Chinese New Year is round the corner again! It just seemed like yesterday that I celebrated Christmas and New Year... Don't you think so?
This year I'm making pineapple tarts again. I did not try making the jam from scratch - couldn't find the time to do so and I was worried that I'd fail in the making of the jam. So I ended up buying ready-made jam. /:
I made a trial batch last weekend - the tarts tasted really sweet on the first day, however, they don't taste as sweet the next day. I can't figure out why is that so but oh well, I'm glad they turned out delicious in the end! Can't stop popping them into my mouth... (looks at waist line with a worried face)
Anyway, why a trial batch? Well, I played around with the second most important ingredient in the making of pineapple tarts (the first being the pineapple jam) - the butter.
The three competing butters!
Last year I tried between Anchor butter and SCS butter. SCS butter won hands-down. So, I read up more about butter this year and decided to conduct a trial again - with SCS butter (which was what I used last year), Elle et Vire butter and Lurpark butter. I bought them from SunLik.
Here are their prices (as of 15 January 2012):
- SCS unsalted butter - 250 grams $3.50 each
- Elle et Vire unsalted butter - 200 grams $3.50 each
- Lurpark unsalted butter - 250 grams $5 each
SCS and Lurpark are also available at NTUC, at a higher price (as of 15 January 2012):
- SCS unsalted butter - 225 grams $3.65 each (fluctuates, normally pricier than this)
- Lurpark unsalted butter - 250 grams $5.95 each
I didn't manage to check out other baking stores (like Phoon Huat), if I check it out I'll update it here!
SCS butter is the local, Singapore butter. It's a butter that I've grown up with - my mom used to buy it for baking and I'd always seen a slab of this butter at coffee shops (to be spread on toasted bread with kaya!). Due to inflation and rising food prices, the price of this butter has been climbing steadily over the years. Even my mom kept saying that this butter used to be one of the better and cheaper butters around.
Elle et Vire is a French butter - and everyone knows that French, is all about butter. It's apparently a Normandy butter (correct me if I'm wrong), and Normandy butters are reputedly one of the best butter around. It's a bit more expensive than SCS, but if it's that good, I wouldn't mind spending the extra buck!
Lurpark butter is a Danish butter - and it's actually my favourite butter! I always remember hotels serving this brand of butter in their small, individual packets. However, I usually don't buy this for baking because it. is. so. expensive! At almost 1.5 times of SCS and Elle et Vire butter, it costs really a bomb.
I've read that Président butter is also quite popular - though I don't remember seeing the butter being sold in supermarkets before (guess I wasn't looking hard enough). I'll probably try it out next time (maybe bake a butter cake or something)!
And here are the reviews for the butter!
They look the same side by side... but do they taste the same as well?
SCS butter:
Because the main ingredient of the crust is butter, the smell of the butter is really strong when the pineapple tarts are baking. SCS butter is very milky - the whole house was filled with a very strong milk smell when I baked the pineapple tarts. I'm not very fond of milk, so the smell really gets to me. After baking, I didn't even felt like eating my own tarts any more! One bite of it and I can really taste the milk taste in the tart, it's very subtle, but it's definitely there - as if I've added milk powder into the making of the crust. If you are a fan of milky pineapple crusts, you may like to use this butter.
Elle et Vire and Lurpark:
Unlike SCS butter, these two type of tarts do not have a strong milky smell while baking. They don't taste milky either. They are also richer and more buttery than the tarts made using SCS butter. The tarts that I made using the Elle et Vire butter are really melt-in-the-mouth. They simply crumble and melt away in the mouth. The Lurpark pineapple tarts are crusty at first, before melting away in the mouth. I'm not sure if it's because of the butter or my technique...
Conclusion:
The Elle et Vire and Lurpark butter triumph over the SCS butter. Between the two, my family, X, my friend and I felt that Lurpark pineapple tarts tasted slightly richer than the Elle et Vire ones, so I guess Lurpark is the winner! However, if price is a factor in consideration, I'll definitely go for the Elle et Vire butter - much cheaper and the taste doesn't lose much to Lurpark's!
So... which is your favourite butter? Do recommend me so I can try it out in the future! (:
Update 10 Jan 2023: I have been using this recipe for more than 10 years and I'm still loving it. But I just realised that there's no step-by-step photos (or I accidentally deleted them). Will update the recipe to include them after this year's attempt!
