Pineapple Tarts!

In preparation for the Lunar New Year, I have been pointing out things (对联), Chinese New Year goodies and other decorations when Dumpling and I head out. And with all our homeschooling themes, I try to involve some cooking / baking activity whenever possible.

As many would know, for Chinese, the play of words and symbols especially for festive and happy occasions is a common occurrence. This is primarily to symbolize good wishes. For the upcoming Chinese New Year, Dumpling and I made pineapple tarts over the weekend. Due to the colour and the hokkien name of fruit (凤梨; fènglí), pineapples are known to symbolize wealth, luck and excellent fortune. I decided to make that with Dumpling because it is messy fun and primarily, it is yummy. :p

 I downloaded a recipe I got from Phoon Huat but made some amendments to it.

Item

GOLDTREE Salted Butter 500 gm

RED MAN Cake flour 600 gm

RED MAN Skimmed Milk powder * 100 gm

RED MAN Caster Sugar * 50 gm

Egg yolk 4 nos

RED MAN Vanilla Essence 1 Tablespoon

Filling

RED MAN Pineapple Tart Filling 1kg


Method

1. Knead butter, sugar, vanilla essence, milk powder and flour together.

2. Add in yolk, blend into a soft dough, do not over work.

3. Measure 10-13 gm of dough to 8-10 gm of pineapple tart filling to form into shapes at your own desire, brush tarts with egg yolk

4. Bake at 190oC for 20 minutes

For my version, I reduced the sugar from 50 to 40-45gm. I also replaced Skimmed Milk Powder with Full Cream Milk Powder for a creamier and richer taste. (Indicated by asterisk above)

Lastly, I baked mine at 180oC for 16 minutes for the first batch and subsequently reducing the time by a min – 2 for the next 2 batches. For this, it is best to check on your tarts once you approach the 13 min mark.

As with most of the festive celebrations, C and I will pack it into as a small gift for her classmates. This is especially so since she attends a pure chinese Nursery class and the school usually includes a unit on such festivals. So with these baking activities, I hope to complement the good work her school does.