Pineapple Tarts for Chinese New Year – 凤梨酥/黄梨酥
The Chinese New Year is only two weeks away and I’ve been a very busy man slaving over hot stove (or oven) lately. Last year we had friends coming up to the Central Coast and we had so much fun celebrating the new year with a 9-courses Chinese dinner banquet. And I am doing it again this year with a buffet style dinner, so that I can spend more time socialising instead of running like a headless chook in the kitchen the whole time. It should be good and I can’t wait.
This year I’ve also decided to make some of my all time favourite cookies and cakes to usher in the Year of the Tiger. I have made the peanut cookies from last year again, kuih loyang (recipe to follow) and also these mouth watering pineapple tarts.
This little golden morsel has a crumbly texture like shortbread, and inside is filled with a soft chewy pineapple jam filling and simply melt in your mouth. Different places have different names, the pineapple tart is also known as pineapple roll, pineapple nastar roll, kueh nastar, just to name a few. Whatever its name is, I have not encountered anyone that doesn’t like it.
Making pineapple tarts can be very time consuming, a lot of effort put in but yield very little in return. It looks difficult but once you get the hang of it, the pineapple tarts are actually surprisingly easy to make. It can get very messy and fiddly, but so long you work out a routine with some trial and error, you will be able to churn up around 40 pineapple tarts within two hours (including making pineapple jam filling).
To make the tart, first you have to make is the pineapple jam filling. I’ve made two batches, first with canned pineapples, and another batch with fresh pineapples. It is debatable whether the jam filling actually taste better with fresh pineapples than canned ones. Initially I believed the fresh pineapple jam filling definitely taste better and more like a pineapple, whereas the canned one is sweeter from the syrup it soaked in no doubt. However, they both actually tasted almost the same after baking, except there is still a little bit zing tingling on the tongue from the tart made with fresh pineapples. So it is totally up to you either way, they both taste great nevertheless.
You know what, this is the first time I played with glucose syrup and boy, what a total bitch to work with. The glucose syrup is called for in the recipe to thicken the jam for a chewy texture. It is extremely thick and sticky, makes rolling the pineapple jam filling into tiny balls before assembling a very messy job. But it is a very important step, and will make the process a whole lot more efficient later on.
This particular version of pineapple tart sometimes also called the pineapple nastar roll, because it is usually made by using a Nastar piping tip to pipe the pastry with a corrugated appearance. Since I don’t have the Nastar piping tip, I had to do it manually with a fork, the old skool way. It is not perfect, and I squashed the tarts a little without the lady touch, I’ll just redeem myself and called it the “homemade” look. HA!
And do you know why pineapple tart is always popular during Chinese New Year in Malaysia? It is because the phonetic sound of ‘pineapple’ is similar to the word “properous” in Chinese, making the pineapple tart an auspicious cake to have during the special occasion. So let’s make some and share the fortunes with friends and families, and welcome the Year of the Tiger with more deliciousness.
Make sure to check out the video how to roll the tarts.
Pineapple Tarts for Chinese New Year - 凤梨酥/黄梨酥 Pineapple Filling Ingredients: 3 baby pineapples (or 2 cans of shredded pineapples) 200 gram sugar 1 clove 1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise 150 gram liquid glucose 2 tbsp wheat flour (all purpose flour) Method: 1. Slice and grate pineapples till fine. You can use a food processor do grate it. 2. Strain the grated pineapple till dry. 3. Let it simmer in a wok toll the juice has dry up. Add sugar and, star anise, cinnamon stick and clove. 4. Stir till the pineapple has thickened and dry. Add maltose or liquid glucose. 5. Stir till the pineapple filling is thick, sticky and dry. 6. Add wheat flour. Continue to stir for about 10 minutes or until filling is dry. 7. Leave to cool and shape into small balls.
Pineapple Tarts - 凤梨酥/黄梨酥
Ingredients:
Pastry:
250 gram butter
50 gram icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk (for glazing)
Sift:
350 gram plain flour (all purpose flour)
50 gram corn flour
Method:
IMPORTANT: YOU MUST first roll the pineapple jam filling into balls, resembling a silkworm cocooon. Set aside on a plate.
1. Cream butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until light. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, until well combined. Add vanilla essence and salt and whisk until fluffy.
2. Fold in sifted dry ingredients (plain flour & corn flour) and mix to form a dough. It should be a light crumbly shortbread texture.
