One Number Baking Ratio Adventures Continues… Grapefruit Cognac Pound Cake With Grapefruit Posset…

INTRODUCTION

One number baking ratio adventures continues and gradually extends to other pastry. I have explained in this post about how I want to apply this ratio to cup cakes, muffins, fruit cakes, layered cakes and other pound cakes. The main objective is to further testify this ratio and giving assurance that this easy to remember simple ratio will beneficial lazy people like me. Very briefly, Guaishushu believes that egg : flour : sugar : butter : milk (or other liquids) can be 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1, hence called it “one number baking ratio”.  You may also be interested in the following posts based on principle of one number baking ratio:

• 1 Butter + 1 Sugar + 1Egg + 1 Flour + 1 Milk = Pound/Butter Cake- Guaishushu’s Version
• Hey, My Chick Want To Eat My Zebra Pound Cake !
• One Number Ratio Baking Adventures – Layered Pound Cake ………

Today, he is going to twist a little bit to become a fruity pound cake and served with grapefruit posset – a traditional Western drink/dessert.

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ONE NUMBER BAKING RATIO VS FRENCH’S QUATRE à QUATRE

As one reader pointed out that the ratios that I am using is basically the “quatre à quatre” ratio used in French cake making and I am basically just reinventing the wheels and revert back to the traditional ratios.

I tends to agree  with this and in fact, I am ignorant about the above ratios before the reader pointed out. I have to thank him for his knowledgeable input.

It is really a coincidence that all the while I am fond of using one number and it would be ideal if it applies to all cakes. I have written in the reply to the reader: I do not think that I am brilliant enough to create a good theory as cooking is just my passion! However, if you analyse in details,“quatre à quatre” ratio differs from Guaishushu’s “one number baking ratio” in that there is a portion of milk (or other liquids) which I insisted to be included in this ratio. So, Guaishushu is just promoting this modified traditional ratios instead of remembering different ratios for different ingredients and for different cakes.

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WHY THIS CAKE?

Grapefruit again? Yes, though Guaishushu just issued a post on Grapefruit Chiffon Cake – Grapefruit Chiffon with Grapefruit Citrus Glaze,… Ever Try This?, however, as grapefruit is very cheap in Singapore this month, I can’t help but to grab another 5 large and juicy grapefruits for SGD2.85 and I am thinking of preparing some other cakes with this fruit. While thinking of what cake to bake, i realized that I have a cognac sitting in my kitchen shelf for many years that I have never used it because I am allergic to alcohol. In fact, when I tried to open it, the cork on the bottle have broken (too dry) and I have to sift the alcohol and transfer to another small bottles.

This cake is rather simple to make and again it is based on Guaishushu’s one number baking ratio. To make is slightly different, I have substituted some portion of milk with grapefruit juices and  addition of some grapefruit peels. With the aim of differentiating this cake with other cakes, I have made the cake slightly pinkish and of course all these colouring are optional.

Note that the recipe applies equally well to an orange cake. Just substitute grapefruits with oranges.

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SELECTION OF GRAPEFRUITS AND PREPARATION OF GRAPEFRUIT PEELS

I will take this opportunity to share with readers about the selection of grapefruits that are juicy after many years of observation!

The grapefruits on the left were smooth with lights reflection. As it is smooth, it implied that the air holes in the skin are very small and therefore moisture loss will be less than the grapefruit on the right. As contrast to grapefruit on the left, grapefruit on the right appeared to have more holes and if you touch it, you will find some unevenness on the surface. More moisture will be lost and at times, it will feel a bit like a sponge when you squeeze it. Therefore, when one buy a grapefruit, just ensure that it is smooth and full when you squeeze it.

Preparing The Grapefruit Peels

I am peeling the grapefruit using the above peeler. I just peel in the S shape and a nice pattern will evolve. Try not to peel too deep as the white spongy skin can be rather bitter. Make sure the grapefruits or oranges was thoroughly wash before it the peeling begins. Cut into small strips and chopped fine before adding to the batter as required below.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

 

• 250 grams of white sugar (divided into 100 grams for beating of egg whites and 150 grams for beating of egg yolks)

• 250 grams of self raising flours (sifted)

• about 250 grams of egg white and egg yolks (about 5 eggs separated into egg yolks and egg whites) (Note below for calculation)

• 150 grams of milks (Note below for calculation) – Balancing

• 100 grams of grapefruit juice (Note below for calculation) – Fixed

• 150 gram of grapefruit peels

• 5 tablespoons of rum or any other alcoholic drinks (cognac, whisky or others) – Optional

• 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar (optional)

Note: Calculation of liquid required

In accordance to one number baking ratio – eggs plus milk should be equal to 500 grams.

