Kueh tart is the malay name for Pineapple tarts. It is a cookie with a pineapple jam that is usually made and eaten during festive seasons in Singapore such as Hari Raya or Chinese New Year. There are 2 types of pineapple tart in Singapore, the open type (malay culture) and close type (chinese culture). Personally I prefer the open type of pineapple tarts.
I’ve made them twice so far and I am glad it was a success. I’ve shared them with my Dutch and international friends and they love it! I am thankful I am able to spread the joy of my Singaporean culture here in the Netherlands. Only when I started making my own pineapple tarts did I realise why they are called kueh “tart”. The cookie part is made using a sort of tart shell recipe but made into cookies! Here are some pictures from my past pineapple tart baking sessions.
Here are the two recipes I use for my kueh tart. Plus my own touch, some good old Dutch cheese.
Pineapple jam (source)
- 2 ripe, medium pineapples
- 100g white sugar
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
1. Cut pineapples, blend, drain juice (optional).
2. Put the blended pineapple, sugar, cloves and cinnamon stick in a pot and bring to a boil.
3. Simmer for about 2 hours or till the consistency that you think you like.
4. You’ll end up with a yummy sticky jam!
Some recipes call for you to drain the juice from the blended pineapples. The first time I made it, I drained the juice and ended up with some delicious pineapple juice aside from the jam! The second time, I didn’t drain it because I didn’t have a sieve. Personally I prefer draining the juice, some if not all. This helps to quicken the process of the jam making and also you end up with a drier jam.
Cookie/ “tart shell” (source 1, source 2)
- 350g plain flour
- 250g salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp condensed milk
- 1 large egg
- Some Grated Aged Gouda Cheese (It adds a nice salty crunch texture to the cookie. Plus since I am in the land of cheese, how can I not! )
- Egg wash: a mixture of 1 egg and 1 tsp of water
- Sift the flour.
- Whisk the egg and condensed milk with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Add butter and cheese to the flour.
- Using your fingers, bring it all together lightly, do not knead.
- Wrap in wax wraps (I use the Beeginer set from Superbee!) and place in the fridge for 10 minutes, no longer as the dough will be too brittle. (Some recipes call for a longer chilling period of up to 1 hour)
- Preheat oven to 160˚C/310˚F
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a depth of about 1/2cm. Remember to place cling film on the dough before rolling.
- Dust a small amount of flour on the surface of your pastry and very lightly spread it out with your fingers. This will aid in the pastry not sticking to the cutter.
- Using your cutter, cut out shapes (dip in flour!) and place on cookie sheet. If your oven takes 2 trays at once, fill 2 cookie sheets.
- Apply egg wash to the cookies and bake for 5 minutes. Roll the jam into balls and place them on the cookies. or just place the jam balls on the cookies and then apply egg wash.
- Bake for another 10-15 minutes. until a pale golden colour.
- Enjoy the pineapple tart cookies!
Nameowste 