Homemade pineapple rolls (pineapple tarts)
Posted in cake/ muffin, Chinese, cookie, Featured Articles, snacks, Vegetarian
Come every Lunar New Year, you will find pineapple rolls/tarts being sold like hot cakes here in Singapore and Malaysia. It ranks top in the list of popular baked pastries among Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese celebrating this festive season. While they come in many variations (and ranges in taste, texture, and sweetness), we can simply place them into either the open, closed or rolled types. The rolled type, known as Nastar in Indonesia, is the one I liked best as it has the right combination of texture and taste that suits my taste bud.
I am a picky eater when it comes to eating pineapple rolls or tarts, and I find it hard to find in the market the “perfect” roll/tart that can satisfy my craving. So I decided to make them at home. The last time I tried my hands on making these rolls was a decade ago! It was a fun and enjoyable experience. Being ambitious, I even bought a custom-made press to squeeze out the pineapple roll pastry but it has laid idle for six good years. (Dear old press, thanks for being so patient and loyal to me.)
Finally, my guilt got the best of me and I decided to use it to make my own pineapple rolls for this coming Lunar New Year. The only problem is ”memory lapse” 
. I could not recall my “decade-old” recipe. Not even a single clue! Oh gosh! (Hmm! Time for an overhaul service for my memory? Your highness (that’s right, you my husband), can you kindly approve my leave application for memory recall R&R as soon as possible? 
)
Luckily, I managed to compile a handful of pineapple roll recipes from other food bloggers and cookbooks to recall and make comparison. Even though no one particular recipe actually met what I was looking for, there are two great references that I relied a lot when making these pineapple rolls. They are found in “Baking Made Easy” by Agnes Chang and “At Home with Amy Beh” by Amy Beh respectively.
Not to forget my good blogger friend Selba from Selby’s Food Corner (whose mother is an experienced Nastar baker and has been selling it for more than ten years) who unselfishly gave me very valuable advice and tips. Thanks Selba!!! One very important advice from her is “If you want to have the best pineapple jam, either you grate the pineapples yourself or you buy the jam. Never blend them.” Yes, I totally agreed with her, which I will explain in the following paragraph. Besides grating your pineapples, getting the right type of pineapple grater is also equivalently important if you are looking for the finest fibrous texture.
Never take any short-cut of blending your pineapples. I did that once and was very upset even though my pastry turned out delicious and crumbly. My hubby (who initially didn’t mind with the blending method) also got addicted to the fibrous and chewy jam texture made from grated pineapples. You can definitely tell the difference if you had a chance to taste and compare both versions.
Both the jam and pastry have to be done properly. They must compliment each other. And, having the correct proportion of jam and pastry is of utmost important and the key to success. I weight each jam roll to be exactly 6 gram as I find the final product comes out best when munched in the mouth. Neither too much pastry nor jam. Just the right proportion for maximum enjoyment. Preferably, the overall size of the roll is just big enough for one mouthful to have the melt-in-the-mouth feeling. This is the art of eating. My ultimate goal to have a “perfect” pineapple roll! So my advice is, you will need to adjust the size of the jam you use to match the size of the pastry.
Tum…tum….tummmmm! (drumroll) Let me now present to you my “exclusive” recipe that will churn out the best pineapple rolls in town. (Just joking! 
). But if you follow the recipe closely, you will get the melt-in-the mouth pastry combined with fibrous jam texture.
I must however forewarn you. Although this recipe is very simple-to-follow, it’s very time-consuming. You need to have patience. If not, please go to buy the ready-made ones.
If you’re craving for the authentic pineapple rolls like I do, it’s definitely worth spending the time and effort to make these rolls. It’s simply very rewarding. Once you start putting one of these bite-size pineapple rolls into your mouth, you can never stop the temptation of having another, and another, and………
>>>> Click on page 2 to get the recipe, tips and more photos on how to make pineapple jam ……………
>>>> Click on page 3 to get the recipe, tips and more photos on how to make pineapple rolls …………..
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I tried your receipe, it’s was great, thanks so much for sharing, I find the jam to be a bit too sweet, am wondering if I could use honey pineapple without adding sugar. Any idea as to how it will turn out. Thank you and God bless…
Jessie: Thanks a lot for your kind feedback. Really appreciate that!! I haven’t tried your suggested method. Maybe you can use less sugar instead of totally omit it. The caramelised sugar will balance the sharpness of the pineapple juice and add a golden hue to the jam. But if you use less sugar, you may also need to reduce the amount of lemon juice. Lemon juice is used to enhance the jam flavour and balance the sweetness. Hope it helps.
