Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes with Durian Filling

Method

1. Make the syrup: put 90g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 100ml of water in a pot over high heat, stir until dissolved, then stop stirring once the water starts to steam. When it boils, lower to medium heat, add 10ml of lemon juice, swirl the pot gently and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half. Pour it into a clean jar to cool.
2. Blend 320g of pineapple, keeping it coarse if some bite in the filling is wanted. Tip the pineapple into a nonstick pan with 260 to 280g of durian flesh and 54g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
3. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the pineapple and durian come together. As the liquid cooks away and the filling thickens, lower to medium heat, taste, then add 15 to 30ml of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend syrup if it needs sweetness or a little lemon juice if it is too sweet. Keep cooking until the filling is a thick, chewy mass, then spread it on a plate to cool.
4. Make the pastry: beat 70g of unsalted butter, 30g of cream cheese and 31.5g of sifted kOBE Monk Fruit Blend on the lowest speed until just smooth. Beat in 1 large egg yolk until combined, then 60g of whipping cream.
5. Sift in 145g of all purpose flour in two additions and mix until just combined, then knead lightly into a slightly tacky dough. Wrap it well and chill for about 1 hour until firm and no longer sticky.
6. Roll the filling into 10g balls and divide the pastry into 10 to 12g pieces, giving about 35 cakes.
7. Dust the hands with a little flour, roll each piece of pastry into a ball and press it flat, set a ball of filling in the middle, then seal the pastry tightly around it with no gaps. Set the cakes on a lined tray and shape them into rectangles or ovals.
8. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C with top and bottom heat.
9. Dip a knife in water and press patterns into the tops with the back of the blade, going a little deeper than looks right, since the lines soften in the oven.
10. Beat 1 egg yolk with 5ml of unsweetened oat milk and brush a thin layer over the tops. A thick layer cracks as it bakes.
11. Bake on the middle rack at 180 degrees C for 15 to 17 minutes, until the pastry is dry, lifts cleanly off the paper and has taken on a good golden color.

Tips

• Plain pineapple, carrot, kiwi, strawberry or shredded coconut all work as fillings, as long as the fruit is fibrous or meaty.
• Unsalted dairy butter gives a softer, better tasting pastry than margarine.
• Malt syrup can stand in for the syrup, and since it is still a sugar, measure it exactly.
• Do not use the dark tray that comes with the oven, since it scorches the bases.
• The butter and cream cheese have to be fully soft at room temperature, since cold and firm ones crack the pastry as it is rolled.