These salted egg yolk pineapple cakes combines everything I love about a traditional Taiwanese pineapple cake and Mid-Autumn mooncakes! These cakes have a classic jammy pineapple filling studded with a salted egg yolk and it's all encased in a rich sablé-ish cookie crust. The pineapple cakes can be baked in a traditional pineapple cake square mold but I recently bought these pineapple-shaped mooncake molds which were perfect for this recipe.
Makes 16cakes
Ingredients
Pineapple Filling
2cans(2 x 398ml cans) crushed pineapple, drained
134g(2/3 cup) granulated sugar
1/2tspsalt
8cooked salted egg yolks, halved
Sablé Crust
113g(1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
30g(1/4 cup) icing sugar
1egg yolk
165g(1 cup + 6 tbsps) all-purpose flour
1/4tspsalt
Egg Wash
1egg yolk
1tbspwater
Instructions
Pineapple Filling
In a medium saucepan, combine the pineapple, granulated sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick and caramelized, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer the filling to a heat-proof container or small sheet pan and allow to cool completely.
Sablé Crust
While the pineapple filling is cooling, making the crust.
In a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and icing sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add egg yolk and mix until smooth.
Add flour and salt to the bowl and mix on low speed until combine, about 1 minute.
Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap, pat into a 1-inch-thick disc, and tightly wrap. Refrigerate the dough until pineapple filling is cool and ready for assembly.
Assembly
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the chilled pineapple filling into 16 equal pieces (use a digital scale if you have one) and roll each portion of filling into a ball.
Take a ball of filling and using your knuckle or the back of a small spoon, create an indent in the centre. Place a halved salted egg yolk in the middle and cover it with the pineapple filling. Repeat until all the filling has been used.
Use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 16 equal-size pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough ball on a lightly floured work surface, gently flatten with the palm of your hand, and roll out to a 3-inch round with a rolling pin.
Place a portion of the filling onto the rolled out dough, pull up the edges, and pinch together to seal. If the dough is too sticky, flour your hands when assembly.
Place the filled cake inside the pineapple cake mold, seam side down, and gently press down with the plunger until it evenly fills the mold. Remove the plunger and transfer the pineapple cake onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry and pineapple filling.
Brush the tops of each cake with egg wash.
Bake pineapple cakes until golden, about 20 - 25 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.