Pineapple Cake
Buttery shortbread cases filled with a firm, slightly tart pineapple and winter melon jam, baked in small square moulds.
Photograph credit: Taiwanese Pineapple Cake 001 by Ocdp · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Build the Meal Around Pineapple Cake
- Oolong tea
- Jasmine tea
- Strong black coffee
Making Pineapple Cake, Step by Step
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Blitz half the pineapple to a purée and leave the rest finely chopped — the mix gives both body and texture.
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Put all the pineapple and the grated apple in a wide pan and cook over medium heat for 40 minutes, stirring often, until most of the liquid has gone.
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Add the sugar, lemon juice and maltose and cook 20 to 30 minutes more, stirring constantly at the end, until the mixture is very thick, darkened, and holds a clear channel when you drag a spoon through it.
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Cool completely, then roll into 16 balls of about 20 g each and chill.
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For the pastry, beat the butter and icing sugar 4 minutes until pale. Beat in the egg yolk.
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Fold in the milk powder, flour, cornflour, salt and cheese to a soft dough. Chill 30 minutes.
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Divide the dough into 16 pieces of about 30 g. Flatten one into a disc, sit a filling ball in the middle, and bring the dough up around it, sealing completely.
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Press each filled ball into a rectangular pineapple cake mould set on a lined tray, flattening the top.
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Bake at 160°C / 320°F fan for 12 minutes, then flip each cake in its mould with tongs and bake 10 minutes more until pale gold on both sides.
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Cool completely in the moulds before unmoulding. They firm up as they cool.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Notes
Cook the filling until a spoon leaves a clear channel. Loose filling leaks.
Flip them halfway so both faces colour evenly.
Cool fully in the moulds — warm cakes fall apart.
Storing and Reheating
Airtight at room temperature for 2 weeks. They improve after a day.
Common Questions
How long does Pineapple Cake take to make?
45 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes of cooking, plus 30 minutes of chilling, so allow 2 hours 35 minutes to 2 hours 50 minutes from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling the filling and the cakes, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 16.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted. How the figures are worked out.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .