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Pineapple tarts have to be one of our favourite pastries for Chinese New Year in Singapore!
I super, super love pineapple tarts. These little tarts are usually made using butter, egg yolk, flour, and occasionally corn starch and milk powder. From its ingredient list, you’ll know that this is a rich, buttery and tender pastry!
This year, I saw this salted egg yolk pineapple tart, shared by Zoe on a Facebook group I am in. It sounds interesting, and since my husband loves salted egg yolk, I thought of trying it out.
I was glad I did!
若想阅读中文版本，请在网页的右边 “Google Translate” 点击选择 中文简体 (Chinese Simplified）或 繁体 (Chinese Traditional) 翻译。可能食谱读起来会怪怪的，所以如果有疑问都可以问哦！
These pineapple tarts have a melt-in-mouth texture, but are sturdy enough to hold and stack in containers. The tarts carry a subtle salted egg yolk taste, which is something different from the usual pineapple tarts we eat.
I have also read that this pastry is best made into enclosed tarts instead of open ones, since it can be quite delicate to be made into open tarts.
>> MORE CHINESE NEW YEAR COOKIE RECIPES:
I also tried to tweak the recipe by adding in more salted egg yolks, reduced the butter; however the tarts were just too tender and crumbly, so I have to say this version is still the best!
Delicate and buttery pineapple tarts with a subtle salted egg yolk taste to accentuate the butter taste. Great for adding a modern twist to the traditional tarts!
- 200 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 80 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g salted egg yolks (about 5)
- 260 g plain flour
- 80 g corn starch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp milk
- 720 g pineapple jam filling, homemade or store bought
- Gold leaf optional
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Prepare the salted egg yolks by steaming them over medium-high heat for 15mins. Let them cool to almost room temperature.
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Prepare the pineapple jam filling by rolling them into balls of 10g each. Place into a large container and chill in fridge till ready to be used.
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Also prepare the egg wash by whisking the yolk and milk together. Sift the mixture. Cling wrap and place into fridge till ready to be used.
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Beat the softened butter and icing sugar using a whisk or mixer, until well combined and creamy. This should take about 1 minute. Take note to not over-whisk the mixture.
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Add in vanilla extract and whisk well.
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Sift flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture above. Place the cooked salted egg yolks on the sieve and press through the sieve using a spatula or spoon. Discard any large particles that cannot be pressed through.
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Mix the ingredients to a dough using a spatula. I use a cutting motion while rotating the bowl. You would also need to press the dough slightly against the bowl, or use your hand to knead gently, to make into a soft and pliable dough. You do not need to rest the dough; however I cling wrap and chilled the dough for 15 mins for better handling.
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Preheat your oven to 160C. Line baking tray with baking paper. Remove pineapple jam balls from the fridge.
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Weigh out your pastry dough to 10g each, and roll them into balls.
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Flatten the dough slightly. Place pineapple jam in the middle and bring the edges of the pastry dough together. Press at the edges to seal. Roll the dough between your palms lightly to shape it into a round ball.
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Repeat for the remaining dough and place the rolled tarts on lined baking tray.
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Using a brush, egg wash the rolled tarts on the top surface and slightly on the sides. Always press out excess egg wash before applying onto the rolled tarts - less is always better, as you can always add on more egg wash.
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Bake for about 20 mins, or until the egg wash is light golden brown in color.
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Once baked, cool in the baking tray for 10 mins before transferring to wire rack to cool completely before storing in airtight container.
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To apply gold leaf, cool the tarts completely. Using a tweezer, lift up a small portion of the gold leaf gently, and place onto the top of the tart. Using a small brush, pat down the gold leaf to help it adhere. Be careful because the gold leaf is very light weight and can stick to our fingers or work surface.
1 salted egg yolk is about 15g - 20g, so I use 5 salted egg yolks.
You can also see my link for homemade pineapple paste. You can omit the spices if you are feel that the spices will be overwhelming for the subtle salted egg yolk taste.
For easier making of the tarts, you can prepare the dough the day before; roll out the pineapple jam balls the day before too. On day of baking, simply assemble and bake 🙂
Recipe from BakeForHappyKids, with adaptations of method and tips.
Hi Cherie, I just love anything with salted egg yolk so this is my definitely must try recipe since I had most ingredients in hand. I made these salted egg pineapple tarts yesterday and i got to say it very delicious. Love that it melt in your mouth, not in your hand. Hehe…but can you share how did you get them to bake into beautiful balls without losing it’s shape? Mine lost it’s ball shape and became like a melted pyramid shape instead.
Hello there Nadia!
So sorry for my late reply as I was trying to recover from a bad gastric flu earlier this week!
Thanks for the rating, appreciate much 😉 For me, I find it easier to bake these pineapple balls when the pineapple paste is rolled and stored in the refrigerator overnight. The pineapple paste would firm up in the fridge, and makes the wrapping much easier. Also, while baking, the soft pastry will then take on the shape of the pineapple paste as it bakes. Hope this helps!
– Cherie (Sorry I am replying from another username because I am having some troubles with the login! lol)
Thank you for your tips Cherie. I’ve made it for the 2nd time and the shape did hold itself perfectly. 🙂 These salted egg yolk pineapple tart sure is irresistible.