The Pineapple Cake originated from the Three Kingdoms period in China.
It is a tribute to the Taiwanese region and is widely used in contemporary Taiwan wedding customs. It is deeply loved by the people.
To make pineapple cakes, you must make the pineapple filling yourself. The filling is made with 100% pineapple pulp and is absolutely irresistible.
You don’t need to use wax gourd or even maltose to make the filling, but 100% pure pineapple and sugar. Is it simple? So simple, and absolutely irresistible!
The pineapple pulp fiber gives the filling more texture and a slightly sour taste stimulating our taste buds so that we want to eat and eat again.
The most troublesome part of making pineapple fillings is that the frying can take a long time. So, in this recipe, I replaced the fresh pineapple with canned pineapple and squeezed out most of the liquid.
The advantage of this is that first of all, the taste of the canned pineapple is relatively stable, meaning you can avoid the variation in flavor caused by using a few different fresh pineapples.
Second, the canned flesh of the pineapple can be relatively soft and when you squeeze out all the water, it really shortens the time for frying.
Some people may think that using canned food is not as good as that of fresh fruit. However, I discovered that the taste is very good. The canned Pineapple Cake filling is made with sugar and the pineapple syrup.
Making the pineapple filling with fresh pineapple also takes a long time to cook and fry. In fact, there is not a lot of difference between the fresh and canned pineapple.
For a good pineapple filling, you want the taste to be slightly acidic. When you make it with canned pineapple, you will find that the acidity is just right.
Locally produced pineapple is usually highly acidic. So, if you use fresh pineapple, you will need to add more sugar, so that the filling is not overly acidic. This means you will be using more sugar if you use fresh pineapple, rather than if you used canned pineapple.
The most important thing is that even when the pineapples are not in season, you can still eat Pineapple Cake with 100% pure canned pineapple. The taste is very delicious.
Pineapple Cake (16 pieces)
Ingredients:
Pineapple filling:
- 750g canned pineapple
- 100g fine sugar
Puff pastry:
- 90g low-gluten flour
- 35g whole milk powder
- 75g butter
- 25g eggs
- 20g powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt (1.25ml)
Baking: In the oven at 180 C, for about 15 minutes.
Method:
First, to make the filling, drain and weigh the canned pineapple.
Cut the pineapple into very small pieces with a knife. (It is not recommended to use a food processor to break down the pineapple, because this will make the pineapple lose more of its taste).
Next, squeeze all the juice out of the chopped pineapple into a bowl with your hands. Reserve this liquid and any left in the can as you will add it back in later.
This will result in the pineapple having a loose and drier texture.
Heat up a non-stick pan and add the pineapple, sugar and 100 grams of the pineapple syrup.
Stir slowly over medium heat until the water slowly evaporates and the mixture becomes thick.
Stir the mixture and then turn off the heat.
If you want it to cool quickly, place the fried pineapple on a plate until it cools.
In this step, we will make the pastry. Cut the butter up into small pieces, place in a bowl and soften it. Add the sugar powder and salt, and beat together with a hand mixer or egg beater.
Add eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Once this happens, you can add the milk powder.
Sift in the low gluten flour and mix well with a spatula until it becomes a soft dough.
Divide the pineapple filling and pastry dough according to the ratio of 6:4. For example, if you want to make a 30-gram pineapple cake, you can divide the filling into 18 grams and the pastry into 12 grams. Roll each portion into little balls.
Sprinkle a handful of flour onto the countertop to prevent the dough sticking. Take a ball of pastry dough and flatten it.
Place the filling onto the flattened dough and wrap the dough around it.
After this, gently mold the dough into a square shape, so it will fit in the square molds.
Press the dough with the palm of your hand so it fits into the mold. After all the dough is pressed into the mold, put the molds into a preheated oven at 180C and bake for about 15 minutes until they are golden brown.
After a little cooling, you can take the cakes out of their molds. (But they must be baked in the mold, otherwise the shape will not hold while they being baked).
