Pineapple Tarts for a Prosperous New Year

For me, no Lunar New Year would be complete without a pineapple tart. Maybe two. But more likely a tinful. Forget the plate-sized, crimped-edged pastries that come to mind when you think of tarts—these are flaky butter cookies bursting with pineapple jam. Bite into one, and you’re first greeted by the rich, crumbly pastry that falls apart in your mouth under the gentlest pressure, giving way to a tropical, tangy pineapple filling, spiced with cinnamon and star anise.

Pineapple tarts might not scream Lunar New Year to all who celebrate it, but they have been a constant in my life, even cropping up in baby photos of me dressed in traditional red Chinese garb. So imagine my surprise when I found out years later that the pastries were a Lunar New Year treat only here, in my home country of Malaysia and in neighboring Singapore and Indonesia.

Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country, but approximately a quarter of the population is ethnic Chinese. For generations, this diasporic community has preserved the tradition of making and eating pineapple tarts in celebration of the Lunar New Year, which is considered a Chinese holiday (hence its other name, Chinese New Year).

In the weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year, trays and tins of pineapple tarts are sold in Chinese communities across the region. It is the most adored of the festive snacks; there are always nian gao (glutinous rice cakes), peanut cookies, mandarin oranges, and tapioca biscuits, but the pineapple tarts are always the first to run out. All across Malaysia, from Kuala Lumpur to Sarawak, everybody from schoolchildren to grandmothers line up to get their pineapple tart fix at Chinese restaurants, bakeries, roadside stalls, and even private homes of Chinese families, as many homemakers sell them as a side hustle.

Over the years, to save myself the heartbreak of running out of pineapple tarts, I’ve made them at home—and, in the process, learned that from-scratch ones taste even better than those from the corner bakery. I like to make them for a weekend project, peeling and coring three to five pineapples each time and simmering their puckery flesh with sugar and warm baking spices to make a thick, gleaming jam.

I then roll out a simple butter pastry and spoon knobs of jam into the rounds, pinching them into sealed parcels. After that, all that’s left is a quick bake to give them their gorgeous golden hue. While pineapple tarts come in a slew of shapes and sizes—such as roulades with jam peeking out the sides and sunflower-shaped pastries dolloped with jam—my dome-shaped ones are wonderful in their simplicity, and for the hefty lump of jam they hide within.

Oddly, pineapple tarts are rarely found in China proper despite being synonymous with Chinese culture in Malaysia. That’s due to an intricate web of cultural crossovers. The main ingredient, pineapple, isn’t native to Asia but in fact to South America. Only in the 16th century, as Spanish and Portuguese colonists and traders sailed the world, did the first pineapples land in Southeast Asia—a surprising revelation, since the fruit is a key component in other regional standbys such as Filipino pininyahang manok (pineapple chicken stew), Indonesian nanas goreng (fried pineapple), and Thai pineapple fried rice.

The origin of this pastry, on the other hand, is apparent in the local term for the snack, “nastar” cookies or “tat nenas,” loanwords meaning pineapple tart (“ananas taart”) in Dutch. According to Singaporean food writer and cookbook author Christopher Tan, “the Portuguese and Spanish brought pineapples to Asia, but the rich, short texture of pineapple tart pastry is very Dutch. In Bengkulu, Sumatra, pineapple tarts are still made in classic Dutch form—large-sized with crimped rims and pastry lattices, sliced to serve.” In the 17th century, the Dutch colonial empire stretched from Indonesia to Sri Lanka, leaving traces of their food culture in the former colonies that persist today.

While pineapple tarts are enjoyed by all, they have become particularly tied to Lunar New Year celebrations over the years. Beyond the pastry’s cross-cultural past and irresistible bursts of sweet spice, pineapple tarts hold a deeper meaning for the Chinese. The word for the actual fruit in Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Cantonese, is “ong lai” or “wong lai,” a homonym for “wealth arrives,” so gifting pineapple tarts to friends and loved ones is a gesture intended to bring about prosperity for the coming year. Two weeks ahead of the Lunar New Year, my family would order hundreds of tarts from our favorite confectionery and spend a whole afternoon on the kitchen floor stuffing them into crimson containers.