Today, my eggs yolks and egg whites worked out to be  298 grams, therefore, the balancing of milk used is 500 grams (total milk + eggs) less 100 grams (grapefruit juice) less 298 grams (egg yolks + egg whites) =  102 grams of milk (actual usage after considering egg size)

 

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

The steps of preparation will involve:

• Beating of egg whites , creaming of butters, mixing of flours and folding of egg whites

• Making of pinky patterns (optional)

• Baking

• Making the grapefruit posset (optional)

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Preparation…

• Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius

• Lightly grease an 8” diameter baking tin preferably with a detachable base.

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Beating of egg whites , creaming of butters, mixing of flours and folding of egg whites…

• In a clean, grease free mixing bowl, add egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar. Beat using the machine whisk to whisk the egg whites until firm peak. Spoon the filling into a clean bowl and set aside for later use.

• Change your whisk to a K beater, place your remaining 150 g sugar and butter, beat until light and creamy.

• Add in the grapefruit peels and eggs yolks and use slow speed to “mix” until well mixed. Eggs yolk should be added one by one and scrap the bottom of the bowl to ensure no unmixed egg yolk settled at the bottom of the mixing bowl.

• Add in 1/3 of the sifted flours, add in 1/3 of milk and 1/3 of the grapefruit juice, used slow speed to mix together. Repeat for the other 2/3 portion. Off the machine and bring out the mixing bowl.

• Once well mixed, fold in the egg white swiftly and lightly until the batter are smooth.

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Making of pinky patterns (optional)…

• Take out about 1/4 of the of the batter and add 2 drops of red colouring (optional). Mix well.

• In the greased cake tin (note that I have also slightly floured it but this is optional), start with 4 big tablespoons of the beige batter. Add 2 tablespoons of pink batter on top of the beige batters. Shake it slightly so that the batter spread over a wider surface. Add another 3 tablespoons of beige batter on top of the pink batters follow by 1 tablespoon of pink batter on top of the beige batter. Do the same for the next step using 2 tablespoons and finally one tablespoon until all the batter have finished. In the event you still have left over, just create another pattern with the batter that you have!

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Baking….

• Shake the baking tin slightly and baked at 180 degree Celsius from the first 30 minutes.

• Reduce the temperature to 150 degree Celsius and bake for another 15 minutes or until the top turn yellowish brown and until a skewer comes out clean.

• Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 1 hour before cutting the cake. It is best to let it rest overnight if time permits.

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Making of Grapefruit Posset

WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 120 grams of white sugar

• 1.5 cups of cream

• 150 grams of grapefruit

Note: Most posset will called for double thick cream, however, since I wanted it to use as some form of toppings, I will use normal cream for whipping. As such, the curdling will not be less strong and easier to pour.

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STEPS OF PREPARATOIN

• In a sauce pan, place the cream and sugar.

 

• Cooked under low heat and bring to boil and let it boil slowly for 2-3 minutes.

• Off the heat and add in the grapefruit juice. Chilled for at least 3 hours or overnight.

• Pour on top of the cake and let it drip naturally.

Note that whether you posset will successfully curdled will very much depends on the acidity of your grapefruit. If your grapefruit is sour, it will curdle easily. If it can’t curdle, add in few drops of fresh lemon juice. The use of normal cream and grapefruit juice will produce a posset that are slightly runny which is easier for you to pour on top of the cakes.

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CONCLUSION

A simple cake to make using one number baking ratio. However, the twist to add in grapefruit peels and cognac transformed it into a cake that is full of fruity and cognac fragrance. While posset is generally served with biscuits, the modified grapefruit posset goes well with this cake and will heighten and wake up one’s palate especially  with a cup of Earl Grey tea!

Hope you like this cake and have a nice day. Cheers

I am submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up “Eggs” event organized by organized by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by (Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out). You can link your egg recipes here.