3. Roll a tablespoonful of dough into a 5-7cm long tube in your palm, then gently press down with index finger to flatten the dough into an oblong shape, around 0.5cm thickness and 3-4cm wide. You will get the hang of it after a few trials.
4. Place the rolled-out pineapple jam ball on the edge of the strip and roll the dough to wrap around it to form a small elongated roll. Place the roll on a greased baking tray. Repeat until all dough mixture and jam filling used up.
5. Preheat oven at 180°C. Use a fork and draw lines on top of the tarts. Brush the rolls with beaten egg yolk. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks before storing in an airtight jar.
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
They look fantastic! I always find the amount of time it takes to make these, is inverse to how quickly they’re consumed once baked. But they’re totally worth it
.-= Y´s last blog ..Daring Bakers Challenge : Nanaimo Bars =-.
YARMY! looks so good billy! haha usually i dont make it to the pastry stage as i eat the pineapple jam with a spoon mmm sweeeeet
.-= chocolatesuze´s last blog ..Zeta Bar- Cryogenic Sorbet & Cocktail Bar [3] =-.
Mmmmmm! We usually only make the open tarts in a heart shape with a cross of pastry piped across the top. Extra jam for yumminess
Now I want to eat pineapple tarts…
.-= shez´s last blog ..db: (ba)nanaimo bars =-.
You got me thinking, so I looked it up. this is a roll, like a pinapple version of a saussage roll.
According to Wikipedia: A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet, that is a type of pie with an open top not covered with pastry.
I didn’t know the bit about the pinapple and prosperous. Is it Pineapple in chinese when comapred to prosperous in chinese?
.-= yewenyi´s last blog ..Reset =-.
Sometimes this version is still called a tart because of the open ends on both sides. My wrapping skill not so good without the nastar roll, so some are sealed. Oops!
Depends on where you come from, pineapple has 3 different chinese names, but In Malaysia most commonly known as “Wong Lai”, phonetically also means “Fortune to come”.
Wow…looks good…does same filling work for the ones where you dump the blob of pineapple on the cookie?
You the man Billy, you the man
Yum! Glad to hear that tinned pineapple works just as well – greater incentive to turn out my own batch or two. I have found McLucksa at Market City do great nastar pineapple rolls – $6 for a box of eight seems worth it when you consider all the effort!
.-= Helen (grabyourfork)´s last blog ..Zeta Bar Hilton Sydney – Cryogenic Sorbet and Cocktail Bar =-.
Gorgeous! I like the homemade look
The best pineapple tarts are always homemade. I can imagine the glucose would have made it hard to work with, but it looks totally worth the effort!
.-= Steph´s last blog ..Duck a L’Orange & Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes =-.
ahh I want I want! I think I might just used tinned pineapple. It seems trying to find ripe pineapple then cutting + grating them seems like too much effort for a ‘small’ difference after baking.
You know I’ve never had this rolled up variety but how cool is that nastar piping thingy?
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Frank’s Lebanese Food, Fairfield =-.
Bravo Billy! Pineapple tarts are my favourite CNY snack and yours look fantastic.
Pity that they are time consuming to make. I’ve made them once and it took me aaaaaages.
.-= foodwink´s last blog ..10 Favourite Food Memories from Japan – from Shinjuku to Asakusa =-.
Wow…. seems like quite an effort! Well done.
I am off to Singapore soon to get my fix!
Amaze! So cute are your tarts!
.-= joey@FoodiePop´s last blog ..Restaurant Arras (Modern British) – Walsh Bay =-.
OMG these are my favorite!! om nom nom
.-= Iron Chef Shellie´s last blog ..Eating Out: The Boathouse =-.
That’s why I always “cheat” with canned pineapples and I blend it with a mini food processor for exactly 10 seconds. I have no patience for baking. My Taiwanese friends told me that the Taiwanese version is made with mashed 冬瓜条 with pineapple flavoring!!!
.-= Rasa Malaysia´s last blog ..Soy Sauce Chicken (豉油鸡) =-.
Wow, these look awesome. Wish I’d known before I started my peeling and chopping that canned pineapples work just as well
Your tarts look perfect! I take my hat off for you to use glucose sugar and choosing the nastar method. The most tricky and difficult ways
.-= Ellie´s last blog ..Cabbage, Apple and Baby Rocket Salad with Rosemary Pancetta =-.
These look great. I’ve been baking up a batch of tarts as well – both for own consumption as well as for orders from my office colleagues. The tart dough recipe which I am using is pretty similar to yours.
