Gulung Pineapple Tart

Suddenly i'm in mood for making pineapple tarts! Not the open top type....not the ball type....but the rolled type...oh yeah..the messy type!

During the CNY festival this year, i made my very first pineapple tart...open top type. It was a hit among my family that i had to 'hide' them in a secluded spot in a cabinet....hehe. The pastry wasn't the melt in mouth type but wasn't the overly crunchy type either. The sweetness of the jam was just right and everything was just right. So i tot to myself, since this is a success, maybe i should try making the rolled type pineapple tarts next round.

Last chirpy sweet Sunday morning, i woke up as early as 630am...(as usual the weirdo me who refuses to sleep more than 5 hrs in the weekend) and started my baking session. I made the pineapple jam from a fresh pineapple the day before so that i won't end up torturing my shortie legs from standing for 5 hrs...oh by the way, did i mention that i bought my tiny pineapple for only RM 1.20? Haha! Pretty cheap! I thought that since this would be an experimental pineapple tart, i should opt for a small cheap pineapple.

So here's what i gathered:
For the Jam:

• 1 fresh pineapple, grated
• Sugar
• A lil cinnamon powder
• Some Cloves

Drain 3/4 of the grated pineapple juice and transfer the remaining 1/4 juice + the pineapple pulps to a pot. Cook the grated pineapple over low fire on the stove and stirring them frequently to ensure thorough cooking. Add in cloves and cinnamon powder to the grated pineapple (judge the amount of cloves by yourself...just how much tolerance you have against the spices! hehe!) Add in sugar slowly to taste....make sure your pineapple jam taste sweeter than usual...as to balance the buttery pastry taste later. The finished product should be sticky and able to be rolled into balls without much hassles.

For the Pastry: courtesy of my cousin...Sue Sue

• 1 kg of plain flour (DB used 350g plain flour)
• 450g of butter, softened to room temperature (DB used 180g butter)
• 4 eggs (DB used 1 large egg)
• Egg Yolk for glazing

Preheat the oven to 180DC. Combine the flour and butter using the 'rub-in' method. The mixture should appear somewhat like breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, pour in the eggs. Mix well. Do not over knead the dough...otherwise it will affect the texture of the pastry. Pipe out the pastry with a relevant plastic mould into a long strip and cut into 5cm length. Place the prepared rolled jam onto the cut strips and roll the pastry to seal. Place the rolled tarts onto baking sheets. Brush some egg yolk onto the tarts and bake them in oven for 12-15 minutes. Do not overbake these babies. Cool them and store them in an airtight container. Pineapple tarts are best to be consumed within 2 weeks to avoid growth of 'foreign organism'....brain wanders now?? huhuhu!

Notes: I have only 180g of butter in my fridge. So i adjusted the rest of the pastry ingredients. The dough appeared dry, hence i added some unsweetened soy milk to yield a moist and pipe-able dough.
*Warning* - The whole process was rather messy...so be prepared!

Verdict : The pastry wasn't the melt in mouth type. It's probably because the adjustments i made. But my mom and dad loves them. They preferred the pastry slightly crunchy rather than powdery melt in mouth type...hmmm...i'm not satisfied though. I shall follow the exact amount of ingredients in my next attempt. Here's a picture of my babies :)....wipe your saliva k..

Presenting.......the Gulung (Rolled) Pineapple Tart

Since i have a portion of left over dough from making the tarts, i turned them into butter raisin cookies...hehhee...honestly...i'm more satisfied with this than the pineapple tart...nevertheless, my determination to attempt a second round of pineapple tart will never diminish!