Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Korilakkuma pineapple cakes

This unique Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes no longer makes us bored with the standard rectangular shape; And I’m sure that your kids will love it too

Hi Everyone, today I am making these cute “Korilakkuma Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes”.
Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes actually almost similar to other Asian Pineapple Cakes; but typically larger than the Singaporean / Malaysian Pineapple Cakes.

They are made with butter pastry crust filled with thick pineapple jam. The cakes are baked in an individual mould, usually in square or rectangle mould.

Taiwanese style (left) ~ Singapore/ Malaysia style (right)

I was told by several Taiwanese-style bakeries that the traditional kind of Taiwanese pineapple cakes are made of pineapple jam that is made of winter melon and maltose syrup so that the jam is extra sweet, heavy and sticky.

Pineapple Jam

However, due to the change of time, most consumers are becoming more health conscious these days and prefer the less sweet and sticky version of pineapple cakes (I personally don’t like food that overly sweet). For this reason, in this recipe I would like to stick to my regular pineapple jam with NO winter melon and maltose syrup.

And I always think, how to make these Pineapple Cakes look more attractive?
This cute Rilakkuma cookie cutter with facial stamp really make life easier;
No longer makes us bored with the standard rectangular shape and I’m sure that your kids will love it too.

The crust to filling proportion is spot-on; thin crust with the right amount of filling.

And people often ask, what is the tips so that the crust is tender?
As soon as the bottom and edges golden brown, take them out from the oven.
Let it stay in the pan for about 5 minutes; Don’t wait it to cool, put in the sealed box while still hot (place kitchen paper on the bottom and the top to absorb the excess moisture).

This way, the cakes won’t be hardened and the crust will be tender.
These Pineapple Cakes will keep well for up to 3 months in the fridge, in an airtight container.

Some people use chocolate for the details;
I prefer royal icing because the chocolate that comes out of the fridge will “sweat”, melt easily, it definitely will ruin the look of your Korilakkuma.

Look how cute they are ☺️

Pineapple cakes make a great Chinese New Year gift for family and friends or a tasty birthday gift for loved ones!

The filling is just perfect not too sweet, they are such an addictive tea snack.

Tender buttery crust with a sweet and tang of homemade pineapple filling inside.
The crust is crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth and the pineapple jam is just perfectly thick but not tough.

I hope this korilakkuma cake can make everyone smile 🙃❤️.

Love you All 🥰


KORILAKKUMA PINEAPPLE CAKES
Yield: 40 pieces
Active Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 4 hours

🌿 Pineapple Filling
1000 g Pineapple (after peeled)
200 g Granulated Sugar
10 ml Lemon Juice
1/8 tsp Salt

🌿 Crust Dough
340 g Salted Butter (soft)
100 g Icing Sugar
85 g Egg Yolks
75 g Condensed Milk
530 g Cake Flour
1/2 tsp Salt

🌿 Royal Icing
130 g Icing Sugar (sifted)
4 tsp Lemon Juice
30 g Corn Syrup

Rilakkuma Cookie Cutter: https://amzn.to/3Y6iNvu

INSTRUCTIONS
🌿 Pineapple Filling

  1. Cut pineapple in half (the lower part of the core is a bit hard, so you need to remove it). 1000 g Pineapple (after peeled)
  2. Shred pineapple into small pieces (about 1×1 cm), cut he core thinly.
  3. Place the shredded pineapples along with the juice into a non-stick pan.
  4. Pour in the sugar along with lemon juice and salt; and then bring it to a boil. 200 g Granulated Sugar; 10 ml Lemon Juice; 1/8 tsp Salt
    There’s no need to cover with a lid, what you need to do now is to evaporate all the liquid.
    Cook over high heat (as long as there is a water in a pot, it will not burn the bottom).
  5. Once the pineapple juice almost completely dry, lower the heat to medium low;
    And continue cooking until it turn into dark brown caramel colour, take it off from the heat.
  6. When the filling is cooled completely, it will become sticky and a bit hard; make it easier to wrap.
    Divide them into small portions; 10 grams each;
    Roll each portion into an oval shape, flatten it; And cover them with a cling wrap to prevent from drying out.