I am also submitting this to #recipeoftheweek and Marvelous Monday and Welcome to all My Bloggy Friends

    

Hey, My Chick Want To Eat My Zebra Pound Cake !

INTRODUCTION

First of all, I have to mention that this is a pound cake recipe of which the proportion is different from the normal butter cake recipe. It is a tweet to include zebra patterns in the pound cake.

I do not know when was zebra cake (sorry for my ignorance) became popular, however I sensed that it is a trendy cake (correct me if I am wrong) and it is nothing more than a marble cake or another form of butter cake. I didn’t do much research about this cake. I am just curious about why the pattern inside the cake looked like zebra pattern and how others did it. I simply pick up one blog, http://annieliciousfood.blogspot.sg that showed how Annie did her pattern and I took a cake tin and started preparing the cake.

I (or Guaishushu that used interchangeably)  have a bad habit. Guaishushu don’t like to follow recipes. Guaishushu don’t like to remember numbers.

Therefore Guaishushu insisted on using his own pound cake recipe that he had shared in the post  1 Butter + 1 Sugar + 1Egg + 1 Flour + 1 Milk = Pound/Butter Cake-Guaishushu’s Version. In this post, Gusishushu have simplified his pound cake recipe following the traditional pound cake recipe whereby the volume of sugar = the volume of butter = the volume of egg = the volume of flour = the volume of milk. Rather unexpectedly, the pound or butter cake that he had prepared were moist, soft and almost flat (with slight cracks due to uneven temperature in the oven which is something that bother Guaishushu).

In his simple mind, he thought naively that how easy if one do not need to remember the individual volume of the cake ingredients. He knows exactly that he wanted to explore more butter or pound cake recipes to validate his beliefs.

Therefore, this recipe is based on equal ratio theory of all traditional pound cake ingredients. Traditionally (1700s and earlier), this method was used as there are no calculators, no measuring scales and this is the easiest way of making a cake. Subsequently, the ratios of butter and flour start to change, new ingredients (such as milk) were added. If readers want to read more about the pound cake history, you can refer Pound Cake, History Pound Cake, Pound Cake History, Cake History.

In this post, Guaishushu will also share some short cut method based on his limited theory of baking background so as to speed up the process of preparation. The constant search of short cutting traditional method of cake preparation is a result of reader’s constant requests of “simplifying the preparation process.”

Well most of the time, Guaishushu cut short his own preparation steps either from view point of conserving natural resources (electricity or water) or time… As long as it resulted with a cake of the same textures and tastes, he will consider the cake as successful and willing to share. Baking expert readers, Guaishushu’s method can be rather controversial and of course will not yield the results that are commercially acceptable due to the lack of professional baking equipment and etc..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 250 grams of white sugar (separated into 100g for egg white (meringue) preparation and 150g of egg yolk portion)

• 250 grams (about 5 eggs) – separated into egg whites and egg yolks.

• 250 grams (milk)

Important note:

As mentioned in 1 Butter + 1 Sugar + 1Egg + 1 Flour + 1 Milk = Pound/Butter Cake-Guaishushu’s Version, the milk is the balancing figures between eggs and milk due to the size of the eggs. Today, the actual milk used is = (500 grams (milk and egg portion) – 58 grams x 5)=210 g of milk

• 250 grams of self raising flours (sifted)

• 250 grams of salted butter at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

• 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder (sifted)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

The steps of preparation will involve:

• Beating of egg whites

• Creaming of butters

• Folding of flours and egg whites

• Making of zebra patterns

• Baking

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Preparation…

• Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius

• Lightly grease an 8” x 8” baking tin preferably with a detachable base.

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Beating of egg whites…….

• In a clean, grease free mixing bowl, add egg whites and sugar (if you want, you can add in 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar which is optional).

• Beat using the machine whisk to whisk the egg whites until firm peak. Spoon the filling into a clean bowl and set aside for later use.

Note:

If you compare this step with this post, you will note that Guaishushu have put the sugar together with the egg whites and start the beating the process. He did not add in the sugar gradually as usually advised! – Tips 1. If you wish, you can follow that method as in the first post.

• Change your whisk to a K beater (look at the second picture for the shape). Place your remaining 150 g sugar and butter, beat until light and creamy.

