Taiwanese pineapple cake, also called Feng Li Su in Chinese, which is a famous pastry from Taiwan. Due to the delicious and unique flavor, it is also an excellent souvenir to share with friends and family from Taiwan. The traditional Taiwanese pineapple cake has the sweet filling made from fresh pineapples and the chunky curst by the butter shortcake. Although I am not originally from Taiwan, I love this pastry since I tried it for the first time. Therefore, I decided to challenge myself to make it at home. I did a lot of researches on this easy homemade pineapple cake recipe, so I want to share with you if you’re going to try this descent pastry dessert too.
How to make a tasty pineapple cake filling?
- According to some recipes from the pineapple cake shop in Taiwan, the pineapple cake filling is a mix of fresh pineapple and winter melon. The benefit of using the winter melon is to smooth the texture of the filling, it is not nesscery For this homemade recipe, I used Dole Gold pineapple chunks since it’s the offseason for pineapple in where I live now. If you can get the fresh pineapple in your area, you can use it by cutting it into cubes.
- Blend the pineapple chunks to puree, and then cook it with sugar until the water evaporated. Cook the pineapple puree on high heat, and keep stirring it to avoid the lumps.
- Turn the heat to low, then add maltose into it. Keep flipping the pineapple paste until it becomes sticky and transparent.
How long can pineapple cake last?
- Since it’s a homemade pineapple cake, it is better to eat it within three days. You can keep the pineapple cake in an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator no longer than a week. Bring it to room temperature before serving for the best taste.
First of all, we need to make the pineapple paste for the filling.
I used Dole Pineapple chunks instead of fresh pineapple. (It's better to use the fresh pineapple chopped into cubes, but I couldn't get it due to the off-season). Strain the pineapple chunks from the can, and puree it in a blender.
Transfer the pineapple puree to a saucepan, and bring to boil. Add sugar and keep stirring until it is dissolved.
Keep cooking it on high heat until the pineapple puree becomes translucent and sticky, and with no more juice in the saucepan, then add maltose into it.
Keep stirring the mixture while cooking. When you see the mixture becomes pale and sticky, it means it's almost ready. Keep cooking for another five minutes; then you will see the color becomes darker.
Turn off the heat and transfer the pineapple paste to a bowl. Let it cool down.
Now, we need to make the crust for the pineapple cake.
Bring the unsalted butter to room temperature until it's soft. Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until fluffy by a hand mixer whisk. Add sugar into it and keep beating the mixture for another two to three minutes on a high speed. You will see the butter becomes twice the size bigger, after the beat.
Slowly add the beaten egg into the mixture, and beat it until the egg is well mixed. The butter should be smooth when it's well mixed.
Add all-purpose flour and milk powder into the mixture, and then mix it with a spatula. Stir it until well mixed. The dough is very sticky at this moment. We need to wrap the dough by the plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
Divide the pineapple paste into 15g for ten pieces, roll each of them into a ball. And then leave them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes with plastic wrap covered.
When the dough is ready, divide it into 20g for ten pieces. Roll each dough into a ball. Flatten the dough to a circle by your palm, and place the pineapple filling in the center. Gently seal the dough from the edge to the center to wrap the whole filling inside. Roll the entire piece into a ball shape.
Repeat the same procedure for the rest doughs and fillings.
Gently pat the flour on each dough. Place the dough in a cookie mold on the baking pan, then press the top part of the mold to get the shape.
For this step, if you are not using a cookie mold, you can shape the pineapple cake into a cube.
Preheat the oven to 338F, bake for 10 minutes. Take the baking pan out of the oven, flip each pineapple cake bottom up. Return it to the oven, bake for another 10 minutes.
Let it cool down after baking. Store the pineapple cakes in a glass container with a lid for freshness.
Ingredients
Directions
First of all, we need to make the pineapple paste for the filling.
I used Dole Pineapple chunks instead of fresh pineapple. (It's better to use the fresh pineapple chopped into cubes, but I couldn't get it due to the off-season). Strain the pineapple chunks from the can, and puree it in a blender.
Transfer the pineapple puree to a saucepan, and bring to boil. Add sugar and keep stirring until it is dissolved.
Keep cooking it on high heat until the pineapple puree becomes translucent and sticky, and with no more juice in the saucepan, then add maltose into it.
Keep stirring the mixture while cooking. When you see the mixture becomes pale and sticky, it means it's almost ready. Keep cooking for another five minutes; then you will see the color becomes darker.
Turn off the heat and transfer the pineapple paste to a bowl. Let it cool down.
Now, we need to make the crust for the pineapple cake.
Bring the unsalted butter to room temperature until it's soft. Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until fluffy by a hand mixer whisk. Add sugar into it and keep beating the mixture for another two to three minutes on a high speed. You will see the butter becomes twice the size bigger, after the beat.
Slowly add the beaten egg into the mixture, and beat it until the egg is well mixed. The butter should be smooth when it's well mixed.
Add all-purpose flour and milk powder into the mixture, and then mix it with a spatula. Stir it until well mixed. The dough is very sticky at this moment. We need to wrap the dough by the plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
Divide the pineapple paste into 15g for ten pieces, roll each of them into a ball. And then leave them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes with plastic wrap covered.
When the dough is ready, divide it into 20g for ten pieces. Roll each dough into a ball. Flatten the dough to a circle by your palm, and place the pineapple filling in the center. Gently seal the dough from the edge to the center to wrap the whole filling inside. Roll the entire piece into a ball shape.
Repeat the same procedure for the rest doughs and fillings.
Gently pat the flour on each dough. Place the dough in a cookie mold on the baking pan, then press the top part of the mold to get the shape.
For this step, if you are not using a cookie mold, you can shape the pineapple cake into a cube.
Preheat the oven to 338F, bake for 10 minutes. Take the baking pan out of the oven, flip each pineapple cake bottom up. Return it to the oven, bake for another 10 minutes.
Let it cool down after baking. Store the pineapple cakes in a glass container with a lid for freshness.