Pineapple Tarts as X'mas Gifts

Feeling a bit festive, decided to bake some pineapple tarts for friends before we break for Christmas. 

Baked some pineapple tarts today using the following recipe without the ghee because I ran out of ghee.

http://fromchinshome.blogspot.fr/2015/01/pineapple-tarts-made-with-ghee.html?m=0

Pineapple tarts made with Ghee

Playing with shapes!! :) Lessons from paperclay projects does come handy in cooking too.  I tried shaping with salt dough before working on the actual tarts. Salt dough are easier to manage than the actual tart dough. ;)  

Just made some pineapple tarts, recipe adapted from NasiLemak Lover's recipe. Thanks to my friend Jane Lee, who tried & shared her ghee & butter ratio. 

These tarts taste better if they have been aged for a day or 2. I know it is difficult to resist the temptation! Hide some & taste the difference! You'll be surprised!!! 

Pineapples Tarts with Ghee, adapted from NasiLemak Lover's recipe. 

Ingredients: 

250g salted butter 

100g ghee - I used QBB ghee

100g condensed milk 

2 egg yolks 

510g plain flour ( I used 480g plain flour + 30g cornflour). 

600g Pineapple jam - roll into balls. 

Egg wash : 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk  + 1/2 tsp salt. 

Preparation steps: 

1. Cream the above ingredients except the jam in a mixing bowl untill they form a dough.

2. Set aside for 10 mins in the fridge. 

3. Shape the pineapple tarts with the jam. Brush with egg wash. 

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 165 degree C for 20mins or until golden brown. 

5. Remove from oven & leave it completely cool before storing. 

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. I find that this recipe not suitable for open tarts because the dough is a bit sticky. 

2. When they are just out from the oven, the pastry is very flaky. Leave it to cool completely the pastry texture is better. 

3. Let the pineapple tarts aged at least a day / 2. They taste better when they are aged!

4. Here is the link to NasiLemak Lover's recipe: 

http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.fr/2013/02/my-best-melt-in-mouth-pineapple-tarts.html?m=1

5. Added on 24 Jan 2015 - Wonder what to do with the left over egg whites? 

I made some Meringues à la françaisel

6. Added on 24 Jan 2015 - Recipe to homemade pineapple jam : Pineapple Jam

7. Here is how I shaped the tarts. Need to work very fast on the dough, because the butter from the dough will melt due to the warm hands & it will become very difficult to manage.  

Added 22 April 2015 : other shapes.

Daisy Pineapple Tarts - embossed with fondant cutter

Rosie Pineapple Tarts - shaped with a crimper

Pineapple Rolls

Finally got around to make these.  These are popular snacks for Chinese New Year.  My first attempt for Pineaple rolls.  I think it is a great way to start a new year!! :)

It is very nice of my friend Evelyn Lim to share her lovely recipe with me.  I made some adjustment to her recipe because I do not have all the needed ingredients & wanted so badly to try to make these rolls.  Ghee is also another ingredients which I'd read in many blogs that it will give the tarts a buttery flavour.  

These rolls are so yummy & they melts in your mouth. 

I used these tools to help me piped out the pastry. Thanks to my friend SiewLoon who brought me these when she visited Paris in March 2014. 

Pineapple Rolls Adapted from Evelyn Lim's Recipe.  

Pastry Ingredients : 

150g butter 

100g pure ghee ( I used QB pure ghee )

60g icing sugar 

2 egg yolks

370g plain flour

2 tbsp custard powder 

2 tbsp cornflour 

Tart fillings :

500g pineapple jam 

Egg wash :

1 egg - beaten 

1/4 tsp salt 

Method : 

1. Divide the pineapple jam into small portion & form into an oval shapes. 

2. Combine all the pastry ingredients into a mixer, set on low speed until a soft dough is form. Remove & let it rest for 5 minutes. 

3a. Place some dough into to the mould & pressed out the dough about 5cm in length. Place a piece of jam fillings on one end & roll up to enclose the fillings. 

Note: with the grains facing down. 

3b. Alternatively you can piped out a long strips , put the jam filling at the end , roll & cut out, continue until you finish the whole strips. Hence you do not need to measure the each strips.  Thanks to Christina Lim's advise. I'll try that the next batch of bake! ;) 

4. Brush some egg wash on the pastry. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 15 mins or until golden brown. 

5. Remove from oven & leave it completely cool before keeping them in an airtight containers. 

Bon appétit !! 

Chin's Note:

1. The original recipe as for 250g margarine. I replaced with butter & ghee. 

2. Here are some pictures of the process for making these rolls. 

3. There are other moulds used to pipe out the pastry. I find the tools that I have needs a lot of strength, after a few my thumb & fingers hurts. I could be doing it the wrong way. 

4. Added 05/01/2015 - Apparently there is an extension for my mould. Here is a picture of Chirstina's tool to pipe out the pastry. 

Cheese Tarts with Flower Prints

Mini Cheese Tarts with prints.  My first attempt which turned out quite well and yummy.  They were all gone before I get a chance to try one. The feedback from my "tasters", all said yummy.   

A recipe which I adapted from http://www.azlitamasammanis.com, and followed the ingredients measurements closely.