• Add in the vanilla essence and eggs yolks and use slow speed to “mix” until well mixed. Eggs yolk should be added one by one and scrap the bottom of the bowl to ensure no unmixed egg yolk settled at the bottom of the mixing bowl.

• Off the machine and bring out the mixing bowl.

Note:

You can use the same mixing bowl that you beat the egg white earlier. You need not to wash the mixing bowl before you placed your butter and sugar – Tips 2. This is only possible if you beat the egg white earlier that the butter batter. But you have to be fast because you do not want the egg white to lose the air support. Most recipes will ask you to use another clean bowl and beat the egg whites just before you fold the egg whites. Theoretically, this is correct but the error of my suggestion will not have a material impact on the cake you bake! Therefore, if you like short cut and avoid washing, you can follow my method. 

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Folding of flours and egg whites…..

• Use a big metal spoon or wooden spoon or a spatula, quickly and swiftly fold in fresh milk and the sifted flours. Alternate between fresh milk and sifted flours.

• Once well mixed, fold in the egg white swiftly and lightly until the batter are smooth.

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The Making of Zebra Patterns….

• Separate the batter into two portion. Put the sifted chocolate powder in one bowl and use a metal spoon to stir lightly until well mixed. Stirring action is just like folding of flours and it should be quick and light.

• In the greased cake tin (note that I have also slightly floured it but this is optional), start with 4 big tablespoons of the beige batter. Add 4 tablespoons of chocolate batter on top of the beige batters. Shake it slightly so that the batter spread over a wider surface. Add another 3 tablespoons of beige batter on top of the chocolate batters follow by 3 tablespoons of chocolate batter on top of the beige batter. Do the same for the next step using 2 tablespoon and finally one tablespoon until all the batter have finish. In the event you still have left over, just create another pattern with the batter that you have!

• Shake the baking tin slightly and baked at 180 degree Celsius from the first 30 minutes.

• Reduce the temperature to 150 degree Celsius and bake for another 15 minutes or until the top turn yellowish brown and until a skewer comes out clean.

• Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 1 hour before cutting the cake. It is best to let it rest overnight if time permits.

Note: My cake still have cracks but subsequently dropped back to become flat top.

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CONCLUSION

This is an easy to remember recipe due to constant weights used. Nothing much that I need to say here as most of the detailed steps have been covered in this post. Hope you try and let me know whether the cake is delicious. Have a nice day and cheers.

For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit this blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE .

If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 400 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD

 

Devilled Egg- Simplicity Rules…

INTRODUCTION

I loved eggs. Be it poached, fried, boiled, braised I liked it. My kids loved eggs, be it poached, fried or boiled, they loved it any forms. My whole family loved eggs, we fight for eggs, fried rice will definitely come with eggs. eggs cooked in any form will be appreciated. If I am not baking, on the average, we will need about 40 eggs for a month. If I am baking. we will need about 20 eggs per week.

We cooked eggs in omelette form, like salted turnip omelette, braised tofu and eggs, minced taukwa omelette, steamed tofu and eggs and etc. We use eggs in almost all the noodles dishes like Singapore fried prawn noodles, Sarawak Laksa and etc. We used eggs to cook our vegetable dishes such as braised luffa with eggs, and etc. We also used them for soup dishes such as shark fin melon soup and etc. Therefore, you can see that we used eggs almost daily in the foods I cooked.  However, I never cooked any egg dishes from Western cuisines besides the normal hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs.

While I am searching of some eggs recipe, I came across this term devilled eggs! It caught my attention! What is this cuisine? I goggled and managed to get some definition from Wikipedia.

Devilled eggs (US) or devilled eggs or ‘eggs mimosa’ are hard-boiled eggs, shelled, cut in half and filled with the hard-boiled egg’s yolk mixed with other ingredients such as mayonnaise and mustard,but many other variants exist internationally. Devilled eggs are usually served cold. They are served as a side dish, appetizer or a main course, and are a common holiday or party food. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviled_egg)

There are many many recipes in the internet and most of which I can’t followed as it utilizes ingredients that I do not have. Therefore, I have decided to prepare my own devilled eggs based on the ingredients that I have.

This is a simple recipe and easily tailored to meet your families taste buds. If you love eggs, you will not be able to reject this simple dish!

