Chinese New Year is just around the corner and as much as it is a time to catch up with family and friends, it’s also time to let loose a little and indulge in some festive feasting. And what usually comes to mind when CNY goodies are mentioned? Pineapple tarts of course. Just take a walk through any Chinese New Year goodies bazaar and you’ll definitely get a whiff of these delicious pastries.
Open-faced, enclosed, with cheese… these are just some of the many types that are available in the market and it’s easy just to pick up a bottle or two to dig into when at home. However, pineapples tarts are also notorious for being high in calories. Just three pineapple tarts consist of 300 calories, or the equivalent of one bowl of rice.
Thus, this year, instead of just getting them from a bakery outside, where you are not sure of the ingredients that go into the tarts, my mum volunteered to make them at home. While the number of calories in each tart can’t really be reduced by that much, the pros of making pineapple tarts yourself is that you can ensure that the best quality ingredients go into each tart, ensuring that you make each calorie count.
One of the most important ingredients of the pineapple tart, other than the grated pineapple topping/filling, is the butter. For me, the pastry of the pineapple tart has the ability to make or break its taste and I even know of people who bake pineapple “kosong” tarts – just the crumbly buttery tart without adding the pineapple on top.
Usually, when my friends bake, there is only one brand that comes to mind for butter: SCS butter. One of the most beloved household brands in Singapore and Malaysia, it is also the go-to brand for many top chef and bakers in the region.
I got the chance to taste the difference for myself and discover why most people would pick SCS butter when I took part in a butter blind test. I tried three different pineapple tarts that had been prepared identically other, with the only difference in ingredients being the butter that was used in each one, and was asked to pick which tart I liked the best.
#SCSProducts | SCS has proven to be the No. 1 butter again! With its distinctive taste like no other, this video is the best proof that you can never go wrong baking pineapple tarts with SCS Butter!
Posted by SCS Dairy Singapore on Monday, 29 January 2018
It was not much of a surprise when the tart that I felt was the best was made with SCS butter. The pastry was buttery and moist, and it’s texture perfectly complimenting the pineapple filling. And since SCS butter is made from entirely with the milk of grass-fed cows, with no artificial colourings, additives, preservatives or hormones, I know that it is only good stuff that will be going into the pineapple tarts that my mum makes – I’ve already picked up several blocks of SCS butter for her to start baking with already.
