Pineapple Tarts (Buttery Melt-in-your-mouth version)

This year, I decided to make my own pineapple tarts after getting hooked on cooking/baking!!  My sister in law also mentioned before that she prefers the opened-version rather than the closed version.  And because it looks more beautiful.. I decided to source for the open-version type.  I made some "horse-shaped" version after my "piggy" version just for fun for Louis.  It's a hit!!

There are few receipes that I sourced for.  The 1st recipe I tried wasn't really fantastic.  The crust is too dry and not much buttery taste - actually it's quite blend. hmmm.. FAILED. Maybe it's me.....

Then I proceed on sourcing again.. Angela Chia's blog. Looks good and delicious.. and there's many comments about it.  But I checked if it's good for open-version pastry, she said it's no good as it'll be too soft.  ok... so I KIV-ed this recipe.

Then! I found the perfect recipe for our family! I tried it and everyone loves it! It's from the The Little Teochew blog.  The pastry is buttery, flaky, melt in your mouth (not in your fingers!).  Yummy yummy!  I don't usually eat Pineapple tarts mainly because I found it too sweet.  This version I find it quite good.  Have a try! If you would like to... :)

Pineapple Paste
I bought pre-packed ones at $5 at Phoon Huat.  Save the trouble of making it myself.

Recipe for Pastry
- 400g plain flour*
- 50g corn flour
- 280g soften salted butter (Original recipe: cold, unsalted butter) - Sister in law mentioned some savory taste with sweet paste will blend well - so I tried and it works!
- 3 egg yolks, beaten
- 6 tbsp icing sugar**
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla essence)
- For glaze, mix 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water

NOTE:
I omitted these when making my pastry:
- 1/4 (heaped) tsp salt (because I used salted butter)
- 3 tbsp cold/ice water

* The original recipe called for 450g plain flour. I changed it to 400g plain flour + 50g corn flour to make the dough more "melty".** The recipe called for 4 tsp castor sugar. I used 6 tbsp icing sugar in its stead. I read somewhere that icing sugar helps soft pastry dough keep their shape during baking.

Method
1) Using 1 tsp (7-8g) of the paste, roll it into a ball. Repeat until paste is used up. Chill in fridge until ready to use.

2) Sift flour, Corn flour into a big bowl and set aside.

3) Using an electric mixer, whisk butter and sugar until pale. Add in egg yolk and essence and mix until well combined.

4) Fold in (2) into (3) and mix to form a dough. Let the dough rest and chill in fridge for 20 minutes.

5) Roll out to desired thickness. Cut out dough using cutter. Arrange neatly onto baking tray, with at least 1.5cm apart. Since this is a very buttery, oily pastry, it would be good to use a small portion at a time. Keep the rest covered in the fridge, otherwise it will ooze oil. ***

5. Once you have arranged the tart shells on your tray, glaze them (the entire surface, not just the rims).

6. Place the pre-rolled pineapple jam balls onto the centre of each tart shell.

7. Bake at 160°C for 20 minutes

DONE :)

** Actually I modify quite a number of things and combined Angela and Little Teo Chew's method. Mainly because I felt that rub-in method is very tiring. wahahah!! I'm lazy.............. so I change to whisking method.. :P

*** This recipe is very buttery.  If you let it stay out for a longer period, it will turn soft and it's not easy to work on.  If you left in the fridge as 1 big round dough and don't use it immediately, it will turn hard and not easy to roll out and by the time it's soft enough, it will be too soft... :/ .... hmmm.. So I found my own method.  Before chilling the dough, I'll roll out the dough in cling wrap several pieces into the height you want your tarts to be, then seal the dough with the cling wrap.  Repeat until your dough is used up.  I take out each piece of dough to work on - this way, the remaining dough won't turn soft.  If the piece of dough is too hard by the time you work on it, roll it out again and it will turn manageable - At least it is not one whole chunk!

Roll out dougbefore chilling.. 

I find it works well.  Perhaps you want to try it. :)