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 6 eggs

• 1 big tomatoes (optional)

• 1 teaspoon of Italian dried herbs

• 2 tablespoon of mayonnaise

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STEP OF PREPARATION

• Hard boiled the eggs and shelled the eggs.

• Cut off 1/3 top part of the eggs and take out the egg yolks.

• Chopped the tomatoes and top part of the egg whites (1/3 portion). Add in the herbs, few drops of olive oil or cooking oil, pinches of salt and mixed well;

• Scope one table spoon into  your choice of egg holder.

Note, depending on how you want to present your dish, this step is optional if you preferred not to use an egg holder.

• Mash the egg yolks with a big spoon and add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Mash until as finely as possible.

• Add in herbs and mixed well. Spooned the egg yolk into the egg whites portion. Sprinkled with more Italian herbs if desired.

• Can be served as a party snack

Notes

You can cut the eggs into half and make 12. However, because my eggs are rather small, therefore I have decided to cut out 1/2 and retained the remaining two third. Otherwise, if you cut into half, you can cut it symmetrically and cut of the bottom to let it “sit” stably in the plate.

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CONCLUSION

It is rather easy to make this dish and have full flexibility of tailoring to meet your family’s taste buds. It is definitely a good choice of party foods due to its simplicity of preparation but elegant presentation!

Hope you like this short post! Have a nice day!

I am submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up “Eggs” event organized by organized by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by (Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out). You can link your egg recipes here.

What A Golf Ball Have To Do With A Pineapple? Well, It Is The Famous South East Asian Pineapple Tarts (凤梨酥）

This post is updated  on 9th January 2014 with the inclusion of a VEGETARIAN RECIPE. This recipe is egg less, milk less and butter less. Please scroll down towards the end of the post for vegetarian recipe. Both recipes share the same steps of illustration.

Second updates on 20 July 2014 : New Picture Taking

 

INTRODUCTION

I told myself, I must set aside my time to write this post. I have lost my recipe twice. Once, accidentally thrown away by my wife as she thought it is my kids recycle paper and in another incident, I have typed down in a notepad in my old computer but I just can’t locate it when I switched to my new computer. So this time, I told myself that I must publish in my blog so that I have multiple copies and if I lost it, maybe I can still get a copy from my readers ! Ha-ha

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PINEAPPLE TARTS DEFINED

As usual, I will give some standard definition of the food that I am going to post so as to give readers a better understanding on what they are going to prepare! As per Wikipedia:

“Pineapple tarts refer 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.  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.” Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple_tart)

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MAJOR TYPES OF PINEAPPLE TARTS

There are many types of pineapple tarts and the basic types are:

1) The golf ball types or enclosed version. It is also called melt in the mouth types of pineapple tarts. This shall be the recipe that I will share with readers today.

2) The opened version whereby the pineapple jams sits on a flower like pastry.

Source : http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.sg

3) The half enclosed type or Nastar version whereby part of the jams were wrapped with two ends opened.It is also called pineapple rolls

Source: http://www.tastespotting.com

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PREPARATION OF PINEAPPLE TARTS

Preparation of pineapple tarts will involve the following two main parts:

• Preparation of pineapple jam – I will not cover this part in this post. I have made my pineapple jam before but as I did not capture the images here, therefore, I will not share with readers here. Instead, if you are interested to make your own pineapple jam, you can visit this blogger’s video http://.bigheadmagicmad.com on how he makes the pineapple jam. For this illustration, I have opted to use the ready-made jam sold over the counter which can be easily bought in most supermarkets or cake specialty stores in Singapore and Malaysia.

• Shaping of Jams;

• Preparation of Doughs;

• Wrapping of Jams; and

• Baking the Pastry

The steps that I am going to detail here are rather unconventional and “unusual”. This is a method that I have used and found to be the easiest and fruitful method.  If you follow this recipe and preparation illustration strictly, you will get a melt in the mouth buttery pastry. Unlike other posts, I am rather insistent on the method and ingredients used to achieve that quality of tarts made. It is via many trial and error that I have come out with this recipe. There are no corn flours or cream cheeses as in other recipes. The pastry is just using extremely simple ingredients low gluten wheat flours or normal wheat flours, butter, sugar and egg. The recipe uses creaming method as opposed to the rubbing method but provide equally light pastry that melts in your mouth.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 1 kg  of pineapple jam.

