Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes are one of Taiwan's best food souvenirs. Whenever my friends and family return from a trip to Taiwan, there's an unwritten rule that you must bring back a box of Taiwanese treats like Pineapple Cakes. (Okay, maybe that's just my unwritten rule.)
Sometimes called Pineapple Tarts or Pineapple Shortbread, they taste amazing when served slightly warm and paired with a cup of hot tea. In this recipe video tutorial I'll show you how to make this these delicious Pineapple Cakes at home.
Surprisingly, these aren't too difficult to make if you have the right equipment like a stand mixer and the baking supplies. I don't think I could mix these ingredients by hand without really getting an arm workout, plus I wouldn't enjoy making these as much.
I make my pineapple cake filling from 100% pineapples, but oftentimes the bakeries in Taiwan will use winter melon instead to save on costs. Luckily, pineapples aren't very expensive in the US. (Besides, if we used winter melon, I'd be tempted to call them winter melon cakes.) Tip: I recommend using canned crushed pineapples because they give you just the right amount of texture for this pastry filling, and they've been pre-crushed. If you decide to use fresh pineapple or sliced canned pineapple, you will need to either finely chop or use a food processor or blender.
Ingredients:
Makes 9 Pineapple Cakes
Pineapple Filling
1 - 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple (this should give you approx. 1 1/2 cups of pineapple drained)
Equipment: I'm using a KitchenAid Artisan 5 quart stand mixer. It comes with a coated flat beater, which is what I recommend using for mixing the dough. Added bonus: the mixer comes in over 20 colors. : )
