Scottish Pineapple Tarts Recipe

Who knew that Pineapple Tarts are a Scottish recipe? Or at least, these kind of Pineapple Tarts are!

You’ll find these delicious little tarts in bakeries across Scotland and sometimes in cafes as well. If you’re a visitor, you might not even realise that they are pineapple flavoured!

What is a Pineapple Tart?

Basically, they’re a small tart case filled with pineapple jam and a huge dollop of whipped cream and covered in bright yellow icing. They sound a little weird, but they’re sooo good.

We love trying these whenever we come across them in a new bakery and decided it was finally time for us to make our own Pineapple Tarts recipe.

It’s not always easy to find pineapple jam, so we’ve also given you a simple way to make your own since that’s at the heart of what makes these pineapple flavoured!

There don’t seem to be very many recipes out there for Pineapple Tarts, maybe because they’re something that you’re more likely to just buy. But what if you don’t have access to a Scottish bakery or supermarket? Well, then, here you go!

We couldn’t find much about the history of these Pineapple Tarts in Scotland. They just seem to exist in bakeries and supermarkets across the country and have done so for a long while! We even checked out “Pineapple Creams”, as someone said they may be called that, but no luck there either.

If anyone knows, do let us in on the secret…

Are Pineapple Tarts Scottish?

These particular tarts are the version of a Pineapple Tart that you’ll find in Scotland. However, there are other versions of pineapple tarts around the world.

The one you’re the most likely to come across is the Pineapple Tart that’s eaten on special occasions in places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore or Taiwan.

It’s a little different as it’s more pineapple/pineapple jam wrapped in pastry, a bit like a sausage roll, or just pineapple jam on top of the pastry and with a pastry lattice over it. No cream or garish (we like the garish…) yellow icing in sight!

They’re often eaten at New Year celebrations as they symbolise bringing a sweet life into the new year. We could get behind that! Eating a Scottish Pineapple Tart at Hogmanay…

Things you’ll need to make Scottish Pineapple Tarts

• Fluted Cookie Cutter – If you want to have small ridges around the sides of the tarts, like in the shops
• Bunsheet or Small Cupcake Tray
• Aluminium Tart Cases – If you want to line the tins with these, but it’s not necessary
• Baking Paper or Cupcake Cases – To put on top of the pastry before the baking beans
• Baking Beans or Rice
• Blender or Food Processor
• Mixing Bowl
• Electric Hand Whisk/Beater
• Saucepan
• Small Cookie Scoop or Large Tablespoon

Ingredients for Pineapple Tarts

This recipe makes 12 tarts.

• 320g/11oz ready rolled shortcrust pastry For the jam:
• 425g/15oz tin of pineapple chunks in juice
• 225g sugar (1 cup + 2 tbsp) For the whipped cream:
• 300ml double cream (1 ¼ cups)
• 30g icing sugar (1/4 cup) For the icing:
• 325g icing sugar (2 ½ cups)
• 55ml water (3-4 tbsp)
• Yellow food colouring

Pastry

For ease, we have used pre-rolled pastry in this recipe, but you can easily make your own shortcrust pastry by following the pastry part of our mini Ecclefechan Tarts Recipe.

Cream

Pineapple Tarts in bakeries are often made with “mock cream”, which my Grandma also often used in baking when I was growing up. This means they avoid any perils with fresh cream having a shorter shelf life or being harder to form into a ball on top of the tart.

Food Colouring

Gel food colouring generally gives you the brightest yellow. We’ve gone pretty bright with ours but feel free to use whatever shade of yellow you like!

How to make Pineapple Tarts – Step-by-step method

Preheat the oven to 180C and unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut the pastry into 12 circles using a fluted cookie cutter and place these into the cups of a bunsheet or small cupcake tray. You can line the tin with aluminium tart cases if desired, but this is not essential.

Prick holes in the base of each pastry cup with a fork. Place a cupcake case on top of each, then fill with baking beans or rice.

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the cupcake cases and baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Whilst the pastry is baking, make the pineapple jam. Add the pineapple chunks and juice to a blender or food processor and blitz into a pulp.

Add the blended pineapple and sugar to a saucepan and stir. Boil on a medium heat, stirring frequently until reduced and thickened. This should take about 20-25 minutes.

Allow the pastry cases and jam to cool for at least 15 minutes whilst you prepare the whipped cream and icing.

Add the cream and 30g icing sugar to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until you have stiff peaks.

In a separate bowl, make the icing. Add half of the icing sugar and half of the water and mix until smooth. Then add the remaining icing sugar and water. The icing should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but still pourable.

Add a few drops of yellow food colouring and mix to combine.

Spoon approx. 1 heaped teaspoon of the pineapple jam into each pastry case, smoothing it out up to the edges.

Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to spoon rounds of the whipped cream onto each tart. You can also use a piping bag with a large round nozzle if desired. Be sure to leave a gap around the edge of the cream to give the icing somewhere to pool.

Spoon the icing on top of the cream and jam in each tart, allowing it to drip down the sides and cover the jam up to the edges of the pastry.

Chill the tarts in the fridge until ready to serve.

How long do Pineapple Tarts last?

Because they’re made with fresh cream, these tarts will only last for up to 2 days, stored in the fridge.

Other Tart Recipes:

• Scottish Ecclefechan Tart Recipe
• Classic Congress Tarts Recipe
• Old Fashioned Butterscotch Tart Recipe
• Cornflake Tart Recipe – A Simple School Classic!

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