Gong Xi Fa Cai Special: My 1st Guest...AMELIA
Hello friends!
Here's wishing my dearest Chinese friends, bloggers and readers A Prosperous Chinese New Year....Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!
I have something special for you on this auspicious day! Allow me to introduce a good friend of mine, whom I've never met before in real but had just known through Bloggywood. She was one of my Giveaway winners last year, and our friendship blossomed ever since I contacted her.
Her blog is one super cool cyberhome which never ceased to amaze me and her readers. A creative cook and baker, her presentations and food art are simply mind blowing! Her desserts can make anyone go weak knees. She is my Queen of Desserts, Ms Amelia from Johor, a southern state of Malaysia.
When I text Amelia to invite her for a guest post in my blog, she didn't hesitate but gave me a yes rightaway. Despite her busy schedule preparing for the festival, I trusted she will put every effort to make my Guest Post @ Love2cook Malaysia event a grand opening! This also marks her first guest post at others. Thank you dearest Amelia, you really made my event a very special one indeed, that too my Hubby's most favourite cookies!
Alright, I shall not keep you waiting any longer. Let's hear from Ms AMELIA who blogs at AMELIA'S DESSERT. Be prepared to drool at her magic touch on Pineapple Jam Tarts, specially for you, my lovely readers! ^_^
" Hello everyone, I'm Amelia.
A trillion thanks to Love for inviting me to do a Chinese New Year
guest post on her wonderful blog. I'm very honoured to be invited and
this is my first guest post since I start blogging in 2011. In fact I
feel very nervous cos Love is an excellent cook/baker and her
photography skill is superb.
I'm
a full time working mother with 2 wonderful children. My passion are
baking and dessert, cooking the 3 meals is secondary to me. But despite
my busy schedule I still prepared the 3 meals everyday. Beside that I
love creative food art, any craft and needle works but especially love
cross stitching.
Love
is my very first few blog friends since June 2011 and my strong
supporter. She is warm, friendly and easy going. So far so good we get
along very well and I think we can chat until the rooster crowing. LOL
Today I'll be sharing with all of you one of the top favourite cookies @ Pineapple Tarts during Chinese New Year.
Pineapple tart refers to
small bites size pastries filled with pineapple jam and can be made into
different shapes like pineapple shape, flower, Nastar roll, etc....
It's very rich and buttery and melt in the mouth texture. The pineapple
jam is usually made by slowly reducing and caramelizing grated fresh
pineapple that had been mixed with spices and sugar.
Here's my simple pineapple tart recipes, hope Love and all her readers will enjoy this melt in the mouth tarts."
Pineapple Shape Tarts
- 250 gm Anchor butter ( chilled)
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tbsp custard powder
- 1 small egg yolk ( lightly beaten )
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk for glaze
- Sift the flour and custard power.
- Cut the butter into cubes, add in to the flour.
- Rub butter lightly into flour with tips of fingers till mixture resembles bread crumbs.
- Add in the egg yolk and vanilla mix to form a pastry dough.
- Do not knead, just use your fingers to mix lightly as the butter melt pretty fast.
- If dough too mushy add a little flour. This dough is suppose to be fairly soft but not sticky.
- Divide dough into 55 pieces, roll into round balls and flatten slightly.
- Wrap with pineapple jam and press the edges together using finger and thumb. Roll tart so that one end is tapered.
- Using a small pair of scissor, snip tiny V shapes on the front half of the tart. Snip in rows.
- Insert a cloves to resemble a pineapple stalk. Brush with egg yolk.
- Place tarts on greased tray and bake at 180 deg c for 20 mins or till light brown.
- Cool completely before store in cookies jar.
******************************************************
Pineapple Open Tarts
- 250 gm anchor butter ( chilled )
- 14 oz flour
- 1 egg - lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp custard powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp fine sugar
- 1 egg yolk for glaze
- Sift flour and custard powder together.
- Cut butter into small cubes.
- Rub butter lightly into flour with tips of fingers till mixture resembles bread crumbs.
- Add egg and vanilla to form a pastry dough. If dough too soft chill for 1/2 an hour. If too dry add a little ice water.
- Roll out the dough to 1/4 in thick in between plastic sheet.
- Dust with flour lightly and cut with tart cutter. ( coat the tart cutter with flour and shake off the excess flour. )
- Fill tart with pineapple jam. Decorate the top as desire with extra dough.
- Brush with egg yolk and bake at 180 deg c for 15 to 20 mins or till golden brown.
- Cool completely and store in cookies jars.
*******************************
Pineapple Jam
- 5 pineapples
- 22 oz sugar
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick ( 2 in )
- 5 pieces cloves
- 2 limau kasturi ( lime )
- Remove skin and eyes of pineapple.
