Homemade Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes (Feng Li Su)

⏱ 110 min · Serves 16

Buttery, crumbly shortbread squares hugging a sticky-sweet pineapple jam with a gentle tang. They taste far better than the boxed airport version, and the jam is just fresh pineapple cooked down with sugar until jammy and golden.

Per serving: 210 kcal · 2.2g protein · 26.0g carbs · 11.0g fat

Ingredients

• For the pineapple jam:
• 900g fresh pineapple (about 1 medium), peeled and cored
• 80g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 20g unsalted butter
• For the pastry:
• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 40g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp milk powder (optional, for richness)
• 180g plain flour
• 40g cornflour

Method

1. Grate or blitz the pineapple coarsely (don't puree it — you want texture). Squeeze out most of the juice with your hands and reserve the juice.
2. Put the pulp, sugar, lemon juice and 100ml of the reserved juice in a wide frying pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 30–40 minutes until thick, sticky, golden and no liquid pools when you drag a spoon through.
3. Stir in the butter, cook 1 more minute, then spread on a plate to cool completely. You should have roughly 320g jam. Roll into 16 balls (about 20g each) and chill.
4. Beat the butter, icing sugar and salt until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg yolk and milk powder.
5. Sift in the flour and cornflour and mix to a soft dough. Chill 20 minutes.
6. Divide dough into 16 pieces (about 25g each). Flatten each into a disc, place a jam ball in the centre and seal, pinching the dough closed.
7. Press each into a square pineapple cake mould set on a lined baking tray (or shape into neat squares by hand and bake inside greased 5cm ring moulds). Chill 15 minutes.
8. Bake at 170C/150C fan for 12 minutes, flip the cakes (in their moulds) and bake another 10–12 minutes until pale gold on both sides.
9. Cool completely in the moulds before unmoulding — they firm up as they cool. Best after a day in an airtight tin.