Malaysian pineapple tarts
MAKES: about 30 tarts Ingredients 1 quantity almond pate sablee 1 egg, whisked, for egg wash PINEAPPLE JAM: 750ml (3 cups) pineapple puree 330g (1 1⁄2 cups) sugar
Method
To make the pineapple puree, roughly blitz 750g of fresh pineapple or tinned pineapple rings, drained. If using tinned, reduce the amount of sugar for the jam to 220g (1 cup).
To make the pineapple jam, combine the pineapple puree and sugar in a medium non-stick saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and stir every few minutes, until the jam reduces to a thick paste with no remaining liquid. As the mixture thickens, you will have to stir more frequently. Spread out on a dinner plate to cool, then with wet hands roll into balls the size of small marbles. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced. To cut out the tart bases, lightly flour your work surface. Roll out the pastry until 5–7mm thick, then cut the bases using a 4cm round pastry cutter. Cut out all the bases at once, to streamline your tasks.
Next, press the back of a melon baller into the centre of each tart base, to make a half-sphere indentation. If you want to decorate each tart more, use the blunt end of a skewer to stab a ring of small dimples around the edge of each base.
Brush with the egg wash, including around the sides, then pop a ball of the pineapple jam into the indentation and press to flatten the surface slightly.
Bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Cool completely on a wire rack, before storing in an airtight container. These will easily keep for up to 3 weeks. ALMOND PATE SABLEE: MAKES: about 850g pastry Ingredients: 180g caster sugar
100g (1 cup) almond meal 260g (1 3⁄4 cups) plain flour
1⁄8 tsp salt
Finely grated zest of 1 orange 200g chilled unsalted butter, cut into 2cm dice 1 small egg
Method
Pulse the sugar, almond meal, flour, salt and orange zest in a food processor until combined. Add the butter, and pulse until sandy. Add the egg, and process until the mixture begins to bind into a ball. Tip on to a clean work surface, and pat into a thick disc. Cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The recipes on this page are from Poh Bakes 100 Greats by Poh Ling Yeow (Murdoch Books, RRP $39.99).