Recipe Support-Taiwanese Pineapple Tart

Pineapple tarts refers to small, bite-size pastries filled with or topped with pineapple jam found in different parts of Asia. In South East Asia exists one form of Pineapple tart. A different form of pineapple tart, also known as Pineapple pastry or Pineapple cake is found in Taiwan.

The pastry consists of a large proportion of butter and egg yolk, besides using corn starch, giving it a rich, buttery, tender and melt-in-the-mouth texture. The pineapple jam is usually made by slowly reducing and caramelizing grated fresh pineapple that has been mixed with sugar and spices – usually cinnamon, star anise and cloves.

Typical shapes include a flat, open tart topped with pineapple jam under a lattice of pastry, rolls filled with jam that are open at the ends and jam-filled spheres.

Considered a “festive cookie”, pineapple tarts are usually consumed during Hari Raya,Chinese New Year and Deepavali periods in Singapore and Malaysia. However, they are sold all year round by commercial bakeries and by souvenir stores serving tourists.The Taiwanese version of Pineapple Tart is known as Fènglísū (鳳梨酥). The filling is fully enclosed within a rectangular tart. Generally the taste is sweet due to sugar added. However, some bakers add or even substitute pineapple with winter melon to make the jam less tart as well giving a less fibrous texture to the filling.