• 500g of plain flour

• 350g of salted butter (softened at room temperature)

• 50g of icing sugar

• 4 egg yolks (note that in the picture there are some egg whites which is not supposed to be there)

• 4 tablespoons of icy cold water. You can have 3 tablespoons of water from the fridge and one ice cubes.

• Pinches of salt

• 2 egg yolks (for egg washing)

Pineapple Jams – Personally, I prefer the pineapple jam that are made with the pulps included. It will be slightly sour and fibrous. There are some category labelled  as “premium quantity” (which is made purely from the flesh) but in my humble opinion, the jams will are too sweet and too soft for this golf shape pineapple tarts. 

Salted Butter – I am rather insistent that it must be pure butter. No vegetable oil and mixture of vegetable oil and animal fats. Put aside the health issues, the fats selected must have high fat content!

Icy cold water – It is very important to have ice-cold water to incorporate air into the dough. When it is ice-cold, butter will not melt that soon and therefore, it is less likely to have a sticky dough.

Icing sugar – It must be icing sugar as the sugar must be extremely fine so that you don’t have any sugars that are not dissolved in the pastry due to the special handling of this dough.

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SHAPING OF JAMS

• Cut over the jam package. Use your best estimation to divide the jam equally. I am making about 1oo jam balls for 1 kg of pineapple jams. About 10 g per balls.

• When shaping the balls, you may find it extremely sticky. Pat your hands with some clean water. the balls that you made will become very smooth. If you have excessive water in your hands, your balls will become very slippery and it will drop.

• Get ready a plastic container, arranged it nicely layer by layer. In between the layer, add a piece of plastic sheet to separate the balls. This step is also deemed to be a must if you are following my methods later.

• Once you have shaped all the jams, stored in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Don’t worry if your jam looks like an iron ball, that is ideal if you can constantly keep it in that way. Well this is a rather controversial step.

Notes

This step is preferably done the day before. Even not, should be at least 3-4 hours before. Unless you are an expert, you can wrap with immediately shaped balls, otherwise, 3-4 hours preparation, in my humble opinion is a must. You will know the reasons why very soon.

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PREPARING THE DOUGHS…..

• Sift your flours, if possible two times in a container. Set aside for later use.

• In  a mixing bowl, placed your butter and sugar. Beat until creamy.

• Add in the egg yolks one by one, reduce your speed to slow and beat until the yolk were well mixed

• Take out the mixing bowl and fold in the flours using a big metal spoon as lightly as possible.

• Alternate with icy cold water until all the flours and water have been added and well mixed.

• Scope into a plastic container and put inside the refrigerator and let it cool for at least 1/2 to 1 hour.

Notes:

The harder it is, the easier for you to wrap. If you know how to handle this type of soft dough, you can wrap directly. However, for my wrapping method to be shared below, it is advisable for you to cool your dough until the butter start to solidify a bit.

If you are making a big batch of pineapple tarts, to save your electricity and effort, you can make the dough all at once at keeping it in the fridge. It can keep for a long period of time (at least more than a week) provided you only take the portion that you want for that session and keep all the rest in the fridge until you need it for the next session.

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WRAPPING THE DOUGHS AND ….

Here is the fun and controversial part.

I will show you the traditional way of wrapping and then show you my own way of wrapping to increase your productivities.

My unique way of wrapping was discovered by me during one of the nights just before Chinese New Year when I have to rush out the orders for my customers. The time is already very late, almost 11:00 pm. Nobody is helping me as my wife and my kids have to sleep early as they have to attend the school next day. I have to make at least 2 kg  jam equivalent of pineapple tarts (about 240 pineapple tarts). I am tired as nobody was helping me, I suddenly felt the urge to discontinue the making of the tarts. I threw all the balls into the dough, walked to the balcony and take a rest. After 15 minutes when I cooled down, I tried to salvage the situation and that I discovered this method was the best method so far. Subsequent testing confirmed that this was the easiest and with the thinnest dough. However, there are a few requisites that you must follow strictly as what I have described above and subsequently.

• Shape your dough into 10 grams each.

• Flattened the dough, take a jam ball and put on top of it. Wrap it and shaped into a round ball.

