Homemade Pineapple Jam for Kuih Tart

Simplicity itself, this pineapple jam is used for filling our much loved Pineapple Tarts, or Kuih Tart, as its known locally, the personification of the festive cookie in Singapore and Malaysia.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Homemade Pineapple Jam

What are Pineapple Tarts?

Pineapple Tarts or Kuih Tart in Malay, are actually cookies with melt in your mouth shortcrust pastry shells filled with homemade pineapple jam.

It is the King of the festive cookie in Singapore and Malaysia, and the best ones are always homemade. So whether it’s Eid, Christmas, Diwali or Chinese New Year, if you’re a born and bred Singaporean or Malaysian, you have to have pineapple tarts on the menu.

placing Pineapple Tarts (Kuih Tart) on decorative plate
Pineapple Tarts (Kuih Tart) on a plate that belonged to my granny, from circa 1970

Pineapple Jam

The pineapple jam itself is also always homemade, and is lightly spiced with cloves and cinnamon. It’s the easiest thing in the world, and this is what we do:

  1. Peel and chop the pineapples.
  2. Place them in a blender and blitz to a fine, liquid consistency.
  3. Add some sugar and spices, then we cook it down to a sticky, dry jam.

That’s it.

In the old days (yep, totally sounding like the father-in-law), we used to use the old fashioned grater and painstakingly grate every single piece of the pineapple. That was hard work.

Warning: gross anecdote coming up!

I was grating the pineapple one year to make pineapple jam and tarts for my brother’s family. Had an accident, and cut my middle finger open, straight down to the bone! Ouch.

I had tickets to watch Elton John that night, so my first thought was oh no, the concert! Forget the finger! Long story short: my retired-nurse mum patched it up and I managed to go to the concert! Albeit in a little pain!

How to Store the Pineapple Jam?

If you keep it in a clean container, and covered, it will last in the fridge for 2 weeks, very happily.

So you can make your pineapple jam ahead and bake your Pineapple Tarts on a day when you have plenty of time.

Because pineapple tarts are a real time-consuming labour of love.

Shall we get cooking?

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Homemade pineapple jam filled tarts

Homemade Pineapple Jam for Kuih Tart

Azlin Bloor
Easy homemade pineapple jam, used to fill pineapple tarts (kuih tart), the iconic festive cookie in Singapore and Malaysia.
4.97 from 31 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Preserves
Cuisine Singaporean and Malaysian
Servings 30 Makes about 650g (1lb 7oz)
Calories 86 kcal

Equipment

  • knife and chopping board
  • chopper/blender/grater
  • large bowl
  • large saucepan
  • ladle

Ingredients
 
 

  • 4 ripe, medium pineapples
  • 200 g white sugar
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 small cinnamon stick

Instructions
 

  • Peel the pineapples and place in a food processor and blitz until fine.
  • Place everything into a heavy based large saucepan.
  • Bring everything to boil, then simmer for about 2 hours, until cooked right down, stirring every so often, especially towards the end, as you don’t want it to burn.
  • You’ll end up with a thick jam, a dark honey brown in colour.

Notes

Total cooking time depends on the amount of pineapple you use as well as how juicy it is, and therefore how much liquid needs to be cooked off.
Nutritional info is just for the jam, in 150 pineapple tarts.

Nutrition

Serving: 4TbspCalories: 86kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 132mgFiber: 2gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 70IUVitamin C: 58mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 1mg
Keyword eid recipes, kuihraya, resepiraya
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13 thoughts on “Homemade Pineapple Jam for Kuih Tart”

  1. Hi there!
    I’m planning to try your recipe for the coming CNY. However, I have a quick question here.
    Instead of a cinnamon stick, can I use powdered cinnamon? I have some left at home, so I’m planning to make to most benefit out of it. If so, how much powdered cinnamon is needed?

    Thank you in advance for your help.

    1. Hi Totty, sure you can. I would say a generous pinch. Or if you want a measurement, half of 1/8th of a teaspoon (so 1/16th teaspoon).
      If you’re shaking it out of a spice jar with tiny holes, 2 dashes. I hope that helps. We only want a small amount for a hint of spice.

  2. Hi again, a few more questions from me, please:)
    – pineapples – do you mean the whole fruit? Any weight measurement to consider?
    – white sugar = granulated sugar or icing sugar?
    – is it ok to not use the spices?
    Thanks in advance. Appreciate it.
    //Seri

    1. Hi Seri,
      1. Yes, whole fruit, fresh, and peeled. I’ve never weighed the pineapples. Making the tarts right now, so too late to weigh this time! I’ll buy one soon and add the weight. But I think the weight of 4 medium pineapples BEFORE PEELING is about 3.5 – 4 kg.

      2. Sugar – caster or granulated. (I always specify if I’m using actual icing sugar, like for cakes or cookies).

      3. Yes, you can skip the spices, not a problem.

      Good luck!

        1. Hi there, while I’ve never done it myself, yes, you can definitely use canned pineapple. Weight wise, we’re going to have to estimate a little. In the recipe here, I’m using 4 medium pineapples. The average medium pineapple weighs about 1 kg, give or take. So we’re looking at many cans of pineapple. The DRAINED weight will need to be about 3.5kg.
          To make the jam, blend the pineapples to a puree (doesn’t have to be too smooth), with some of the syrup in the can. Then cook until it thickens like in the picture. You will need less sugar, as we will be using some of the syrup in the can. I would start with 200g of the sugar, as the jam is almost cooked, taste it and see if it’s sweet enough.
          I hope that help.

  3. 5 stars
    So delish… love these Kuih tarts. Had them actually in Phuket where there was a food market. Lucky your mum was able to patch up your finger.. human minds think of really strange things.. love the part where you were worried about the concert and not the finger 🙂

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