Chinese New Year Pineapple Tarts
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kilogram pineapple filling / jam, homemade recipe here
- 800 grams all-purpose flour, plain flour
- 30 grams corn flour, corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 125 grams icing sugar
- 500 grams unsalted butter, best quality and at room temperature
- 80 grams egg yolks, 1 egg yolk ≈ 20 grams
Egg Wash
- 2-4 egg yolks
INSTRUCTIONS
- Divide the pineapple filling - a teaspoon or approximately 6-7 grams each. Roll into a ball then roll into a small log shape. If the jam becomes too sticky and hard to handle, dip your fingertips in water and continue - it'll be easier to handle after that. Chill the rolled pineapple balls.
- Make the tart dough - Sift the plain flour, salt, corn flour and icing sugar in a clean bowl.
- Place the unsalted butter in another bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream the mixture for 30 seconds on low speed and turn the speed up to medium-high and cream for 5 minutes, scraping the sides occasionally until the butter is light, creamy, fluffy and pale in colour.
- Beat egg yolks in a small bowl. While the electric mixer is running on low, drizzle in the beaten egg yolks. Turn up the speed to medium and cream until the egg yolks has been fully incorporated into the butter.
- Using a huge rubber spatula or metal spoon, fold in the flour mixture in two batches gently until just incorporated. Do not over-mix or over work the dough - otherwise you will lose the melt-in-the-mouth texture.
- Lay a large piece of clingfilm / plastic wrap on the table. Turn the dough out onto the plastic wrap and wrap it up. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Egg Wash
- Combine the egg yolks with 1 to 2 teaspoons of water / milk until it's a smooth consistency. Set aside.
Wrapping and Baking
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Line a baking sheet (or several baking sheets if you have a small oven like me) with baking paper. Set aside. Prepare a small dish with water.
- Divide the chilled dough - 1 heaping teaspoon or approximately 10 - 12 grams each. Roll them into rounds and flatten them. Dip the chilled pineapple ball into a little bit of water (enough to moisten the outside of the pineapple ball but not drench them). This will keep the pineapple filling moist and not dry out while baking. Place the pineapple ball in the middle of the flattened dough and enclose it. Shape it into a log / desired shape and place it on the lined baking sheet.
- Brush the top of the pineapple tarts with a layer of egg wash and bake for 15 minutes. Brush with a second layer of egg wash (if needed) and bake for another 5 minutes, until the top is golden brown in colour.
- Cool the tarts completely and store them in an airtight container.
NOTES
- If you don't like sweet pineapple filling or want them to have a tangy taste, mix in several teaspoons of lemon juice into the pineapple filling before rolling them into balls.
- You may wind up with extra pineapple jam, just snack on them!
- Use the best quality butter for a rich, sinful, buttery taste.
amy ho says
Hi .... Thanks for the receipe 🙂 Please advise if for half the recipe , the ingredients are also half ?
Much appreciated if you can reply with many thanks again.
Jasline N. says
Hi Amy, yes you halve the ingredients if you are planning to halve the recipe
always, tricia says
hello! could I check if 180 degree celcius is for a fan-assisted oven, or conventional? thanks so much! (:
Jasline N. says
Hi Tricia, 180C is for conventional oven. 🙂
sze hui says
can I replace corn flour to milk powder
Jasline N. says
Hi I haven't tried using milk powder before so not sure how it will turn out!
Ck says
I have baked cookies & pineapple tarts using SCS & Golden Churn butter respectively, my family n I prefer SCS as we find that SCS tastes better n give a stronger buttery smell to the cookies.
Jasline N. says
Thanks for the feedback Ck! I prefer using SCS butter for my baked goods too! The only exception is for Kueh Lapis, which I will use the tin Golden Churn butter. 🙂
Shareen Lin says
Hi Jasline, i just tried your enclosed pineapple tart recipe but the pastry is slightly too dry. Any suggestion what i can add to make it more moist?
Shareen
Jasline N. says
Hi Shareen, are the pineapple tarts still dry the next day you ate them? Is the dough dry and crumbly when you make them? If so you may want to add a teaspoon of milk to moisten the dough. You can also try baking it for a shorter timing.
Shareen Lin says
H Jasline, yes its dry like eating biscuit. could it be I over cream the butter or the dough?
Jasline N. says
Hi Shareen, it's really hard for me to troubleshoot. I don't think over creaming will cause dryness in the dough. Are you using SCS butter and what kind of pineapple filling are you using? How long did you bake the tarts for? I am making a batch of pineapple tarts next week using SCS butter and Phoon Huat pineapple filling, will let you know how it goes!
Audrey says
I've tried your pineapple tart recipe and the result was really great! Thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
Anonymous says
anyone know where I can get Kerry gold butter in Singapore?