🌿 Crust Dough

  1. In a large bowl, using whisk or mixer; beat the soft butter for a few seconds. 340 g Salted Butter (soft)
  2. Add in the icing sugar and continue beat over high speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes). 100 g Icing Sugar
  3. Mix in the egg yolks (this yolks is going to give extra flaky texture). 85 g Egg Yolks
  4. Pour in the condensed milk, mix it really well. 75 g Condensed Milk
  5. Sift in the flour along with the salt; mix until well combined. 530 g Cake Flour; 1/2 tsp Salt
    You don’t want to over-mix it, you can use whisk or mixer first (low speed) and then using spatula to make sure all is well combined and there’s no butter mixture left at the bottom of the bowl.
  6. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let the dough rest for half hour.
  7. After 30 minutes, the dough is ready.
    Divide it into small pieces; 30 grams each. Roll each piece into a smooth ball.
    Cover the balls with a cling wrap to prevent from drying out.

🌿 Moulding the Cake

  1. Take 1 piece of the crust dough, roll into a cylinder shape;
  2. Press down in the middle and place the filling in the centre; Wrap it up
  3. Then over a piece of parchment paper, put the filled dough inside the cutter with the smooth side facing down.
  4. Using your palm; press down while spreading the dough, filling in the blanks (this step will be time consuming especially hands part, so be patient).
  5. Release the cake from the cutter with a smooth part facing up (baking sheet lined with a parchment paper); And carefully; press the facial stamp on top of each cake.
  6. Store the cakes in the fridge for about 30 min before baking so it doesn’t spread too much
  7. Bake them in the preheated 170°C oven for about 18-20 minutes (rotate the pan halfway through baking).
  8. As soon as the bottom and edges golden brown, take them out.
    Let the cakes stay in the pan for 5 minutes; Don’t wait it to cool, put in the sealed box while still hot (place kitchen paper on the bottom and the top to absorb the excess moisture).
    This way, the Pineapple Cake won’t be hardened and the crust will be tender.
  9. On the next day, you can continue with the details.

🌿 Royal Icing
Simply combine the sifted icing sugar, lemon juice and Corn Syrup. 130 g Icing Sugar (sifted); 4 tsp Lemon Juice; 30 g Corn Syrup
*If you feel the consistency is too thick, you can add a little bit of boiling water; on the other hand if it’s too thin; add more icing sugar.


🌿 Notes

  1. These Pineapple Cakes will keep well for up to 3 months in the fridge, in an airtight container.
  2. For the details
    Some people use chocolate, I prefer royal icing because the chocolate that comes out of the fridge will “sweat”, melt easily, it definitely will ruin the look of your Korilakkuma.
    Let the first layer of the icing sets hard before you add another details on top.
    If you are in humid conditions, you can turn on the air conditioner to speed up the drying process.
Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Lovely Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes/ Tarts

Hi Everyone, today we are making these “Lovely Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes”.
It is a crumbly and nearly melt-in-the-mouth pastry with the pineapple jam as the filling inside.

The difference with the Singaporean/ Malaysian pineapple tart is they are typically larger and made in square or rectangle shape.

I personally prefer the Taiwanese version coz the pastries have a rich distinctively crumbly milky taste and filled with a generous portion of sweet sticky chewy pineapple filling inside.

Pineapple cakes filling from commercial manufactures usually made of winter melon and Maltose Syrup so that the filling is extra sweet, heavy and sticky, which is not healthy.

They usually substitute all or part of the pineapple with winter melon, a vegetable in the squash family that is much cheaper than pineapple.

Since winter melon has little flavour, artificial flavours and colours are added to the pastries to make them attractive to consumer, and then Maltose syrup has been added to stiffen the fillling.

For this reason, I would like to show you how to make the healthier style of Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes which is hold up pretty well, so adorable and taste much fresher.

A lot of research went into perfecting these treats. But the end result was wonderful.
The key is the exterior, that’s how it will remain even after it is baked so you want the dough to be as smooth as possible. 

Pineapple Cakes before baking

So I actually found two versions of the crust that I liked, and there’s no need to put them in the fridge at all.

The first one I called a “basic dough” for the character’s body. It’s buttery, soft, yet also malleable and sturdy enough to hold its form.
And the second dough that I called the “colouring dough”. It’s soft and easy to work with, even for small details and also colour well with any kind of edible food colouring.

Is there anybody that wouldn’t want to box these as a present ? They are so cute, tasty, photogenic, everthing you could ever want!