- Chop into small pieces.
- Blend in food processor until fine and sieve until quite dry. (Keep the pineapple juice in case the jam too dry, you might need it.)
- Put in big cooking pot, add grated pineapple, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cook in moderate heat for 1 hour. Add sugar and lime juice continue to cook till mixture thick and gluey. Keep stirring all the time to prevent burn.
- Cool completely and roll into small balls till ready for use.
Note: If jam too watery add sugar and continue cooking. If jam too dry add pineapple juice and cook till sugar melt and gluey.
Or the best way to eat the tarts is.....do a upper body toning workout before you proceed.
Arm down...... pick up tart.
Arm up...... put tart in your mouth.
Switch arms..... repeat until desire.
Soooo easy right? Enjoy!
Wishing all of you a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai.
Dear Amelia, it's such an honour to have you as my Guest. Thank you for your time, love and support towards myself all these while. Your cute Pineapple Jam Tarts certainly made my event merrier. This is just for you...
Gong Xi Fa Cai my friend! May you have a safe and fun celebration...
I'm sending this post to Little Thumbs Up by Zoe at Bake for Happy Kids
Lovely guest post Love and Amelia.Tarts look delicious and perfect for the occasion. happy new year.
ReplyDeleteHi Swasthi, thank you for your kind words and compliments. I appreciate it very much.
DeleteHave a nice day ahead.
Hi dear Swasthi, thanks da ...aren't these jam tarts really cute??? :)
DeleteJust tried the pineapple shape tart recipe. Did not turn out well. Something wrong with the recipe.
DeleteYummy and irresistible..love it
ReplyDeleteHi Divya, thank you for your compliments. Have a nice day ahead.
DeleteThanks Divya, all praises to Amelia!!! :)
Deletewow...really nice guest post by Amelia.Tarts look delicious and 2 varities luks yummy. happy weekend 2 both of u
ReplyDeleteHi Maha, thank you. That's very sweet of you, I appreciate it very much.
DeleteHave a wonderful week ahead.
Thanks Maha, happy weekend to you too ;)
DeleteHi Love,thank you sooooo much for your kind thoughts and lovely post. You're a darling friend, I'm so happy that I'm your very first invited guest to do guest post in your beautiful blog. I appreciate it very much. Your words certainly put me in cloud nine. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your warm greetings. Have a nice day.
Dear Amelia, thank you once again for being my guest. You deserved every praises ;)
DeleteHow is your celebration getting on today??? :)
Thanks a ton for replying the comments here...you made me speechless...hehe :)
Hi Love, sorry I forgot.... Thanks you so much for the lovely rose. Happy Valentine day to you and all at home. With hugs and lots of love to you.
DeleteNo worries Amelia! Happy Valentines to you and yours too!!! ;)
DeleteYummeh! Love, Amelia is the perfect choice for your debut guest post. Pineapple tarts is a favorite during CNY. Amelia, when I saw 5 pineapples in the jam recipe I want to pengsan! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHi Phong Hong, thank you for your compliments. My dear, 5 is nothing to me. This year I cut, grated and cook 50 pineapples. Cook in 3 batches. LOL
DeleteHave a nice day.
Ms PH...thanks dear! I made the right choice na!!! Amelia is simply the best...so do you. I shall be contacting you soon...lol ;)
DeleteYeah me too...5 pineapples!!! :)
Amelia!!! 50 pineapples???? Wooooooooow!
Hi Amelia
ReplyDeleteBlessed Lunar New Year to you and family. Love the look of your pineapple shaped tarts and the flower patterned tarts.
Could you kindly advise me for the pineapple shaped tarts, how much will 4 cups flour equal in oz or gm.
I like making both patterns of the pineapple tarts featured here as they really symbolize the special Chinese New Year atmosphere and mode.
Will be making them throughout the year to enjoy, not just during New Year. By the way, pineapple tarts are the only cookies I made for Chinese New Year because I love pineapple tarts from young and very fascinated by them both in term of their taste and look.
Blessings
Priscilla Poh
Singapore
Hi Priscilla, thank you for your warm greeting and compliments.
Delete1 cups of flour is equal to 100gm. If due to humidity, dough too wet you can add in extra flour to form a soft pliable dough. Glad you love them, enjoy. I do make pineapple tarts all year round. :)
Have a happy new year to you and family. Gong Xi Fa Cai.
Ms Priscilla, thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteThnx Love2cook for your kind appreciation. Ur boy and girl look as sweet as your bakings. I take 1st day of Lunar New Year opportunity to bless them with good health and wisdom in their studies.