Hi, just to share my experience. I managed to buy a plasic press from Phoon Huat. However, as I did not like the rolls too sweet, I used 3 pineapples and less sugar instead of the recommended 200g. Also for the pastry, I used only 30g of icing sugar and 227g of butter (as I did not want the rolls too buttery). I added slightly more flour than the recommended 360g. Because of all these adjustments, I find it difficult to roll out the dough. In the end, I had to do the open type of pineapple tarts. I like the tarts because they are not too sweet and I can taste the fibre in the pineapple filling. However, my pastry crumbles rather easily. Overall, I prefer the homemade tarts to those available on the market because I can adjust them to my taste. Because of your website, I get the courage to bake my own pineapple tarts! Thank you very much!
Iris: Thanks for sharing your personal experience and wonderful compliment!!! I really appreciate that. Under hot weather, the dough may turn soft easily. To address/ minimise this issue, divide your dough into a few batches, chill them in the fridge and then roll it batch by batch. Do try this method in your next attempt.
Hi! I too tried your pastry recipe today. The dough was easy enough to make and the resulting pastry was nice.
I must say though that pressing the dough out required a bit of strength. I was all tired out by the end of it! One question I have is – is the dough supposed to be quite fragile? When I press it out, I have to be quite careful as it would otherwise break off before I get the required length. Is yours as fragile? Should I be adding more or less flour? I followed your recipe exactly.
At the same time, I also made another recipe to compare (rub in method). That pastry was more sturdy but yours was still better in terms of texture of the end product.
Thanks for any input.
Thanks!
Sash: Thanks for your kind feedback. Really appreciate that. The dough is fragile but manageable. I don’t suggest that you add or reduce the amount of flour as it will affect the taste eventually. Maybe you can try the method I used for coconut butter cookies. (http://food-4tots.com/2010/11/04/coconut-butter-cookies/). I haven’t tried out rub in method as well. So I can’t comment about it. Sorry about that.
Should I keep the unused jam in the bottom part of the fridge or the top (freezer)?
Mavis: I put mine in the fridge not the freezer.
hi there. thank you so much for posting. i was born and raised in usa. also i am korean-american and did not have any SE asian friends growing up. so i never tasted pineapple rolls in my life. even until age 38 i never had them. i made them tonight and now i can no longer say i never had them. (but i want to try a “real” one. i have to go to SE asia soon!) thank you so much for all of your very explicit explanations.
i have two photos i will share, a before and after. they are not pretty! very ugly. but they taste wonderful!
before baking: http://bit.ly/i04kV3
after baking: http://bit.ly/fZP8Cm
comments: difficult to find half ripe pineapples in rural america. cannot find any specific varieties either. still i think i made a good chewy jam (jam closeup: http://bit.ly/dPFgg0)
where i live, there are specialty teaspoons and i found a 3/4 tsp (3.75 ml). if you get exactly 3/4 tsp of jam, this is exactly 6 gr of jam. very convenient and made rolling balls a little faster. (tsp link for photo: http://amzn.to/hWx4iZ)
i used thumb nastar mould. i now have a bruise on the palm of my left hand. VERY painful. i dont know if i can find a lovely press like yours. i will have to go to s’pore someday and visit phoon huat for the less nice plastic cookie presses.
i found that i did have to chill both jam balls and dough to get nicer results. still with the terrible thumb press, the dough is almost impossible to force out straight. i would never recommend this.
dough was very delicate. i was too afraid to try to use egg glaze, so i didnt. after baking, i was so glad i did not. the delicate spikes crumble sooooo easily. i dont know how anyone can travel with these.
taste is fantastic. i really appreciate that even though there is some icing sugar, the dough is still not very sweet. it is also very melt in your mouth. but gosh, so so delicate!
some of the jam melted out of the cookies during baking. maybe i need to chill the cookies 10 minutes before baking? i am not sure.
thank you again, for your GENEROUS postings. your tips were invaluable. so much so that even people who have never tasted nastar or any kind of pineapple tart can still enjoy them!