They taste amazing when served slightly warm and paired with a cup of hot tea.
The buttery crust is rich and crumbly, filled with fruity sweet sour, chewy and sticky pineapple filling, they are absolutely delicious.

I really hope you Guys give it a try, they are a lot of fun to put together and they are pretty simple too! Love you all!!

LOVELY TAIWANESE PINEAPPLE CAKES
Yield: 10 pieces
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 2 1/2 hours

INGREDIENTS
Pineapple Filling

  • 500 grams Pineapple (Chopped)
  • 120 grams Granulated Sugar
  • 20 grams Unsalted Butter
  • 30 grams Glutinous Rice Flour

Basic Dough

  • 100 grams Salted Butter (Cold)
  • 12 grams Icing Sugar
  • 22 grams Egg Yolks
  • 152 grams All-Purpose Flour
  • 24 grams Milk Powder

Colouring Dough

  • 25 grams Salted Butter (Cold)
  • 7 grams Condensed Milk
  • 3 grams Egg Yolks
  • 38 grams All-Purpose Flour
  • Food Colouring (Red, Soft Pink, Black, White)

INSTRUCTIONS
Pineapple Filling

  1. Cut off the pineapple skin, took off the core and coarsely cut them into chunks (if you use canned pineapple, make sure to adjust the sugar level. They will take longer to cook coz the heavy water content in the canned pineapple).
  2. Transfer the chunks into a non-stick pan, add in the sugar (since the sweetness of each pineapple is different, feel free to adjust the amount of the sugar accordingly). Cook over medium high heat. Stirring constantly until most of the moisture has evaporated. Don’t forget to adjust the heat level based on the water content that was left in the pan.
    *I suggest using a non-stick pan as it is sticky after when it becomes concentrated.
  3. When the pineapple is about to dry, looks translucent and a bit brownish, lower the heat, add in the butter. Stir continously until the butter melted and incorporated in the pineapple (the butter makes the pineapple fillings smoother and easier to handle during wrapping).
  4. For the binder, sprinkle in some of the glutinous rice flour. Add it gradually, to make sure that the flour are distribute evenly. Mix until well combined.
  5. Take it off from the heat, spread the fillings thinly on a large plate to cool completely.


Basic Dough

  1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar until light and smooth.
  2. Add in the egg yolks, mix well 
  3. Pour in All-Purpose Flour and milk powder, mix until all the ingredients just combined and create a dough ball (do not overmix to avoid the formation of gluten, which will make the pastry less flaky).
  4. Cover them with a plastic wrap to prevent the dough dry. Set aside


Colouring Dough

  1. Combine the butter, condensed milk and egg yolks, mix well.
  2. Pour in the all-purpose flour, mix until it’s form a smooth dough.
  3. Colour it as needed (remember to always cover the dough with a plastic wrap to keep their moisture).


Wrapping, Decorating and Baking

  1. Divide pineapple filling into portions of 20 grams each, and basic dough 25 grams each.
  2. Roll each portion of pineapple filling into a ball.
  3. Flatten a portion of basic dough (you can do this in your palm or with a small rolling pin).
  4. And then place a portion of filling into the centre of the flattened dough. 
  5. Gently wrap the dough around the filling, pinching away and setting aside excess dough at the top and where the edges meet. 
  6. Gently roll the filled dough between your palms to form a smooth oval ball. 
  7. Using some basic dough and white colouring dough for the ears.
    Apply some white colouring dough for the face.
    Black dough for the nose, mouth and eyes.
    Soft pink for the cheeks and tounge.
    Using love shape plunger cutter to create the heart shape.
    And finally, use some basic dough to create her hands and legs.
    *Make sure the details sticks really well otherwise it will tilted or fall down while baking.
  8. Bake in the preheat 160°C oven for 20 minutes.
    Remove from the oven, allow  to cool slightly on the pan for about 20-25 minutes, and then transfer them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.


NOTES

  1. The dough will expand a bit when baked in the oven.
  2. You can use any food colouring for the “Colouring Dough” (powder, gel, liquid).
  3. Store the cakes at room temperature in an airtight container, the crust will have become more tender.
  4. Pineapple cakes turning mouldy even when stored in an airtight containers is due to the presence of too much moisture.
    Store pineapple cakes which are cooled to room temperature in an airtight container away from the sunlight for 3-4 days.
    Keep them refrigerated for up to 1 months.