DeleteBlessings
Priscilla Poh
Ms Priscilla, thank you for your kind words and blessings! Appreciate that alot!!! Happy CNY ;)
Deletehappy holiday dear LOVE
ReplyDeletethe pineapple tarts looks great !
Happy holidays to you too kak Ieda! Yesss...love yang tak minat pineapple tarts pun boleh crave for Amelia's now...hehe
DeleteSis Love welcoming ur first guest for the lovely post....sis Amelia those are my favourites, love the pineapple design on the tarts....Nice knowing you and Happy New Year to u....
ReplyDeleteDear sis Arthy, thanks dear. Meet my dearest friend, Amelia the Queen of Desserts...;)
DeleteHi Arthy,thank you for your warm greetings and compliments. Nice to meet you.
DeleteHave a great week ahead,regards.
Cantiknya pineapple tart tu... rajin sungguh Love buat. Happy CNY...
ReplyDeleteHi Kak Amie, bukan love yang buat kak...it's by my friend, Ms Amelia ;)
DeleteSuper guest post Love and Amelia! Love the pineapple shape tarts.. So Lovely and yummy looking tarts..
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays Love and Happy new year to Amelia
Hi Veena, thank you for your warm greetings and lovely compliments.
DeleteHave a wonderful week ahead,regards.
Thank you Veena dearie! :)
DeleteHappy cny love..the tarts look sooo tempting..nak seketol
ReplyDeleteHi dearie, nak seketol ker...kena mintak dari Amelia...hahahah :)
Deletewonderful guest post and very appropriate for this chinese new year. Love the' pineapple shapes 'tarts! i hardly exercise, i'm such a lazy bum but wouldnt mind doing your upper body exercise!
ReplyDeleteHi Lena, thank you for kind words and compliments. Do continue with the upper body exercise. ;)
DeleteHave a nice week ahead,regards.
Lena, count me in! Lazy bum too...hahahaha. So we both should do the upper body exercise like Amelia advised...hehe :)
DeleteThese all look delicious! They must also be very flavorful. Great recipes!
ReplyDeleteI just discovered your blog and browsed through some of your recipes, they all look scrumptious!
I really enjoy reading your posts :) you have a new follower!
Michela from Italy
Hello Michela., thank you so much for stopping by! Appreciate your compliments :)
DeleteThe step by step photo is so useful, thank you. Amelia is right your photography skill is so good.
ReplyDeleteHi Yueky, thank you for stopping by here. Yes,Love photography skill is excellent, I always enjoyed looking at all her food pics and especially her two adorable children.
DeleteHave a wonderful week ahead,regards.
Thank you so much!!! To both Yueky and Amelia...me blushing!!! :)
DeleteLove your idea of guest post!....
ReplyDeleteYummy pineapple tart..love the pictures and the dish.
Thank you dear...I'll be buzzing you too :)
DeleteHi Love,
ReplyDeleteI saw this at Amelia's post and wonder if you can link this post with our Little Thumbs up event (with pineapple theme)
All you need to do is to 1) mention Little Thumbs Up in your post and link back to Bake for Happy Kids or/and my little favourite DIY 2) submit your details on my most recent pineapple tart post and your link will be on my post :D
Hope to hear from you.
Zoe
Hi Zoe, no worries, I'll do it :) Thanks for letting me know :)
DeleteThanks Love! Nice to have you linking up with us :D
DeleteYou're welcome Zoe. Looking forward to join your other events :)
DeleteYou have a great blog, and lovely pics too, the little pineapples looks so tempting.
ReplyDeleteFollowing you :)
Visit mine sometime.
http://houseofspice.blogspot.com/
Hi Pria, thanks for stopping by. Yeah credits to Amelia for such an amazing guest post and her cute tarts ;)
Deletei love tarts very much...and ur pics are tempting me...will try out soon...awesome clicks...
ReplyDeleteHi Revathi, thanks! Kudos to Amelia for guest posting her lovely tarts :)
Deletelooks scrumptiously tasty..
ReplyDeletefantastic guest post...keep rocking dearies..:)
Tasty Appetite
Thanks dear Jay! :)
DeleteLovely tarts...
ReplyDeleteEvent: Dish name starts with Q till Feb 28th
Thanks Akila :)
DeleteSuperb tarts dear, looks awesome. Wonderful clicks too.
ReplyDeleteThanks dear, kudos to Amelia...my lovely guest :)
Deletetart and CNY memang sinonim:) BTW I luv tarts as well..
