Nastar ~ Pineapple Rolls/Tarts. CNY 2010

I just made these today ...... Nastar, the Indonesian version of Pineapple Tarts/Rolls.  This is a festive must have as it's symbolic.  Pineapple which is 'wong lai' in Cantonese carries a homonym that sounds like 'good luck, good fortune coming'!
I didn't make the pineapple jam as it's a tedious task of stirring and stirring for an hour or so and in this hot weather, it's definitely not for me.   Took the easy way out, bought the pineapple paste from the baking ingredients outlet.  Nevertheless, I've posted the recipe for the pineapple jam just in case some of you may like to have this home made.

The pineapple paste made into small balls to be used as filling for the roll.  The nastar mould which is used to press out the strip of dough.  Press out out into a strip of about 3.1/2 inches in length, place a ball of jam on one end and roll up the pastry as in a Swiss roll.

This melt-in-the-mouth pastry has always been a hot favourite amongst my family members and having them home made is definitely very much more economical ........  Yummy!


Recipe for Nastar ~ Pineapple Rolls/Tarts

Ingredients for Pastry

• 130 gm butter
• 100 gm margarine
• 60 gm icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 350 gm plain flour
• 50 gm cornflour

Egg glaze

• 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten with a tiny pinch of salt

Pineapple Filling (Best made a day or two before)

• 2 pineapples, peeled, eyes removed, coarsely grated
• 250 gm sugar
• 2 cloves
• A segment of star anise
• 1 cm cinnamon stick

Preparation for Filling

1. Squeeze out the juice from the grated pineapples but do not squeeze too dry.
2. Place pineapples, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and star anise in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
3. Cook over moderate heat till almost dry, about 1 hour.  Continue cooking over low heat, till mixture is thick and gluey.  Keep stirring all the time.
4. Cool.  Store overnight in refrigerator.

Preparation for Nastar

1. Sift the flour with the salt, add in the cornflour, mix well.
2. Cream butter, margarine with the icing sugar till light and creamy.
3. Add in the egg yolks one at a time, mix well.
4. Fold in the sifted flour and mix into a dough.
5. Put the dough into the nastar mould and press out into a strip of about 3.1/2 inches length.
6. Place a ball of jam on one end and roll it up like in a Swiss roll, enclosing the jam.
7. Cut off excess pastry.  Place the rolls on a baking sheet.  Apply egg glaze.
8. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg. C for about 15 to 20 mins. or till golden brown.
9. Cool on wire rack and store in cookie jar once they are completely cooled.