Saturday, January 29, 2011

Aspiring Bakers #3: CNY Cookies (2011) - Pineapple Rose Tarts

When it comes to pineapple tarts, one man's meat is another man's poison.  Some like a hard crust with a cakey pastry, whereas some like flakey pastry.  For me, I prefer flakey pastry, one that literally melts when you take a bite.  Some like the rich creamy taste (from formula milk or cream cheese) but I like mine with good old butter.

I'm happy with my current recipe but I've seen another similar recipe with more butter, less sugar and no rising agent.  This year, I decided to give this recipe (by Lekker, she made open tarts) a try, just to make a comparison.

This recipe has no rising agent so I presumed the pastry wouldn't puff up too much but I was wrong.  My rose tarts look so puffed and this made the crimp petals least obvious.  Argh!  I should have taken a picture of the tarts before baking, they sure do look like roses.

Another patchy egg wash maybe I should just omit next time.

Time was running out as I need to fetch my son from school but I've 2/3 pastry sitting in my fridge.  I have another cookie to bake and I have no wish to stop the oven.  My mind had to work fast to find a quick and easy way to finish up baking. 

I rolled the dough into oblong and rolled in the pineapple jam.  By doing this, I don't have to worry about sealing up the ends.  Despite this, I couldn't make it in time to fetch my son.  Thankfully I have a parent's contact number and had to seek her help to bring DS2 across the road.  Thanks SM!  Will bake you some pineapple tarts after CNY, I'm sure they are as good as the Malay store you've recommended ;-)

Verdict: This recipe is another keeper.  Gives you really flakey tarts BUT the dough is difficult to handle.  You need to work with quick hands as the dough gets soften fast due to our warm hands.  Nevertheless, it is a recipe worth trying if you like flakey tarts like me.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers # 3: My Favorite CNY Cookie (Jan 2011) hosted by j3ss kitch3n.

Pineapple Rose Tarts
Ingredients
(A)
340g Plain Flour
1 tbsp Icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

(B)
250g Cold butter, cut into cubes

(C)
1 Egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (I used Martell instead)
*lightly beaten

(D)
25ml ice cold water

(E)
Egg glaze: Lightly beat1 yolk with 1 tbsp water

(F)
Pineapple fillings (I used store bought but improvised it)

Method

  1. Lightly beat egg yolk with brandy. 
  2. Sieve flour and icing sugar into mixing bowl. Stir in salt and blend well. 
  3. Cut in butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs. 
  4. Add egg yolk and ice water into flour and roughly work it into a ball. Do not overwork the dough. 
  5. Divide dough into 3 equal portions, place each portion in a plastic bag and flatten it slightly.  Chill in fridge for 1 hour.
  6. Remove 1 portion of dough from fridge and divide dough to portions of 15g - 20g each. 
  7. Wrap pineapple paste (15g each) with dough and shape into rounds.
  8. Chill the wrapped dough for 15 mins.
  9. Using a crimper, crimp the top to make a triangle.  Then crimp the next layer to make a hexagon.
  10. Place tarts onto baking tray lined with baking sheet.
  11. Glaze the tarts with egg wash.
  12. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 170°C and continue to bake for another 5 minutes or until golden. Turn tarts out to cool on a wire rack before storing in air-tight containers.

17 comments:

MaryMoh said...

Mmmm...my favourite cookies. Love those rose patterns. You are creative!

WendyinKK said...

If you want to save time on rolling each into an oblong shape, roll it out large like a sheet, then use a roller cutter and cut.
My SIL's sister does it this way. Easier than piping using that ridged thing.

Ren said...

Hi

How you improvised the pineapple filling.

Wish you Happy Chinese Year .

Thanks

Kitchen Corner said...

Happy Lunar New Year to you! Have a nice one!

Small Small Baker said...

Thanks for joining Aspiring Bakers! Happy Rabbit Year to you! :)

Bakericious said...

Wish you and your family a Happy Lunar New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Pei-Lin said...

So much to go thru for these pineapple tarts! Thank goodness everything fell into place for you eventually. They sound and look good to me!

Gong hey fatt choy! Happy CNY to you and your family!

DG said...

Blessed Homemaker,
Here's wishing you and your family a Happy & Prosperous Lunar New Year!

quizzine said...

We are always searching for THE pineapple recipe, don't we?
Happy lunar new year to u and your family!

Blessed Homemaker said...

MaryMoh,
Thanks for your kind words.

Wendy,
Thanks for the tip!

Blessed Homemaker said...

Ren,
I cooked the store bought pineapple fillings with some water and butter. You may add in some spices (cinnanmon/cloves) if you want but I didn't as I don't like them. Also, can add in some lemon juice to neutralise the sweetness of the fillings.

Blessed Homemaker said...

Kitchen Corner, SSB & Jess,
Thanks and Happy New Year to you too!

Blessed Homemaker said...

Pei-Lin,
The reason why I'm reluctant to bake pineapple tarts is I need to plan my time properly. And yes, I'm glad it's over and everything is in place :) Happy New Year to you too!

Blessed Homemaker said...

DG,
Happy New Year to you too!

Quizzine,
I think I've found mine but I'm still looking for a recipe that has a melt-in-mouth texture but yet easy handling dough. But seriously speaking, I'm doubtful. Happy New Year to you too!

Olivia said...

such wonderful cookies... gong xi fatt chai

Blessed Homemaker said...

Hi Olivia,
Happy New Year to you too!

Eileen said...

Hi BHM,
I've one packet of store-bought pineapple fillings which I find that it is a little too sour. Should I adopt your improvised method by cooking them with water and butter, however add some sugar instead to sweeten it? Do you think it might work? Or any advice?
Thank you.