Hahnak: Thank you VERY VERY MUCH for your detailed feedback and the photos!! I really appreciate it. I’m very impressed with the amount of efforts you put in making these pineapple tarts. The rolls look GORGEOUS, serious!! Sorry to hear about your bruised thumb. Hope it will recover soon. I think it’s a great suggestion to chill both jam balls and dough if the temperature is too hot in your kitchen. FYI, my pineapple roll pastry press was bought in a baking supply ingredient shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia about 8 years ago. But I haven’t seen one in Singapore. Another possible reason that your jam melted during baking is that it was not caramelised enough during the cooking stage. Try to extend the cooking time slightly longer and keep the jam overnight before using it. Hope it helps! Gong Xi Fatt Choy!
Hi, thank you for your recipes . I made 2 batches of tarts but ready made jam from Geylang Road. It taste great , my family and all my friends love the tarts. For the first batch I followed your recipes exactly , another batch I add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Its smell good . I will make again
Cindy: Thanks for your kind feedback! Glad it suits your family and friends’ palate.
Hi..i want to ask whether the taste will be different if i use salted butter instead of unsalted butter?
Amelia: I guess the taste of the pineapple rolls will be saltier.
wow – i am a pineapple tart sucker and I am fussy if the pineapple tarts are not to my liking. I made from time to time more for own and friends. What interest me is the pastry press mould. Not sure if they sell in KL – Any ideas?
I will definitely give your receipe a try.
Cheers.
Susan: I bought mine from a baking supply shop (called Bido Valley) located at Jalan Kepong, KL many years ago. So I’m not sure whether it is still available now. Maybe you can try and let me know. Hope you will like my recipe.
Your pastry is really pretty! So unique… can you please let me know where you bought the pastry press? Thank you!
Andrea: Thanks!! I bought this pastry press from a baking supply ingredient shop (BidoValley) at Jalan Kepong, Kuala Lumpur.
Hi LaiKuan, just wanna drop by to thank you for this awesome pineapple tart recipe. I used this recipe to make 12 pineapples worth of tarts this year and they are a hit with everyone who ate them. You rock!
Pickyin: Thanks for dropping by and your wonderful feedback!! So glad that it’s a hit!! I guess you must be an expert in pineapple tart now.
Ahhh… thanks to your recipe’s very detailed instructions. I think I will repeat this next CNY. Love your current recipes too.
Pickyin: Thanks! Glad that you find it useful.
You mentioned the special pineapple grater. May I ask where I can purchase it from? Thks!
Cher: I bought mine from a shop selling cookware and kitchenware at a nearby wet market.
Hi
I tried your recipe, and it was AWESOME! The best pineapple rolls I’ve ever tried! 
What I did to get a milkier taste, was to substitute 2 tablespoons of flour with milk powder. It was great!
Thank you SO SO SO much for sharing! I’ll keep this recipe till’ I get old
Ann: Thank you so much for your wonderful comment and compliment!!!!! I’m so glad that it suits your taste bud. What a creative version!! I will try it out next time…..;)
may i know about how many kg for the pineapples to made this pineapple rolls ?
Chai: I’m not sure as I didn’t weight the pineapples. With 2 pineapples, you can roughly make twice the amount of the pineapple rolls based on my recipe. Hope it helps.
Hai, tq for sharing ur receipe. im goin to try it for x’mas. Can I use salted butter and omit the salt.
Mary: It’s my pleasure to share. Yes, you can. Happy trying!
Hi, I would love to try to make this pineapples tart, because my hubby and myself like it so much, but unfortunately I can’t get the pineapply pastry press over-here, so what is your suggestion to replace the pastry press? Any other way to make the pastry?
Evelyn: Some local baking supply ingredient shops do sell pineapple pastry press that made of plastic instead of stainless steel If you really can’t find it, you can try to roll the pastry into a flat sheet, cut into long strips and then divide into small length. So you can put the pineapple jam on top and roll it up. Hope it helps! Happy trying!
Hi, I’ve tried the recipe before. It’s very nice. Use the plastic pineapple roll pastry press. It’s very easy to work with. You can buy this from any cake ingredient shop in Malaysia. It’s very cheap. It’s about RM 5 for a set of 2 press. I can’t find this plastic press in S’pore.
Christinelee
Christine Lee: Thanks for your kind sharing.
Thanks for the info but I am not living in Malaysia or Singapore, I live in Australia. But I will try the way you suggested.
