Sunday 16 March 2014

Coconut and pineapple tart




This recipe is adapted from a lime and coconut tart in the current edition of Delicious magazine.  I adore coconut but find that lime can overpower it, so made a few switches and this incredibly tasty tart was born!




Mr CC came home from work with something rather wonderful this week; one of his colleagues keeps chickens and brought in a spare box of eggs.  I have never baked anything before where I have known the names of the hens who laid the (beautiful) eggs – well done ladies, keep up the good work!




When this tart is baking the smell is divine; pineapple and coconut is a combination where their aromas make it impossible to think of anything other than sunshine and warmth.  Luckily it was a sunny day....but perhaps a few degrees off a Caribbean climate!




It had such a wonderful colour when baked, although I can't help feeling my efforts are wasted.  Mr CC told me how much he liked the pastry (aka biscuit base) and, when asked what flavours he could detect, the CCD guessed 'egg and lemon'.  That well known combination.  How often have you heard someone say, 'ooh, I couldn't half fancy a slice of egg and lemon tart'?  Mr Kipling is probably rushing to his development kitchen as I type.



The recipe said to bake the tart in a loose bottomed flan tin.  I made the executive decision to use a disposable foil tin because I was worried how ‘watertight’ the biscuit tart shell would be.  If you use a loose bottomed tin I recommend wrapping the outside in foil, unless you fancy a few hours cleaning sticky tart filling from the bottom of your, albeit wonderfully tropical smelling, oven!



Ingredients

For the tart shell:
250g digestive biscuits
50g desiccated coconut
140g unsalted butter

For the filling:
160ml coconut milk
250ml coconut cream – I couldn’t find this so used more coconut milk, this may have been why mine took longer to cook
397g condensed milk
140ml pineapple juice
2 large eggs, and 5 yolks

For decoration:
300ml whipping cream
1 small tin pineapple chunks
Optional: coconut shavings


Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Blitz the biscuits and coconut in a food processor.

Add the butter and blitz again until it’s the consistency of wet sand.

Tip into either a 23cm loose bottomed flan tin that is 5cm deep, or – as I used – a disposable foil 25cm deep pie dish.

Press the crumbs over the base and up the sides of the tin making sure there are no holes.

Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until it is golden and smelling toasted.

Leave to cool completely.

Reduce the oven temperature to 130°C/fan oven 110°C/260°F/gas mark 3/4.  (This is what the recipe said, however I don’t think my tart would ever have set at this temperature so, after about 40 minutes I increased it to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and my tart set after a further 15 minutes.  Next time I would start it with this temperature and maybe check after 25-30 minutes.  I know all ovens are different, so I thought it best to share my experience.)

Now make the filling: Whisk together all the ingredients then pour, through a sieve, into the biscuit base.  Don’t be tempted to overfill it.  I did and spent the next 10 minutes wiping sticky filling from my kitchen counter, cupboard doors and floor.  It wasn’t fun.  Any leftover filling can be poured into an oven proof dish and baked alongside the tart.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until there’s just a hint of wobble in the centre of the tart – note my observations re oven temperature above.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Refrigerate.

Just before serving, decorate the tart with whipped cream and pineapple chunks.  I piped my cream but it would look as nice spooned on.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.


Eat.

20 comments:

Choclette said...

I love lime and coconut, but think your pineapple and coconut is a very worthy contender. A slice in this direction would not go amiss.

MuchRatherBake said...

I completely agree with Choclette. This sounds lovely and very tropical =)

Lester said...

Your issue with the filling *may* have something to do with you substituting pineapple for lime. Pineapple contains an enzyme (bromelain) that interferes with egg proteins to prevent custards from setting properly. The enzyme is deactivated at higher temperatures so heating fresh pineapple juice first (>65C) is necessary. Non-fresh pineapple juice (e.g. canned or concentrate) *should* be ok due to it being heat-treated during processing.

In general, it is advisable to bake custards at lower temperatures (for longer). If your problem wasn't due to the pineapple enzyme, simply waiting as long as it took to set would've been fine.

Gloria Baker said...

what lovely tart, look georgeous I love pineapple!
lovely pics!

Kate@whatkatebaked said...

A lovely taste of the exotic for a gloriously warm, summery weekend. And I'm sure Oyster and co were suitably chuffed with what their eggs went on to create!

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi Lester

Thanks for your comment; I appreciate you taking the time to explain! - I did wonder if the pineapple may have caused the delay in setting. I used pineapple juice made from concentrate. It set in the end and didn't alter the texture so no harm done. I've been baking for over 10 years and am still learning things.

Happy baking!

Kezia said...

Coconut and pineapple is a fab combination! I'm very impressed by the elegant look of the tart too - I could dive right in!

Lucy said...

After such a beautiful sunny day today this sounds ideal! I love using tropical flavours again as the weather begins to get better.

Gluten Free Alchemist said...

Delicious flavour combination. Sounds lovely. But Mr CC's confusion had me in stitches! Sounds like his palate needs a serious MOT!

Lester said...

The reason to bake custards at lower temperatures (or in a bain marie) is partly to avoid the "eggy" flavours Mr CCD may have picked up on. High heat makes it more likely the eggs will overcook. As an aside, Heston exploited this effect in his famous bacon & egg ice cream.

Cakelaw said...

This looks fabulous! Love a tropical pie.

Katie said...

I love the sound of this. My dad is a pineapple fan so I'll have to make this for him next time I see him. That coconut filling looks so smooth and creamy. Yummy

Maggie said...

What a glorious pie - perfect for a sunny weekend.

Hello said...

Such a lovely tart, I like it's rustic look and something I would throughly enjoy on my hols x

Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce said...

Coconut and pineapple are always a winning combination! I wonder what it would be like with a drop of rum, too?! Sounds like a delicious tart and absolutely perfect for a hot summary day like we had this weekend... drifting off to the Caribbean!

Cakeyboi said...

Totally tropical - oh hang on, that was the Lilt ad. Still, this looks sooo good, it reminds me that summer is on it's way!

Unknown said...

Ooo that looks very very good indeed

Jo said...

Sunshine in a pie! Pineapple and coconut sounds delicious. Definitely what's needed at the start of Spring.

Poor Mr CC, at least he's still enjoying your baking even if his flavour combinations are confused.

Cupcake Crazy Gem said...

Yum! the only pairing better than coconut and lime in my opinion is coconut and pineapple so I would be all over this pie! It looks so pretty and sounds delish!

Somerset Wedding Girl said...

Delicious! I love the combining of such exotic flavours!