ReplyDeleteHehe memang sinonim...and it's my Hubby's fav too yang open type tu. :)
DeleteThanks Shama! Kudos to Amelia ;)
ReplyDeleteSuch an amazing guest post from two talented ladies. Love the pineapple little bite-size tarts, Amelia. The shapes are so artistic and incredibly flaky and moist. The pineapple jam filling really adds the perfect and yummy finishing touch. The photos are amazingly clear and sharp. Looks like the same photos from your blog Amelia, but having a superb camera does work wonders on making photos look even more amazing. Thanks for sharing from both of you lovely friends! Hugs, to both~
ReplyDeleteHello Elisabeth, it's such a pleasure to have you here. Welcome to my humble space! :)
DeleteYes, the pictures are from Amelia. She is too kind to guest post for me these lovely treats! Thanks a bunch for the compliments Elisabeth! Hugs....
Hi My dear Elisabeth, thank you so much for dropping by here with your lovely compliments. I appreciate it very much. This pineapple shape tarts are one of the best, very addictive but to made this it's very time consuming. But I enjoyed making this whether it's open tarts or pineapple shape tarts as both are of different type of pastry. Both taste awesome and addictive.
DeleteHave a lovely week ahead,my dear. With hugs and lots of love to you.
So tempting to try.. Yummy!
ReplyDeleteI got to know your amazing blog from my friend Stella, will blog hop more frequent ;)
Hello Lydia, thank you so much for stopping by from Stellas. Thank you for the compliment :)
DeleteDo come again...
Great entry from your first guest, this is a must have item on most CNY festivals!:D I don't usually do it like the first version as that requires more work!
ReplyDeleteHi Jeannie, nice to see you drop by here. Thank you for your compliments. It's time consuming to make the pineapple shape tart but worth the effort cos it's very addictive and buttery pastry is awesome.
DeleteHave a nice day ahead,regards.
Hello Jeannie, welcome to my space. Yes, we need more patience pills from Amelia to make the first version. But they are gorgeous, aren't they! ;)
Deletewow amelia...great post with beautiful clicks...thx to Love too for d posting!!
ReplyDeleteHi Subhie, thank you for your compliments. Glad to see you here.
DeleteHave a great week ahead,regards.
Subhie dearie, thanks da ma :)
DeleteWow Amelia its really very fantastic recipe which i have never seen it before... Superb recipe to start the 1st guest post... awesome...
ReplyDeleteHI Vijaya, thank you for your lovely compliments. This pineapple tarts is very popular during Chinese New Year in Malaysia and Singapore.
DeleteHave a nice week ahead,regards.
WOW! this looks really good! Used to make this alot with my mum. great share ( :
ReplyDeleteThanks Sunita..kudos to Amelia :)
DeleteTried but did not turn out well. The dough was too dry. Love pls try the pineapple shaped tart recipe.
DeleteHi Anonymous, sorry to know that your dough turn out hard. As you did not state in detail, there are various reason why the dough sometimes did not turn out. PLEASE NO PREJUDICE OR ANYTHING OFFEND/UNDERESTIMATE YOUR BAKING SKILL.
DeleteBefore baking if dough too dry.
1/ For cookies pastry one have to judge and feel the texture before proceed further. If too wet add more flour, too dry add a little bit more egg to get the right consistency of the dough.
2/ Dough being expose too long without cover with a damp cloth.
3/ Flour condensation/humidity & Storage. The volume of the flour will be affected by humidity. In very humid or very dry conditions the flour will be affected but this can be controlled easily by adding a little flour or water to the dough if the consistency seems to require it.
4/ All-purpose flour has a 10-12% protein content and is made from a blend of hard and soft wheat flours. It can be bleached or unbleached which are interchangeable. All-purpose flour can vary in its protein content not only by brand but also regionally. The same brand can have different protein contents depending on what area of the country you are buying it.
5/ Flour, when packaged, has about a 14% moisture content. When stored, however, its moisture content will vary. In general, the longer flour is stored the more moisture it loses. This is why on a dry day using old flour your pastry will require more water than on a wet day using new flour.
6/ Proper measuring of your flour is important, as too much flour will result in a tough and/or heavy baked good. When measuring flour spoon your flour into a measuring cup and then level off the cup with a knife. Do not pack it down. As stated above, flour gets compacted in the bag during shipping, so scooping your flour right out of the bag using your measuring cup will result in too much flour.
If after baking the pastry is hard could be due to dough over mixed or kneaded too hard. Second reason oven temperature too hot or cookies tray place to near to the oven element. Third reason dough consistency ( refer to no 1 to no 6 )
Hope the above help. I'm not a professional baker but I'd been baking for 30 years thru trial an error. Till today, sometimes I still fail when experiment new recipes. Hope my 2 cent input help.
Hi Sri, thank you for being a very good friend and I feel very honor to be invited as your first guest in your blog. Hope my reply is not too lengthy. But I'm sure it can help for those who want to learn baking.
Have a lovely week ahead, Cheers!