.-= jo´s last blog ..Orange Cream Cake =-.
Such nostalgia! We used to eat these when we were children, and I have never had home made ones. I’d forgotten all about them.
You’ve made me feel very happy!
.-= Mr. P´s last blog ..Pie of the Month – January =-.
I just checked your blog, and you are Anglo saxon lives in UK, now I am very intrigued to know how did you come by this cookies in your childhood…. care to share?
I love pineapple tarts, they’re one of my favourite CNY cookies. I have yet to try making them as my parents take pity on me and send me some every year (lol), but I definitely want to try one day.
Hats off to you to using fresh pineapple to make the jam, I’ve heard that the jam is the most time consuming bit. Your tarts look lovely though, so definitely worth the effort!
.-= Su-yin´s last blog ..Beef bourguignon =-.
Dayyummm man a buffet?!?! Better b prepared to make a few hundred of these babies
I really need to take advantage of using pineapples in more desserts. These look heavenly! Great for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations.
.-= Peter G @ Souvlaki For The Soul´s last blog ..Fresco De Piña y Arroz-Chilled Pineapple and Rice drink =-.
Having just moved to Melbourne, and no freaking idea where to buy these kuih (everywhere I look has no kuih! I am surprised at how much more Malaysian Perth is), I have been forced to make pineapple tarts myself this year! I have had to do many practice runs, and the hardship of eating has been very great, but I think I am ready for CNY. Now to try peanut cookies.
I have found using canned pineapple really easy, so I’m glad I don’t have to go to the effort of fresh if you say it isn’t much difference.
)
.-= steph´s last blog ..super amazing tempe salad =-.
I’ve never been crazy about the restaurant- or store-bought ones, mostly because the pastry hasn’t tasted very good. Making your own is such a better idea. And yours look absolutely divine.
Delicious!! they look superb
cute. I love CNY
Your turned out really lovely…. I just have no baking hands.
.-= penny aka jeroxie´s last blog ..Charcoal Lane =-.
I recently ate a version with the jam wrapped inside a ball. The pastry was topped with cheese … the resulting saltiness from the cheese paired suprisingly well with the sweet Pineapple jam. I am going to use your recipe and top it with cheese.
.-= Kokken69´s last blog ..Bamboo Charcoal Swiss Roll – 竹炭ロール =-.
This is simply awesome! I have no patient to make pineapple tarts but just love eating them to bits! I would give it a try one day and thanks for your helpful steps and tips!
Alice
.-= Alice´s last blog ..Stir fry Glass Noodles with Vegetables =-.
Are you selling these?? :p
Or do you know of anywhere in Melbourne that goes?
thinking of making these soon!!! they look so yummy..u should sell some
These were so nice with the glucose chewiness! Are there other ways of doing this i.e. softer centres? stringy like soft toffee?
I was looking for pineapple tart shaping tutorials online
and found your video. Am going to make these this weekend to
prepare for CNY. Lovely blog!
Hi. I would like to try out your recipe. However, i have
never bake before so i would like to ask you for the cinnamon
stick,clove and star anise do i need to ground it first and add to
the pineapple or do i just add it in without doing anything and
take it out later??? I really don’t know. Please help me. Thanks
=)
A bit late to the party, but: what size/weight should the
cans of pineapple be? Also, love the blog.
Hi! I was just reading your recipe for pineapple jam, and I
was curious about the glucose. Your jam looks like it turned out
well and I’d like to follow your recipe but is there any way to
omit/replace the glucose as it’s very hard to find where I live?
Thanks!
this is the best recipe ever!!!!! thank you thank you! the
pineapple jam is really tasty and the pastry melts in the
mouth….but i have one tiny problem…my pastry always seem to be
too ‘flaky’ or dry it makes it really hard to work with and to roll
it keeps breaking?? can u help?
Heya! Thanks so much for the recipe! It was super yummy and
Apart from
I loved how the pastry just melted in my mouth! But while I was
rolling it, it seemed to crack easily..any idea why?
that, I loved the tarts and so did everyone else who tried them!
Thanks again
Hey! When making the filling, for the cinnamon, clove and star anise, do I just dump them all into the pan and leave them there, and remove them later, or do I have to ground them up first?
just put the whole thing in, fish them out when finished cooking. cheers.
Okay, thanks!
Hey, is there a substitute for liquid glucose? Thanks Billy!
glucose is corn syrup, same thing. if u cant it, then dont use it.