While Southeast Asians are blessed with the flavor, and possibly the fortune, that comes with pineapple tarts, the pastries are tricky to find in other parts of the world (though in the United States, you might find them at Asian grocers and Malaysian- or Singaporean-owned Chinese restaurants). So consider baking a batch at home. Whether you choose to sculpt your pineapple tarts into delicate sunflowers or simply pat them into domes, your cravings are sure to linger long into 2021, the Year of the Ox. So, get cooking! In times like these, we could all do with a bit of good fortune.

Pineapple Tarts Recipe

Pineapple Tarts

Pineapple tarts are all the rage in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia in the leadup to the Lunar New Year. With a jammy pineapple filling encased in rich, buttery pastry, these two-bite tarts are gifted and eaten in equal measure, passed around to bring about prosperity and joy throughout the holiday and beyond. Find writer and photographer Yi Jun Loh’s recipe here.

Yield: makes 28 tarts

Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

For the pineapple jam:

• 1 small pineapple (1.5–2 lb. [700 to 900g]), 1 lb. 2 oz. fresh pineapple chunks, or canned pineapple
• 2 Tbsp. plus ¾ tsp. (30 g) sugar
• 2 Tbsp. (30 g) dark brown sugar
• ¹⁄₄ tsp. salt
• ¹⁄₄ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 2 cloves

For the dough:

• 10 Tbsp. (140 g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 2 ¹⁄₂ tbsp. (30 g) sugar
• ¹⁄₂ tsp. fine sea salt
• 4 large egg yolks, divided
• ¹⁄₄ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 5 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. (45 g) cornstarch

Instructions

1. Make the pineapple jam: If you’re using a fresh pineapple, remove and discard the skin, eyes, and core, then chop the fruit into medium chunks. Weigh 1 pound 2 ounces of the fruit, reserving any extra for another use. Transfer the pineapple to the bowl of a food processor or blender, and process on low speed to create a coarse, slushy purée (Do not liquify; some small chunks may remain).
2. To a medium pot, add the pineapple, sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. Turn the heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pot, until the jam is reduced in volume by half, turns amber in color, holds its shape rigidly when stirred, and no liquid remains, about 45 minutes. (Take care not to scorch the bottom of the pot, especially as the jam thickens towards the end of cooking.) Turn off the heat, remove and discard the whole spices, then set the jam aside to cool to room temperature. (You should have approximately one cup of jam.)
3. Using a teaspoon-sized measuring spoon, scoop the cooled jam into 28 equal, approximately 8-gram portions. Roll each portion gently in the palms of your hands to form ¾-inch balls. (For the given amount of dough, you will need 25–30 balls; reserve any leftovers for another use.) Arrange the balls in a single layer on a large baking sheet, then, then cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.
4. Meanwhile, make the dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, and salt. Turn the mixer to high speed and mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add two of the egg yolks, 1½ tablespoons cold water, water, and the vanilla and continue mixing to incorporate. Turn the speed to low, then add the flour and cornstarch and mix until no streaks of flour remain, 15–20 seconds. (If the dough looks and feels crumbly at this point, add a bit more water, one teaspoon at a time, just until the dough comes together.) Gather the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. (Alternatively, this dough may be stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks; defrost overnight in the fridge.)
5. When you are ready to bake your tarts, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and set on the counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove the jam balls from the fridge, unwrap, and set aside. Once the dough is malleable, fold it a few times to soften, then portion it into twenty-eight 2½-teaspoon balls (about 16 grams each). Using your hands, roll one piece of dough into a smooth ball , then flatten it between your palms to form a 3½-inch disk. (If the dough is very sticky, lightly flour your hands.) Place a ball of pineapple jam in the center of the disk and gently fold up the sides of the dough to seal the filling within. Gently roll the filled tart between the palms of your hands to create a smooth ball, then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, taking care to arrange the tarts at least 1 inch apart.
6. Beat the remaining egg yolks with 1 teaspoon of cold water, then use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of the yolk mixture evenly over each tart. Transfer to the oven and bake, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, until golden, 16–20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely on the baking sheet minutes before serving or transferring to an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week.