Apple Tartlets

They don't look very nice but they are delicious.  Even better - they are a snap to make!

The shells are puff pastry (looks messy because I did not cut the pastry into rounds! too lazy I guess) placed in muffin tins.  Chopped apples are added to the shells and a tablespoon of cream in spooned over the apples.  Cinnamon-sugar was sprinkled on top and off it went into the oven!  Bake at 350F about 20 to 25 minutes or until the pasty is browned.

Langka Tartlets

A quick look in the freezer and I saw the langka (jackfruit) that I had frozen several weeks ago! I needed to unload some of the stuff in the freezer so I racked my brains and came up with this!

The filling is actually a very "loose" yema.  Why did I think of yema as a filling?  Well, because I love yema!  And... the way we made it (in my childhood) was so easy!

Melt (about) 2 tablespoons of salted butter over low heat.  Meanwhile, mix together 1 can of condensed milk and 2 extra large egg yolks; add this to the melted butter.  Stir, stir, stir.  When the mixture thickens a bit (about 10 to 15 minutes over low heat), add 250 grams frozen or fresh finely chopped langka.  Continue cooking over low heat until thick (another 5 minutes or so).  Cool completely.  Spoon into mini tart shells and bake about 10 to 15 minutes at 375F or until tart shells are golden brown.  Serve warm.

Pineapple-Mango Tartlets

This was the dessert I made for our Chinese New Year dinner a couple of weeks ago.

I originally intended to make my own crust but as I ran out of time, I made do with a ready-made crust.  The filling, however, is homemade, as I made it ahead a day before.

The fresh pineapples that I bought from the market was a bit on the sour side, the pineapples not being fully ripe yet.  I seriously did not want a ton of sugar in the filling, so I used some over-ripe mangoes that lola N's brother gave us (they have several trees and this year's harvest was more than they could handle!!!)

150 grams ripe mangoes (about 3/4 cup mashed flesh)
250 grams pineapple chunks (about 1-1/3 to 1-1/2 cups chunks)
about 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar
large pinch of mixed spice
1 teaspoon calamansi juice

Put everything in a thick saucepan and cook (over low to medium heat) until thickened.  (while the filling was cooking I felt it was still a bit sour so I added about half a tablespoon honey to take the sour edge off).  The recipe makes about 2 cups "jam" or filling.

Yum!!!