Here is my version of making these tarts:

Part1 - Making tart shells tutorial :- http://youtu.be/EhVgyNr_IXY

Part 2 - Making Mini Cheese Tarts :- http://youtu.be/SHm7PEBZT1A

Mini Cheese Tarts Recipe :

Tart Shells

Ingredients :
170g butter cut into cubes
50g icing sugar
290g All purpose flour, sifted
1 small egg
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
tart moulds

Preparation methods :
1. Put flour and icing sugar in the mixing bowl.  Add in the butter.
2. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles crumbs texture.
3. Add in the vanilla and egg into the mixture, and form a dough ball. Do not knead.
4. Wrap/bag the dough and leave in the fridge for 30mins.
5. Measure each dough for making the tart shell, about 14g or lesser.
6. Shape the tart shell onto the tart mould.  Refer to video tutorial, http://youtu.be/EhVgyNr_IXY
7. Prick holes with fork / toothpick on the dough.
8. Bake in the preheated oven at 170 degree C, for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Take them out from oven and leave them to completely cool, remove from tart shell and store them away or add filling.

Chin's notes :
1. These can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container.
2. Do not knead the dough, just gently make the dough into a ball.
3. My pastry is quite thick on each tart shell, I yet to try thinner pastry with lesser dough.

Cream Cheese Fillings 

Ingredients:
250gm Cream Cheese
50g fine sugar
1 small egg
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
Jam of choice, I used raspberry jam
Colourings for tart decoration

Preparation methods:
1. Put the cream cheese into the mixing bowl,  beat with the electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Continue to beat until well combined. Transfer into a piping bag / plastic bag. If plastic bag is used snip off one of the corner.
3. Prepare colourings red for the flower petals and green for the leaves and set aside.
4. Place some jam onto the tart shell.
5. Pipe in cream cheese mixture onto the jam. I filled it up to the top to get the fuller tart.
6. Smooth with a toothpick.
7. Decorate your cream cheese, draw on the cheese filling with a toothpick.  Remember to clean your toothpick after each application.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degree C for 5 minutes or until cook.
9. After 5 minutes, touch the cheese fillings with your finger, if it comes out clean it is cooked.  If it stains your finger, leave them in the oven for an extra minute or 2 minutes. Watch them closely!!!
10. Take them out from the oven and leave them completely cool.  Keep them cool in the fridge before serving.

Have fun & Bon appétit

Chin's notes :
1. You can choose different jam flavour of your choice.
2. I get about 45 mini cheese tarts.
3. Try to make your tart shells in advance.

Pineapple tarts

All time favourite.  Been wanting to try out this recipe for a long time & I have finally made them.

It has the melting effects but not buttery enough. 

I used a cookies/fondant cutter (pink tool below) to emboss the prints on the pineapple balls. 

Here is the link to recipe from NasiLemak Lover blog: 

http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.fr/2013/02/my-best-melt-in-mouth-pineapple-tarts.html?m=1

My homemade pineapple jam with brown sugar: 

Chinese Egg Tarts

Chinese egg tarts are my kids favourite & I used to buy them.  Since we moved to Paris, I don't see anyone selling but Portuguese egg tarts are easily available. 

I started making these tarts in May 2014, and slowly made some changes to the initial recipe which I followed from Baking's Corner. 

Chinese Egg Tarts 
- adapted from Baking's Corner. 

Makes: 

18 tarts with 2.5" diameter aluminium mould

15 tarts with 3" diameter aluminium mould 

Ingredients for pastry :

260g plain flour

30g icing sugar

150g cold butter ( cut into cubes )

1 egg

Ingredients for filling :

1 cup / 210g fresh milk

3 cold eggs 

80g icing sugar

1 tbsp vanilla essence 

Methods : 

1. To make tart pastry, mix flour & sugar, rub butter into mixture to form crumbs. 

Cold butter cut into cubes on flour and sugar mixture

Crumbs texture

2. Add the egg & combine to form into a dough.  If the dough is too soft / wet, just leave them in the fridge covered for 30 minutes before shaping.

3. Weigh your pastry dough abt 30g for 3" diameter tart mould / 26g for 2.5" diameter.  Make into a ball.

Before shape and after shaped tart pastry

4. Then press pastry into the tart mould. Here is a video on how to shape the pastry into the tart mould.  Shaping tart pastry tutorial : http://youtu.be/lSsXxzuFK70

5. Leave the tart pastry in the fridge while waiting for the filling. 

6. Mix all the filling ingredients together. Sieve the egg mixture to remove impurity. I'll do double sieve. 

Egg impurities

7. Brush some filling mixture onto the pastry. This will give the pastry a little brown during the baking process.

8. Gently pour filling into pastry.  

9.  Bake at 180C for 10 mins then Bake at 160C for 15 - 20 minutes or till cook 

Chin's notes: 

1. If you see your filling ballooning (normally after 15mins of baking). Just open the oven door, until it subsides. I usually needs to open the oven's door 2 - 3 times during baking process. 

Ballooning egg filling during baking

2. To know if your tart is cooked, perform the toothpick test. It should stand tall!

Toothpick test

3. I did not poke on the pastry, I noticed whenever I poked the pastry, it gives lots of tiny bubbles around the egg filings during the baking process. 

4. It is not necessary to flour / grease the aluminium moulds. Just give a little tap on the back, the tart will pops out from the moulds easily. Here is a picture of my aluminium moulds. 

Aluminium moulds

Recipe adapted from

http://bakingscorner.blogspot.sg/2014/06/egg-tart-by-my-niece-alyssa-chng.html?m=1