Pineapple Cake

Taiwanese Pineapple Cake (Fengli Su)

Taiwan's iconic souvenir pastry: a curl of buttery shortcrust hugging a jammy pineapple (and sometimes winter melon) filling. Eat one the day it is baked, with a cup of oolong tea.

Prep

45 min

Cook

20 min

Total

65 min

Serves

16 small squares

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cubed; European-style cultured butter is closest to the original
• •80 g (⅓ cup + 2 tsp) powdered sugar, sifted; Taiwanese bakers use very fine confectioners' sugar
• •20 g (1 Tbsp + 2 tsp) milk powder, full-fat, adds the milky aroma of the original
• •280 g (2¼ cups) cake flour, low-gluten; substitute by removing 1 Tbsp per cup of all-purpose flour and replacing with cornstarch
• •30 g (¼ cup) cornstarch
• •1 g (¼ tsp) fine salt
• •2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• •30 ml (2 Tbsp) whole milk
• •500 g (about 1 lb) fresh pineapple, Taiwanese pineapple (e.g. Golden Diamond) is sweet-tart; adjust sugar if your fruit is very sweet
• •100 g (⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp) winter melon, optional but traditional; peeled and finely diced, gives the glossy tang
• •150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar, reduce by 25% if omitting winter melon
• •10 g (2 tsp) maltose, optional; gives the glossy, chewy set of commercial jam
• •1 pinch cream of tartar, helps the jam set without commercial pectin

Steps

1. 1 Make the jam: peel and core the pineapple, then finely chop or pulse to a coarse paste (some texture is traditional). If using winter melon, peel, dice 5 mm, and simmer in a little water for 10 minutes until translucent, then drain.
2. 2 Combine pineapple and winter melon in a heavy saucepan with the sugar and maltose. Cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture darkens to deep amber and a spatula drawn across the bottom leaves a brief trail, 25–35 minutes. Stir in the cream of tartar at the end. Cool completely; the jam should mound on a spoon.
3. 3 Make the crust: sift the cake flour, cornstarch, milk powder and salt together. In a separate bowl, beat the cold butter and powdered sugar on low just until combined and creamy; do not warm the butter or the dough will be greasy.
4. 4 Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then the milk, just until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low only until the dough just comes together. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill 30 minutes.
5. 5 Divide the dough into 16 pieces (about 22 g each) and the jam into 16 pieces (about 18 g each). Roll each jam piece into a small cube.
6. 6 Flatten a dough piece in your palm, place a jam cube in the center, and wrap the dough up and around the jam, pinching to seal. Press into a rectangular mould (about 6 × 3.5 × 1.5 cm) or shape by hand into a small brick. Repeat with all 16.
7. 7 Chill the shaped cakes 20 minutes so the butter firms up — this is what keeps the crust from slumping into the jam.
8. 8 Bake at 170°C / 340°F (convection) or 180°C / 350°F (conventional) for 18–22 minutes, rotating the tray once, until the tops and bottoms are pale gold and the edges just take on color. The crust should look set, not wet.
9. 9 Cool on the tray 5 minutes, then flip out onto a rack. Eat warm, or store once fully cooled in an airtight tin 3–4 days; the crust softens over time, which is the traditional eating texture.