’t sieve it, then you’ll be standing in front of the stove stirring for half a day, haha!
Pineapple Tarts
Cooked pineapple filling
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Pastry Making

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Pastry is a temperamental brat. The same pastry recipe will give varying outcomes under different hands. Do it on a day with different weather, say its warmer or more humid, and it might again turn out different under your hands! How annoying. I think the art of pastry-making relies a lot on instinct and intuition. I am humbled that I have so much more to learn.
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We’ve tried 2 methods here, one using the spoon to mix, and the other using the rubbing-in method. I think the rubbing-in method works well and will post that.
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Pineapple Tarts
Ees stirring the ingredients using the spoon method. If we had a Kitchen Aid mixer, we’d use the K-beater preferentially.
Pineapple Tarts
Pineapple Tarts
Mid-way through the rubbing-in method under my hands
Pineapple Tarts
I know making these tarts can be quite terok (Malay: tedious and arduous), but here’s some refreshing respite. You can drink the sieved juices from the grated pineapples!
Pineapple Tarts
The pastry is rolled to about 4mm thick
Pineapple Tarts
Mom bought me this pineapple tart mould. It’s small and gives you neat bite-sized tarts. Using this mould, the recipe below gave me 160 tarts. I’m not sure if you can find these moulds in Melbourne.
Pineapple Tarts
Pineapple Tarts
You could almost want to eat them even before baking! I had to smack Ees’s hands and say “Hands off!” :D
Pineapple Tarts
Okay Ees. You can eat them after I take this picture.
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Pineapple Tart Recipe

Adapted From Mum’s Recipe
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Pineapple Filling:

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Ratio of filling ingredients:
1.2kg grated raw pineapple (after sieving)
300g castor sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
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  • Grate 2 large pineapples or 4 medium pineapples
  • Place the grated pineapple, cinnamon sticks and cloves into a non-stick pot
  • Cook over low heat stirring all the time until pineapple turns translucent (approx 15 mins)
  • Add the sugar and continue to cook until pineapple turns a golden colour and has a semi-soft sticky texture (approx 30-60mins)
  • Allow to cool and refrigerate until you are ready to make the pastry
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Firm-Crumbly Pastry:

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600g plain flour
1tsp fine salt
60g icing sugar
400g salted butter (cut into small pieces)
4 egg yolks (if you want it more flaky-crumbly, use 2 egg yolks)
2tbsp ice cold water
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  • Sieve the flour, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl
  • Remove butter from fridge, cut into small pieces and add to the bowl
  • Gently rub-in the butter into the flour using fingertips until mixture resembles breadcrumbs
  • Add the egg yolks and continue to mix with hands
  • Do not overwork the dough, it’s okay to have fleck of butter in it
  • Slowly add the iced water and mix patiently till the pastry binds together and leaves the sides of the mixing bowl
  • Wrap pastry in a sheet of plastic and chill in fridge for 15mins
  • Keep in fridge as you take small batches out to roll
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For Egg Wash: 
Beat 1 egg yolk + ⅛tsp water
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  • Line pastry board with a plastic sheet and place a small portion of pastry on it
  • Cover pastry with another sheet of plastic
  • Roll dough to about 4mm thick
  • Use tart mould to cut out the tart, place on ungreased baking tray
  • Use a soft fine brush to glaze the tarts with egg wash
  • Roll a small ball of filling, flatten slightly and place on centre of tart
  • Decorate the top by placing bits of cut-out pastry
  • Bake in pre-heated oven at 170ºC for 25 mins or till tarts are a nice golden brown.

Pineapple Tarts

For more home-baked goodies and comforting home recipes, check out my recipe index.

Pineapple Tarts
Closed Pineapple Tarts
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If you haven’t got a tart mould you can make closed tarts. Just flatten a piece of pastry on your hand to about 3-4 inches in diameter, place filling in the middle and wrap. Glaze it with egg wash, then use a knife to create lines on top to give a design. Bake as above, but after the 25mins, egg wash the tarts again and bake for a further 5 mins.
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Pineapple Tarts
So this is my first Nyonya kueh project for this year. I hope to make more types of kueh kueh soon! Granted, they tend to be quite fiddly to make, but if done well, they are just soo yummy!
For more homebaked goodies (like ang ku kueh), check out my Recipe Index.