TIPS:
1. Using canned pineapple to make the pineapple filling means you do not have to worry about whether pineapples are in season or not. The taste of canned pineapple is relatively stable, and the flesh is soft and dry when squeezed out, which can reduce the time for frying.
2. After the pineapple is diced, the water is squeezed to further shorten the time for frying. However, if you have trouble squeezing, you can also fry the filling directly without squeezing out the liquid, though it will take longer.
3. The fried pineapple filling will be harder after cooling it. The pineapple filling should not be too soggy, otherwise the crispy pastry will become too soft and break open when it is cooked.
4. A delicious pineapple cake, in addition to a full weight of the filling, must also have a rich milky casing. The butter is the key to a fragrant pastry, so I prefer to use President butter. As a fermented butter, it has a rich aroma, making the cakes more fragrant than ordinary butter.
5. After the baked Pineapple Cake has completely cooled down, you can place it in a sealed box and when eaten the next day, the flavor of the pastry and filling will be stronger, making the cakes taste better.
More cakes desserts you should know:
- Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe (Step By Step With Image)
- Moist And Delicious Sweet Potato Cake Recipe
- Chinese Sponge Cake – Simple Version But Delicious
- Water Chestnut Cake Recipe – Chinese Famous Dim Sum
- Mango Pancakes Recipe – Hong Kong Mango Crepe
- Snow Skin Mooncake With Milky Pineapple Filling
- Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake Recipe (Ji Dan Gao)
- Chinese Rice Cake Recipe – Step By Step Guide
- Chinese Pumpkin Cake – Two Methods, You Must Love One Of Them
- Red Bean Cakes Recipe
- Wife Cake – Sweetheart Cake
- Mung Bean Cake Recipe – Two Scrumptious Versions
- Fa Gao (Fortune Cake) – Chinese Steamed Cakes
Taiwanese Pineapple Cake
Ingredients
- 750 g canned pineapple
- 100 g fine sugar
- 90 g low-gluten flour
- 35 g whole milk powder
- 75 g butter
- 25 g eggs
- 20 g powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt 1.25ml
Instructions
- First, to make the filling, drain and weigh the canned pineapple.
- Cut the pineapple into very small pieces with a knife. (It is not recommended to use a food processor to break down the pineapple, because this will make the pineapple lose more of its taste).
- Next, squeeze all the juice out of the chopped pineapple into a bowl with your hands. Reserve this liquid and any left in the can as you will add it back in later.
- This will result in the pineapple having a loose and drier texture.
- Heat up a non-stick pan and add the pineapple, sugar and 100 grams of the pineapple syrup.
- Stir slowly over medium heat until the water slowly evaporates and the mixture becomes thick.
- Stir the mixture and then turn off the heat.
- If you want it to cool quickly, place the fried pineapple on a plate until it cools.
- In this step, we will make the pastry. Cut the butter up into small pieces, place in a bowl and soften it. Add the sugar powder and salt, and beat together with a hand mixer or egg beater.
- Add eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Once this happens, you can add the milk powder.
- Sift in the low gluten flour and mix well with a spatula until it becomes a soft dough.
- Divide the pineapple filling and pastry dough according to the ratio of 6:4. For example, if you want to make a 30-gram pineapple cake, you can divide the filling into 18 grams and the pastry into 12 grams. Roll each portion into little balls.
- Sprinkle a handful of flour onto the countertop to prevent the dough sticking. Take a ball of pastry dough and flatten it.
- Place the filling onto the flattened dough and wrap the dough around it.
- After this, gently mold the dough into a square shape, so it will fit in the square molds.
- Press the dough with the palm of your hand so it fits into the mold. After all the dough is pressed into the mold, put the molds into a preheated oven at 180C and bake for about 15 minutes until they are golden brown.
- After a little cooling, you can take the cakes out of their molds. (But they must be baked in the mold, otherwise the shape will not hold while they being baked).
I use tinned fruit quite often, you are right it is a lot more stable flavour wise as its almost always sweater and ripe! These cake look amazing and so good, I’d love to try one.
What kind of flour do you use in this recipe? Any kind of low gluten flour? So excited to try making these!