Gluten-free Pineapple Tarts

Another year has passed by so quickly. It has been a really hectic and busy year for me. I still bake regularly, but hardly have time to sit down and write. As the Chinese New Year approaches, I made myself a promise to share more healthy recipes in this platform.

Pineapple tarts have been in my to-do-list for several years. This time, I finally got down to baking them from scratch. However, I have a problem - my younger child is allergic to wheat and dairy. These are the two main ingredients to create the signature buttery, melt-in-the-mouth pineapple tarts. After much consideration, I decided to focus on creating a healthy pineapple tart that is gluten free instead of trying to match its original or usual taste . It took me quite a fair bit of trials and research using different ingredients, adapting the original recipe before coming up with a recipe that I am happy enough to share.

These pineapple tarts do not melt in the mouth; instead they are chewy as they are made from wholegrain. They are not buttery, yet still creamy with the addition of grated coconut. They are nutritious, refined sugar-free, high in fibre and protein. For the health-consious, they make a wonderful addition to the Chinese New Year goodies box.

After experimenting with a few alternative grains, I find the combination of raw almond flour and brown rice flour creates a light and soft crust for the pineapple tarts. Grated coconut is added for its aroma and creaminess to make up for the absence of butter. As for the filling, I used whole pineapple, including the core to increase the fibre content. As usual, I skipped sugar and chose a ripe pineapple for its natural sweetness, and sweetened it just a bit more with honey and dates.

The whole process is time consuming; it took me and my five-year-old daughter almost a whole day. I am really happy that she is patient enough to persist in the tasks till the end, even though we were both slightly challenged when we started on shaping the pineapple tarts. I was quite impressed that she didn’t give up, and shaped really nice pineapple tarts after a few tries. She is the main motivation for me to keep baking, and to believe that time spent in the kitchen with the children is never wasted.

These tarts have a crust that is soft yet chewy with a nutty fragrance from the almond, complemented with sweet creamy taste from coconut and slight crispiness from brown rice. The pineapple filling add a refreshing sweetness to the nutty crust, with a subtle hint of cinnamon and honey, it’s addictive! Word of caution however – chewing is required!

Gluten Free Pineapple tarts

(Refined sugar free, low fat, high fibre, high protein)

Ingredients (makes 30 pcs)

Crust:

• 100g Raw almond flour (You may replace with blanched almond flour for a lighter crust colour)

• 100g Brown rice flour (You may replace with rice flour for a softer crust)

• 100g Tapioca starch

• 40g Grated coconut

• 30g Extra virgin olive oil

• 7g Salt

• 190g Water

Filling:

• 500g pineapple flesh (from 1 medium sized,~ 800g Honey pineapple )

• 1 tbsp honey

• 10pcs Medjool dates (optional)

• 1 stick cinnamon

Glaze:

• 2 tbsp Honey

• 2 tbsp Unsweetened soymilk/nutmilk

Method:

1. Cut both ends of the pineapple and stand it on the chopping board. Skin the pineapple, then remove the eyes by cutting a v-shaped groove in and upward diagonal spiral around the pineapple. Rinse and cut into small pieces. Remove the core before cutting it into small pieces if you prefer a finer textured pineapple filling.

2. Soak and remove pit from dates.

3. Mince the pineapples and dates in a food processor/blender. Do not mince it too finely.

4. Squeeze out the juice from the mixture till no juices are visible, but not too dry. This is to shorten the cooking time of the paste.

5. Pour the paste into a wok, add in the cinnamon stick and cook over medium heat, stirring often to prevent it from getting burnt, till the juice dries up (about 20 minutes). Add honey and continue cooking and stirring constantly, till it form a fairly moist paste with no runny juices (for another 20-30mins).

6. Scoop into a bowl and leave to cool, then chill in fridge overnight.

7. To use, measure out 8-10g paste and make into balls.

8. In a mixing bowl, combine almond flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, salt and grated coconut. Add oil into water and slowly pour into dry ingredients, mixing with a spoon to form dough. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

9. Weigh and shape dough into 15g balls, you should get about 30 pieces

10. Cover to prevent it from drying up while you are shaping the pineapple tarts

11. Preheat oven to 180⁰C

12. To make open faced pineapple tarts, roll out dough into 0.5cm thickness. Cut out the shape of the crust using a pineapple tart cookie cutter. Arrange the shaped crust onto baking tray.

13. Mix honey and nutmilk to make glaze. Brush the surface of the crust with the glaze and bake for 5 minutes in the middle rack

14. Meanwhile, continue to work on shaping and glazing the second batch of crust.

15. Once 5 minutes is up, take out the lightly baked crust and place the second batch of crust to bake. At the same time, place the pineapple paste balls on the baked crust, pressing down gently to prevent any empty pockets. Then bake for another 15 minutes. This can prevent pineapple paste from drying out excessively

16. To make pineapple balls, roll dough into ball and flatten with your fingers, making sure the thickness is even. Place the pineapple paste ball in the middle and carefully wrap the paste with the dough. Roll it into a ball and place on baking tray. Glaze and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes in the middle rack.

17. Continue this process till all dough is used up.

Allow the pineapple tarts to cool completely on a cooling rack. It is recommended to store them in an airtight container in the fridge if you plan to keep beyond 2 days, as they don’t preserve well due to its low sugar content. Toast lightly for 5 minutes before serving and they taste as good as fresh!

I hope you would give this recipe a try and share with me how you like this sinful turned healthy pineapple tarts for this Chinese New Year!