Foodie Baker is Down « Food Is My Life says
[...] Pineapple Tarts [...]
Jasline says
Hey Suts! Don't worry there's always next year! 😉 Hope you are coping well in school too! Take care!!
suts says
HELLO JAS! i just realised i didnt get to try your tarts this year:( ayyeee. wow you even analysed the butter!haha but this entry made me really hungry now...and i am craving for new year food. ok enough of rubbish...
hope you're coping well at work and ttys!<3
Janine says
You just did what I always wanted to, a taste test of butter and pineapple tarts heh. I have found that I like lurpak and irish butter (hard to find though and expensive), although for normal baking I tend to stick with whatever I can find for cheap.
Love how nicely glazed your pineapple tarts are!
Thank you Janine! I haven't seen Irish butter being sold here in Singapore before... hopefully will be able to get my hands on one one day to try them out!
Take care!
Jasline
filingawaycupcakes says
Delish! I love Chinese New Year. It's great that you included pictures of the little red envelopes.
Thank you! I think the red brings out the yellow colour of the tarts (:
Take care!
Jasline
masterofboots says
This looks pretty professionally done. I think you have very clever fingers
Thank you! (:
Cheers,
Jasline
sugaredpecan says
I want to make these so badly!!! Thanks for following my blog!!! Donna
Do try them one day! (:
Cheers, Jasline
Shumaila says
The pineapple tarts look great! Wish I could have some right now!
Thank you Shumaila! (: Have a great day, take care!
Cheers,
Jasline
beadlover says
Love your blog!
Thank you! Take care (:
Cheers,
Jasline
Quay Po Cooks says
Beautiful delicious looking pineapple cookies. I like to use President butter but it is getting very expensive.
Thank you! (: It's really hard to find cheap and good tasting butter these days! I'll try out President butter the next time! (: Take care!
Cheers,
Jasline
Baking with Sibella says
Nice looking tarts! Lovely blog!!!! 🙂 It is hard to find great pastry butter here in US too. I prefer European butter which is I think more flavorful. My favorite right now is the Irish butter - Kerrygold! 🙂
Thank you! I'm not sure if I can find Kerrygold butter here in Singapore... if I do I will definitely buy and try it out! Thanks for recommending! (:
Cheers,
Jasline
lena says
like your review on the butter. I do not bake buttery type of cookies often, the only cookies i made so far is only choc cookies and some typical cny cookies and normally use anchor brand or tatura. I like lurpak and golden churn for my cakes especially if it butter based cake, i would prefer golden churn in tin but it seems that it's a lil difficult to get the GC in tin nowadays, i heard that it's a non halal item.
Thanks Lena! Oh.. I think I saw GC before in Phoon Huat.. but that's a long time ago, wonder if they still stock it up. Thanks for recommending the butter, I'll go try it out if I can laid my hands on it (: Have a great Chinese New Year!
Cheers,
Jasline
Sheryl says
I stayed in Singapore for 5 years, my friends would invite me to their house during Chinese New Year and I will be presented with lots of sweet treats- this one included. Just looking at the picture makes me drool and miss Singapore. The last time I was there was April 2011 to visit my father. Advance Happy Chinese New Year and thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Sheryl, thanks for dropping by (: I love all the sweet treats during Chinese New Year, in fact, I'm dieting now so I can eat more during Chinese New Year d: Hope you will be able to visit Singapore again! (: Happy Chinese New Year to you too!
Cheers,
Jasline
Bam's Kitchen says
Your New Year cakes look delightfully light and fluffy. Unlike the usual fair we get here in Hong Kong. Butter, Butter and more butter, if Julia Childs was still around she would be so proud... Xin Nian Kuai le!! BAM
"With enough butter, anything is good" - I absolutely love this quote from Julia Child (: Xin Nian Kuai Le to you too! Take care!
Cheers,
Jasline
Zoe says
I remember baking with SCS butter when I was living in Singapore...Now, I prefer the Danish butter and I use Lurpak for my baking. I attended a French baking class at William Angliss and I asked the French instructor some questions regarding butter and he told me that it is the culture of the butter that brings the flavours, not the price! LOL!
Regrading your question regarding my pineapple jam post...sorry that I didn't weigh the final jam but I can filled all of them in a 1L container and the container is 90% filled.
Hi Zoe, glad I found a Lurpark fan! (: Wow I would love to attend a French baking class too, but it's hard to find affordable classes in Singapore! It's ok, thanks for letting me know (:
Have a happy Chinese New Year in advance!
Jasline