Pineapple Tarts (2016 edition)

I told myself I was not going to make pineapple tarts this year. It's just too much effort and physically challenging (for someone of my age) and I figured I'd just wait for friends passing through Singapore to bring back tarts for me to eat. No thanks to Facebook, I keep seeing posts of pineapple tarts spilled across the page, made by my baker/foodie friends. I tried to resist the temptation, really (for almost a day). I admit I have a terrible weakness for pineapple tarts. I've made them every year since I moved to Sydney and had to D.I.Y. these CNY ("Chinese New Year") delicacies to satiate my cravings. After all, it's not CNY until you've had pineapple tarts (and bak kwa, but that's another story).

Apple Frangipane Tart

 

So, I was telling my friend Samuel the other day that I made fish head curry three times in a row prior to posting the recipe for it last week. I explained that I couldn't get it to taste the way I wanted it to, and I couldn't possibly share a recipe for something I'm not happy with. I got it right on the third attempt though, after I figured out who the culprit was - it was the fish curry powder with the Candlenut! So I changed that, made my own curry paste and it turned out almost exactly like I wanted it to.

Börek or Burek (with spinach and cheese)

 

So, I'm not an expert on Burek, nor do I know enough about its cultural background and history to be able to give an accurate account of how it originated. I'm thinking Wikipedia should be fairly reliable, and therefore I quote a few sections from it which provide some insight into this delicious filled pastry.

"Börek (also burek and other variants) is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo (or yufka). It can be filled with cheese, minced meat, or vegetables. Most probably invented in what is now Modern Turkey, in the Anatolian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire in its early era, to become a popular element of Ottoman cuisine.

Börek is also very popular in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, especially in North Africa and throughout the Balkans. The Northern Slavic cuisines, historically developed by people living in close contact with the Turkic peoples of Asia and Europe, also feature derivatives of the börek. Börek is also part of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish traditions. They have been enthusiastically adopted by the Ottoman Jewish communities, and have been described, along with boyos de pan and bulemas, as forming "the trio of preeminent Ottoman Jewish pastries".

Börek has its origins in the Turkish cuisine (cf. Baklava) and is one of its most significant and, in fact, ancient elements of the Turkish cuisine, having been developed by the Turks of Central Asia before their westward migration to Anatolia.

Börek in Turkish language refers to any dish made with yufka. The name comes from the Turkic root bur- 'to twist', (similar to Serbian word savijača (from savijati - to twist) which also describes a layered dough dish)."

 

Alright! Now that we've gotten our history lesson out of the way, it's time to make some Burek. Whenever I discover a new favourite food, my first instinct is to look for the recipe and attempt it at home. I love a good challenge. Some may think it's strange, but I used to look forward to exams when I was in school. It bore different consequences of course, but was a challenge nonetheless.

Best-loved Lemon Tart

My mum has been making this lemon tart since I was a little girl, and it is one of the best-loved desserts in our family. I would like to think that this is the best lemon tart I have ever eaten. I have never known any other version of lemon tart until I came to Australia and noticed that all the lemon tarts sold at cafes and patisseries were different from what I was used to. They were really lemon cream tarts I suppose, as the lemon filling typically contains cream. I have to say that mum's version wins hands down, as I prefer the tart and lemony jam-like filling which is perfectly balanced by the rich, buttery and slighly salty shortcrust pastry. Pure heaven!

Pure Lemon Tart

I decided to call this Pure Lemon Tart simply because unlike classic lemon tarts made with cream, this one doesn't use cream in the lemon filling. The result is a sweet and tangy, curdy and jammy filling that packs a punch, and combined with the tender buttery shortcrust pastry, it's a match made in heaven.

When I was little, I never had any lemon tart other than the one my mum made at home. It was my favourite dessert and I frequently begged her to make it. However, it usually depended on whether lemons were available, or whether they looked fresh, or sometimes it's because my dad prefers lemon pudding to lemon tart (which I still think is not a valid reason not to make it!).

