Singapore Style Pineapple Tarts

Ingredients

Filling

• 4 fresh pineapple
• 400 g caster sugar
• 4 cm piece cinnamon sticks
• 1 star anise, use 4 segments
• 4 cloves
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice or lime juice

Crust

• 340 g plain flour
• 340 g cake flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 450 g butter, cubed (Lurpak is great)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 50 ml ice water
• 2 beaten eggs, for glaze

Directions

1. 1

   Filling.

2. 2

   To make the jam, grate the pineapple coarsely.

3. 3

   Combine the grated pineapple with the rest of the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan and cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is almost dry.

4. 4

   Set aside to cool.

5. 5

   Pastry dough.

6. 6

   Put sifted flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.

7. 7

   Rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

8. 8

   Beat in the egg yolk and add ice-cold water and essence.

9. 9

   Mix well to form a dough.

10. 10

    Place in a plastic bag and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

11. 11

    Roll pastry out to 0.5 cm thickness on a lightly-floured tabletop and cut out rounds with a pie cutter.

12. 12

    Fill each piece of cut-out pastry with pineapple jam filling.

13. 13

    Pinch a small neat frill aroud the edging.

14. 14

    Cut thin strips of pastry to form a lattice on top of each pie.

15. 15

    Glaze the strips with beaten egg.

16. 16

    Place tarts on a greased baking tray and bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes.

17. 17

    Reduce the temperature to 170°C and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden.

18. 18

    Turn tarts out to cool on a wire rack before storing in air-tight containers.