Pineapple Pastry (Pineapple Shaped!)

For the pineapple filling:

Cut the peeled pineapple in half lengthwise and cut out the woody, tough parts of the pineapple core at the top and bottom.

Thinly slice the pineapple then cut them into thin matchsticks. Go back and give the pineapple a few rough chops to cut them into smaller pieces.

Transfer all of the pineapple into a wide nonstick pan, along with all the juices. Sprinkle in some baking soda if your pineapple is not as ripe. Stir to activate the baking soda.

Cook the pineapple on medium high heat while stirring occasionally, until most of the pineapple juice has evaporated. Turn the heat to medium and add the sugar and brown sugar. Keep cooking while stirring constantly, until the pineapple juice is once again mostly evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the maltose syrup. Keep cooking and stir constantly until the pineapple filling is thick, kind of clumps together, and no more liquid remains.

Transfer the pineapple filling to a plate and spread it out to cool at room temperature.

Once the pineapple filling is completely cool, divide the filling into seventeen 25 gram portions. Round each portion into a ball. You'll most likely have leftovers. Save it for tea, snacks, etc!

For the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and mix on medium high speed with a hand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy. Then, add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium high and cream the butter until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl as needed.*You can also complete this step in a stand mixer with paddle attachment.*

Add the egg yolk and mix until well incorporated.

Using a sieve, sift in the cake flour, almond flour, milk powder, and baking powder. Mix on low speed just until the dough starts to clump up. Knead the dough a couple of times until the dough comes together.

Take out 34 grams of dough and add the matcha powder. Knead just until the color is even and divide into 17 portions (2 grams each). Round them out into balls and keep them covered.

With the remaining dough, add the turmeric powder and knead just until the color is even. Divide the dough into 17 portions (23 grams each) and round them out into balls. Keep it covered. *You may have small amount left over, that's okay. You can save it just in case you need extra dough for patching.*

Shaping and assembling:

Prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, a small ramekin of water, extra flour for dusting, the pineapple mold, the filling, and both of the doughs.

Place one ball of the yellow dough in your palm and flatten as evenly as possible to about 3 inches wide. Place a ball of filling at the center of the dough and wrap the dough around the filling. Pinch the edges of the dough together to seal. Round out the pastry and pinch together/patch up any large cracks that may have formed. Gently shape the pastry into an oval/cylinder about the same size as the pineapple mold. Place it down on your work surface.

Dust your pineapple mold with some flour. While pushing the mold up, press one ball of the green dough into the top, leafy part of the pineapple mold and try your best to contain it in the leafy area. Make sure the dough is packed in tight, then brush the green dough is a tiny amount of water. You can use your finger if you prefer. Keep brushing until the dough feels a little sticky. This is to help adhere the green dough to the main dough.

Place the pineapple mold over the prepared yellow dough with filling and press down firmly to shape the pastry. While still pressing down, lift up the mold to release the pineapple pastry. Dust off any excess flour if needed and arrange the pastry onto the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.*Refer to the post for step by step photo references of how to shape and assemble!*

Baking:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the pineapple pastries for 20 minutes. Midway, if you wish, cover the green, leafy parts of the pastry with aluminum foil to prevent too much browning. Also, rotate the pan if necessary.

Once the pineapple pastries are slightly golden brown around the edges, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely at room temperature.

Enjoy by itself or with some hot tea.