Once again “Many thanks!!!
Evelyn: Happy trying!!
I had tried out your recipe .The pasty n jam tasted awesome.The only problem i faced was it tend to break when i rolled it out n when i baked the pastry break n it got out of shape.
Whats the caused of it>Tq
Jess: Thanks for your kind feedback. I also faced the same problem. Due to our current hot and humid weather, it may cause the dough to turn soft easily. I suggest that you work on the dough in batches and keep the rest in the fridge until you use them later. Hope it helps!
Encouraged by the positive feedback given, I’m going to try and make these mouth-watering pineapple rolls for the coming LNY. In case I can’t get the recommended press, would the recipe work for the open type of pineapple tarts. (I know you mentioned it may not work for the open-type.) But still I wonder if anyone has successfully tried the recipe on the open-faced type of pineapple tarts. Thank you.
Iris Chng: I personally haven’t tried this recipe for open type tarts. I also haven’t received any feedback from my readers about it. Instead of making open-type tarts, you can try to roll the pastry into a flat sheet, cut into long strips and then divide into small length. So you can place the pineapple jam on top and roll it up. Hope it helps! Happy trying!
Hi!
Thanks for your recipe! I tried baking these using the same exact amount of ingredients but my pastry turned out too dry. It all cracked in the oven and they looked too pale. Any idea why? And how can I improve on this? Thanks in advance!
Sujurocksmysocks: Thanks for sharing your feedback. It’s quite hard to judge from my end but I think the culprit could be due to the oven temperature. Different oven has different temperature setting. You may need to either increase the temperature or extend the baking time. Try both options to see what the outcome is. Hope it helps!
Hi Lai Kuan, I made these tarts again this year. I have a question regarding the jam (was asked this by another friend who tried the recipe).
Is there a reason you add the juice bit by bit when cooking down the jam? Most people just put in all the juice and then boil it down slowly in the first hour, this requires less stirring.
Appreciate your feedback!
Pick Yin
Pickyin (LIG): Hi PY, thanks for sharing your kind feedback. My rationale of adding the juice bit by bit is to speed up the cooking process though it may require more stirring. But, the jam can be thicken in a shorter period of time. Some pineapples such as Sarawak pineapples can produce a lot of juices. So if you add all the juices, you may need a longer time to boil down the juice. There are pros and cons for either way. You can opt for either one that suits you best. Alternatively, you can also use rice cooker to make the jam. This method was tried and tested by one of my readers. Hope it helps and happy trying!
Hi! I LOVE pineapple tarts but have never baked one on my own as my mum has always been the one doing all the CNY baking. But now that I’ve just recently got married, I wanted to try baking my own pineapple tarts for this coming CNY. *grin* I like your blog as it is easy reading and the tips! They are very helpful. I’ve just cooked the pineapple jam yesterday, but it turned out to be too sweet. Must put a mind note to taste before using the entire balance of the sugar in the future. Hope my pastry will turn out fine. *fingers crossed* Looking forward to more baking recipes and Happy Chinese New Year!
Pekkie: Thanks for your wonderful compliment and kind feedback! Looking forward to hearing your results soon! Gong Xi Fatt Chai to you and your family!
[...] tarts as a way to welcome the year of dragon. Last year I tried making the pineapple tarts that LK from Food 4 Tots posted on her blog. They were amazingly delicious! So, I made again this year just in time for [...]
Hi there,
My friends and I finally managed to find the time to try your pineapple tart recipes even though I had prepared the pineapple jam 2 weeks ago. The taste is great but for the jam, I added lesser sugar so that my boy can take it. In addition, our tarts were improvised into pineapple cookies cos we were using a cookie press from Wilton..but they did seem abit crumbly. Is there a reason why?
JM Suze: Thanks a lot for your kind feedback. I haven’t seen or used a cookie press from Wilton so I’m not sure about it. But due to our current hot weather (esp during afternoon), the dough may turn soft easily. So I suggest that you keep the dough in the fridge and work on them batch by batch. Hope it helps!
Hello! I refrigerated my dough yesterday as I did not have time to use all of it and it was really hard today. Is there something I should do to soften it or is it fine the way it is? Thank you! Oh, and you have a wonderful recipe
Belle: Let your chilled dough thaw at the room temperature before working on it. Hope it helps!