FoodMayhem

I named these Tropical Pineapple Tarts because the ginger-macadamia nut crust with a pineapple topping has that tropical feel, like a dessert you’d see at a resort in Hawaii. Ripe sweet pineapple is essential so if you can’t find good ones, use another fruit. The crunchy crumbly crust and mascarpone cream are both neutral canvases in w hich you can paint almost any fruit you like. My favorite alternatives would be diced peaches, strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. You can even mix fruits.

You’ll notice that I used Anna’s Organic Ginger Thins for the crust. I’ve used these cookies to make crusts many times, most often for cheesecake. They’re a nice alternative to graham crackers because they come in many flavors so you can make a wide variety of crusts. If you can’t find them, feel free to use 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs instead.

Tropical Pineapple Tarts
~makes 4 (4″) tarts

crust

• 15 Anna’s ginger thins
• 1/2 cup dry roasted macadamia nuts (salted)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

mascarpone cream

• 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup chilled heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar

pineapple topping

• 1 1/2 cups diced (1/4″-1/2″) pineapple (no core pieces)

*You will need 4 (4″) non-stick, fluted tart pans, preferably with removable bottoms. Removable bottoms make it so much easier to get the tart out when it’s done.

Instructions –

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with a baking sheet in on the middle rack. Chill a mixing bowl and whisk attachment (at least 15 minutes before you make mascarpone cream).

2. Put ginger thins in a food processor and process until fine crumbs. You should get 2/3 cup. Put that in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

3. Put macadamia nuts in the food processor and process until it looks like tiny pebbles, but don’t over-process because it will turn into macadamia nut butter. You should get a little over 1/3 cup. Put that in the same bowl as the ginger thin crumbs.

4. Add butter and sugar to crumb and nut mixture. Stir until well combined. Divide between the 4 tart pans and press mixture with the back of a spoon, firmly into the bottom and sides of each tart pan.

3. Put tart pans on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. If it is bubbling, return to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes, until it stops bubbling. Cool for at least 15 minutes in the tart pans on a cooling rack before carefully removing to serving plates. (If they seem to hard to remove without breaking, let it cool a little longer, then try again. Put it on the plates you want to serve on because they are not easy to move around.

4. Put mascarpone, heavy cream, and sugar in mixing bowl. Use whisk attachment on medium high speed to beat until stiff peaks form, which doesn’t take long.

5. To assemble, spoon on or pipe mascarpone cream into cooled tart crusts and spoon on pineapple.

Make-Ahead

This tart should really be eaten the same day it is made but you can prepare everything hours before you want to serve it and just assemble closer to service. Leave the crusts in room temperature. Put the mascarpone cream in a piping bag and store in the fridge. Dice the pineapple and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge, Now everything is ready to assemble in minutes.

posted by jessica at 09:45 AM Filed under Desserts, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.