And so, here is mum's recipe for Lemon Tart:

Pure Lemon Tart

Ingredients

Pastry:
150g cold butter, diced into cubes
1 tsp baking powder
225g plain flour
Pinch of salt (about 1/2 tsp)
1 egg yolk (cold) mixed with 1 tbsp ice-cold water
1 tsp lemon juice
A little egg white for brushing

Filling:
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
45g butter, softened
180g caster sugar
1 large egg

Method:

1. To make the pastry: Sift flour with baking powder and add salt. Combine with butter and rub with fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Drizzle over the egg-water mixture and lemon juice, mix and gently bring the dough together to form a ball. Take care not to overwork the dough. Cover in clingwrap and rest in fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper into a circle about 3mm thick. Line a 9-inch / 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin with the pastry. Cut off excess pastry and crimp the edges. Fill up any holes with the excess pastry. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes to prevent shrinkage while baking.
2. Preheat oven to 180C. Blind bake the pastry by lining it with baking paper and filling it with rice/beans/weights. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking paper and weights, and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the base just starts to turn colour. Remove from the oven and brush the inside of the pastry with a little egg white (to seal the pastry and prevent it from getting soggy after the filling is added). Return it to the oven for 1 minute and remove from oven.
3. While the pastry is baking, you can prepare the lemon filling (takes about 5 minutes). Cream butter and sugar, then beat in egg, rind, followed by the lemon juice. Pour into the baked tart shell and bake in oven at 180C for about 20 minutes or until the filling starts to bubble and the top caramelizes to a deep brown colour. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Remove from the tin and place on a serving dish, Cut into wedges and serve. Refrigerate any left over and warm up slightly in the microwave or oven before serving.

Note: If you're one of those who try to reduce the quantity of sugar in recipes, be reminded that if you do, the lemon filling may be too sour, unless you have super sweet lemons! And if you're tempted to add more lemon juice, try not to as there is a chance it might not set properly since there is only 1 egg used in the recipe. Plus it will also be more sour! Happy baking! :)

Galette des Rois

Galette des rois ("King Cake") - a traditonal French cake

This delicious French pastry filled with almond cream has a bit of history linked to it.

The French tradition of serving a frangipane filled tart known as the ’galette des rois’ (or the ’gateau des rois’ in the South of France) on, or around the 6th January, (the first Sunday of each New Year) actually dates back to the 14th century.

The festival takes place around Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas, when the wise men visited baby Jesus. According to tradition, the ‘galette des rois’, was to "draw the kings" to the Epiphany. It goes rather well with a cup of tea or a glass or two of white wine. It is traditionally divided into enough portions for all the people present plus one more for the first poor person that passes by. A lucky charm (une fève - originally a bean but now more often a plastic trinket) is baked inside the galette, and whoever receives the fève is crowned king or queen for the day. 

Source: P-O Life

A lovely almond cream filling encased in thin, crisp and buttery layers of pastry

If you're using ready-made frozen puff pastry, then making this is really easy. The filling is basically made from almond meal, butter, sugar and eggs. The recipe I used is from a cookbook by Raymond Blanc, in which he adds a little rum or cognac to the almond cream. I wanted to make sure the kids could eat this too, so I omitted the alcohol but added a few drops of rosewater instead, which makes a beautiful combination. This galette is best served warm when the pastry is still crisp, but also tastes great at room temperature. Otherwise, just pop it in a warm oven for a few minutes before serving.

Score the pastry with whatever designs you fancy!

Nastar Pineapple Tarts

Here's my favourite recipe for pineapple rolls, which includes baking powder to create a lighter texture, and ghee for something a little extra!

Nastar Pineapple Tarts / Rolls

Ingredients

Pastry:

300g butter

80g icing sugar

3 egg yolks
3 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp fine salt

Sift together:

420g plain flour

50g corn flour / custard powder
1 tsp baking powder

Lightly beat together for egg wash:

1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp condensed milk (optional)

2 tsp fresh milk/water
Pinch of salt
A drop of yellow food colouring (optional)

Filling:

2 medium-sized pineapples (about 1.4kg after peeled and cored), cut into chunks (or 2 cans (about 800g each) pineapple chunks in natural juice, or you can mix both)

300g - 400g sugar, or to taste

2 tsp lemon juice (or depending on how sour/sweet the pineapples are)

1 inch cinnamon stick

4 cloves

1/2 star anise

Method

Blend the pineapple chunks in an electric blender. Pour into a sieve to drain some of the excess juice, but not too dry. Cook pineapple and spices in a wide heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat until it begins to boil. Lower heat to simmer (or use high heat but stir continuously and watch it to make sure it doesn't burn). Add the sugar and stir for about 30-40 minutes or until mixture is dry, thick and amber in colour. Halfway through, check for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. Add lemon juice to taste. Leave aside to cool, refrigerate for a few hours and roll into small elongated pieces (about half teaspoon of pineapple jam each) to be used as filling.

