KP+: Sticky Pineapple Tart
Inspired by Taiwanese Pineapple Cake / Feng Li Su for LNY!
Today’s newsletter lands in your inbox right in the middle of the Spring festival, a two-week celebratory period that ushers in the Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year. Readers… Welcome to the year of the Fire Horse!
Growing up with a Chinese dad and English mum, a childhood where Sunday Roasts and Dim Sum had equal ranking, I’ve always been aware of this renewed burst of energy a short way into the calendar year.
Of all the words to describe my dad, sentimental isn’t one of them. When he moved from Hong Kong to the UK at 16, as far as I can tell, he didn’t bring many cultural traditions with him. I don’t think this had a particular motive - had he been born British and raised in the UK, I wouldn’t expect him to be any more concerned with celebrating Christmas or Easter.
Both of my Chinese grandparents died before I was born, so our family celebrations of Chinese New Year were filtered through my Dad. My mum, British born and bred, always did her best to honour that (literal) half of us, but she let my Dad take the lead. Here’s what I remember: Red Envelopes filled with lucky money, individual fruit jellies from the Chinese supermarket, good citrus, stories about how it made sense that I was a ‘monkey’ and that my dad was a ‘tiger’, and learning how to say ‘Kung Hei Fat Choi’ confidently enough to teach all my school friends about it, too.
As I’ve grown up, I’ve learned more about the traditions and slowly added them onto the casual framework laid out by my Dad. Some are less about food (this year, I avoided using scissors and knives on New Year’s Day as sharp objects are seen to ‘cut off’ fortune for the year ahead… a bit challenging for my line of work) but most of the ones I observe are; A prosperity salad, tossed into the air to mix, on New Year’s Eve, Plates of Mandarin oranges - ideally still with leaves - around the house, a whole steamed fish and lots of noodles…
For dessert, in the years past, I’ve made Tangyuan, glutinous rice dumplings filled with black sesame paste, poached in a sweet ginger broth, and Fa Gao (Fatt Koh), steamed cakes that joyfully burst open as they cook.
This year, I have a sweet offering to share with you for the Spring Festival inspired by the delicious Taiwanese Pineapple Cake (鳳梨酥, fèng lí sū). If you’re not familiar, these rectangular block-shaped pastries are comprised of a buttery shortbread-like crust stuffed with a tangy pineapple jam, and they make popular gifts around the Lunar New Year. Traditionally, you make these as individual cakes, requiring specialised moulds, but I’ve reimagined the elements into a tart shape. This recipe was actually originally developed for another project (more on that soon), but I just couldn’t wait to share it with you.
While the traditional pastry (as far as my research has taken me) often uses lard, butter, milk powder and eggs, I’ve found that an egg yolk-enriched shortcrust works well in the format. Not too sweet - the pineapple jam has enough of that - and structural enough to cradle the dough, it works perfectly. For the design on the top, you simply hold back a little of the pastry, roll it into a log, chill it, then slice it into coins to decorate. Given all the symbolism around this time of year, golden coins do feel auspicious! Whilst this is delicious served on its own, it is lovely with an oolong-infused cream for a bit of plated dessert energy. I’ll share the recipe for that below, too!
It is also a good moment to mention that SIFT, my debut baking book, has been translated into Chinese and will be published on April 9th this year - hip, hip, hooray! You’ll be able to buy it in Taiwan and Hong Kong – can’t quite believe it. I can’t wait to visit later this year and see it in person.
Ok, the recipe!