You can use this method but since the objective is to have a mouthful pineapple tart. The pastry must be light and melt in your mouth. The flattening of dough may result in over handling of dough that yields harder crust eventually.  

• Pre-heat your oven to  180 degree Celsius.

• Take out your dough, and use a spoon to slightly loosen the dough.

• Take the jam balls from the freezer and throw, say, the first layers of the hard jam balls into the dough container. Put the rest back to the freezer.

• Put some dough on top of the balls and rolled the balls on top of the hard dough.

• Shape the dough following the shape of the round hard jam balls and put in the baking trays.

Note:

This is a very important step, the harder the balls, the better it is for you to shape. The cold temperature of the balls will help to make the butter in the dough in solid form and resulting in light pastry crust.

As long as the dough covers the balls, you can start shaping it. Hard balls made your shaping very easy and give your final pineapple tarts an identical shape.

You need to time to make the tarts and at the same time, your balls will start to defrost. Therefore it is a must that you put it back into the freezer for it to get hard again. Rubbing the balls against the dough is very fast and quickly enclosed your jam balls.

• First egg wash before you  send the tarts into the oven. For egg wash, hand beaten 2 egg yolks and add 2 big tablespoons of water and 2 drops of oil. Sift and put in a container. Use a brush to lightly brush the tarts.

• Put the tarts into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 

• 15 minutes after baking, take out the tray and have the second egg wash. By now, your tarts will start to take shape and firmer, so you can apply the egg wash more liberally. But care still have to be taken because it is “melt in your mouth”, when it is hot, it is still very “fragile”. so handle with care!!

• After 5 minutes, take out the tarts and your mission is completed.

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Updated picture

Pineapple tarts prepared on January 2014

 

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CONCLUSIONS

• This is a rather controversial way of making the tarts. However, the tarts that you made will really melt in your mouth.

• It is unusual for me to say that you have to follow my exact steps but for this pastry, you have to follow very closely. Even 1 tablespoon less icy water may make your final products very floury.

• The order of procedures have to be adhered very closely. Too high the temperature will make your dough sticky and finally your products become very hard. In addition, it will be rather difficult to handle if both the jam and the dough become sticky.

• The selection of the ingredients are very important. I personally prefer animal fats with high fat content with no compromise. In addition, the jam preferably will include some pulp as it will not be too sweet and too sticky.

• Practice made perfect! It is not tough but you must have that feeling of touch so if you fail your first attempt, you should not be deter to try the second time.

 

Hope you like the post and have a nice day. Cheers

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UPDATED ON 9 JANUARY 2014 WITH INCLUSION OF VEGETARIAN PINEAPPLE TARTS

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Every year I have to prepare two types of pineapple tarts: normal pineapple tarts and vegetarian pineapple tarts. Vegetarian pineapple tarts means that there are NO EGGS, NO BUTTER AND NO MILK. Therefore, it is acceptable for vegetarian by religion – particularly Buddhism.

Eggs have the ability to provide fragrance and binding effect of the tarts. These are substitute by corn flour. For egg wash purposes, honey is used instead of egg yolks. Of course the results will be less shinny like those egg washed by egg yolks. As for butter, it is substituted with margarine or other vegetable fats. In this recipe, it was 50% of margarine and 50% of olive oil bread spread. The end products will have some fragrance of olive oil. No detail illustration will be provided except the recipe. It is nice and slightly crispier than traditional pineapple tarts minus the butter aroma. It is definitely acceptable to me when I am on a vegetarian diet.

VEGETARIAN PINEAPPLE TARTS RECIPES

• 1 kg  of pineapple jam.（凤梨酱）

Dough

• 400g of plain flour (面粉）
• 200g of corn flour （玉米粉）
• 175g margarine (Planta) （植物油）
• 175g olive oil spread (can be substitute with margarine) （橄榄油-涂面包所用）
• 50 g of icing sugar (糖粉）
• Pinches of salt (少许盐）

“Egg Washing”

• 1 tablespoon of honey with 1.5 tablespoon of water/soya milk – mixed well （1汤匙蜂蜜+1.5 汤匙的水或豆奶）

It is hoped that with this recipe, more people will be able to enjoy the South East Asian famous pineapple tarts. If you are on a gluten free diet, you can try to substitute the plain flour with gluten free flour

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