Line baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Cream butter, ghee and sugar until light. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Then add vanilla and salt and beat until fluffy. Fold in sifted ingredients and mix into a firm dough. Put dough into a nastar mould and press out into a strip of about 2-inch lengths. Place a piece of pineapple jam on one end and roll up pastry to enclose the jam.

Put the rolls on prepared trays. Brush with egg wash (optional), and bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 15-18 minutes or until it starts to turn golden. Do not overbake as it may turn out too hard, and probably burnt too! Remove from oven and leave on tray for about 5 minutes. Then transfer to wire racks to cool. Store in airtight containers.

"Banana-Split" Strudel

Warm banana, chocolate and cream cheese strudel in baklava-style walnut layered filo pastry



This is too addictive. Thank goodness it's a pretty rich dessert, so even if I wanted to eat more, my stomach is telling me to stop. I came across the recipe for this on the Food & Wine website after searching for ways to use up the bananas that I had bought a few days ago. Well, forget about banana breads and banana muffins. This recipe by Gale Gand is an interesting take on the strudel which is the perfect combination of bananas, chocolate and cream cheese. I also like the way she layered the filo pastry with walnuts and sugar, like a crunchy baklava, but without the syrup. The top crust is buttery and sugary-crisp, and I dressed it up a little with black sesame seeds. It's delicious served both warm or cold (I prefer having mine chilled....it's like eating chocolate banana cheesecake......yum!).

Here is the recipe, by Gale Gand:

"Banana-Split" Strudel

 

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups finely chopped walnuts (4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 pound cream cheese, softened (I used a 250g block)
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup granulated (caster) sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ounces (or 60g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 sheets filo/phyllo dough
1 stick (4 ounces / 110g) unsalted butter, melted
4 medium bananas, peeled
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)
1 pint vanilla ice cream

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 6 minutes, or until browned. Transfer the walnuts to a plate to cool.
2. In a bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the egg yolk. Add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, the vanilla and cinnamon and beat until blended. Stir the chocolate into the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
3. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper. Brush the phyllo with melted butter and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the walnuts and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar. Cover with another phyllo sheet, butter it and sprinkle with walnuts and granulated sugar as before; repeat 2 more times to make 4 layers.
4. Turn the baking sheet so that a long side is facing you. Spoon half the cream cheese mixture in a long strip along the length of the phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border of phyllo below and on each side. Lay 2 bananas end to end on the cream cheese. Set the 2 remaining bananas next to them, so you have a double row. Trim the bananas if needed. Spoon the remaining cream cheese mixture in a strip on the bananas.
5. Starting with the long edge closest to you and using the parchment paper as a guide, lift the phyllo up and over the bananas and roll into a neat, compact log; fold in the sides to enclose the filling. Discard the parchment paper. Slide the strudel to the center of the baking sheet, making sure the seam is down. Brush the strudel with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
6. Bake the strudel for 40 minutes, or until crisp and brown. Let it stand for about 25 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Using a serrated knife, thickly slice the strudel crosswise and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.



Crisp, buttery and sugary layers of pastry encase a creamy chocolate, cheese and banana filling



Asparagus, Potato & Sundried Tomato Filo Tart

Eating this reminds me of the days back in college when I used to have cheese and asparagus crepe for lunch. This is no crepe, but a simple and flavoursome tart made with layers of filo pastry, and then filled with a delicious combination of cheesy mashed potatoes and asparagus, then topped with sun-dried tomatoes. I came across this recipe on Jamie Oliver's website when I was searching for ideas to use the filo pastry I had in the fridge. I figured I had to use up the pastry soon as they dry out pretty quickly if left open for too long. The original recipe does not have sun-dried tomatoes. I added them to enhance the flavour of the tart with a little extra zing and saltiness. Plus, it was something I had at the back of the larder that I had forgotten about until now. If you love asparagus, then this is a wonderful dish to try. Mashed potatoes, cheese and asparagus taste fantastic together with the light and crispy filo pastry. And anything with so much butter in it has to taste good!