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Vegan Pineapple Cake

This Vegan Taiwanese Pineapple Cake is delicious with the thick pineapple jam and buttery crust on the outside. Pretty to look at these cute Taiwanese pastries.
Prep Time25 minutes
Active Time1 hour 30 minutes
Baking Time25 minutes
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Course: baked items
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Cinnamon, Maltose, Pineapple
Yield: 20 cakes

Equipment

  • Pineapple molds

Materials

Pastry Ingredients

  • 250 g (2 cups) cake flour
  • 60 g 1/4 cup) powdered sugar
  • 24 g (1/4 cup) soy milk powder
  • 30 g (1/4 cup) dairy-free custard powder
  • 180 g (3/4 cup) unsalted vegan butter, softened at room temp
  • 3 tbsp flax gel (to replace one egg) see recipe link below on how to make this
  • green food coloring (optional)

Filling

  • 500 g pineapple or a medium sized pineapple
  • 60 g (4 tbsp) maltose
  • 30 g (2 tbsp+1 1/4 tsp) sugar
  • 10 g (2 tsp) lemon juice
  • 10 g unsalted vegan butter
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Prepare the Pineapple

  • Slice off the head and cut through the middle. Using a knife, cut off the skin and remove the core.
  • In a food processor or blender (you can also use a cheese grater with big holes), add your core and pulse until turned into smaller pieces. Remove and add the rest of the pineapple.

Making the pineapple jam

  • Pour all the pineapple, including the juice, to a nonstick pan. Add the maltose syrup, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon.
  • Cook on medium-low heat until the juice evaporates. Once the pineapple turns a darker color, lower the heat and cook until it sticks together without drooping. Remember to mix continuously because it can burn.
  • Put in a bowl and let cool in the fridge while you prepare your pastry.

Making the pastry

  • In a bowl, mix together the softened vegan butter and powdered sugar until homogenize.
  • Sift the cake flour, custard powder, and the soy milk powder and mix together carefully using a rubber spatula.
  • Then add the flax gel and mix in.
  • Once there are only a little bit of dry flour, start kneading with your hand. It will be sticky at first, but knead fast (or the butter will melt) until it holds together and doesn't stick to the bowl.
  • One ready, put in some plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge to make it easier to work with. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Making the Pineapple Pastries

  • Okay! We are on the home stretch!
  • Depending on the size of your mold, you want to aim for a 2:1 ratio of dough to pastry. Or if you like a lot of filling like I do, do a 1.5:1 ratio. With mine I was able to measure 1 1/2 tbsp of dough and 1 tbsp pineapple filling.
  • Measure out the filling and the dough and round out in little balls.
  • Lightly grease all your molds to help the easy removal after baking.
  • Once ready, gently flatten the dough into an even circle. I do this on top of some plastic wrap for easy removal. They still will be soft.
  • Place the filling in the middle and gently encase it in dough. It might be a little tricky at first to master, but just make sure no filling is expose because this can ruin your pastry.
  • Gently push into your lightly-greased mold.
  • If you have a pineapple shaped mold like mine, you can portion out some dough, 100g or so (about 1/4 cup) and mix with drops of green food coloring until it turn into a leafy green color. I tried Matcha, but the flavor was too strong.
  • Repeat for all your filling. Then let rest in the fridge until ready to bake.

Baking Time

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops become more golden-brown.
  • Let cool for 15 minutes and gently push out of the molds. Then it is ready to taste.

Notes

The recipe to make the flax gel is here.