Taiwanese pineapple cakes

Step 1: Put 1 ⅓ lb fresh pineapple and its juice in a wide non-stick pan over a medium-high heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Step 2: Add 2 ⅞ oz sugar, 2 tbsp maltose or golden syrup and 1 tbsp lemon juice, turn the heat to medium-low and keep stirring for 15–20 minutes, until the jam is golden-brown, sticky, and holds a clean line when you drag a spatula through it. Common mistake: stopping while the jam is still soft and wet; it boils out through the pastry in the oven and leaves hollow cakes.

Step 3: Spread the jam on a plate, cool, then chill for 15 minutes. Divide into 12 balls of about 20 g.

Step 4: Beat 4 oz unsalted butter, 1 oz icing sugar and 1 pinch salt with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy. Beat in 1 egg yolk, then mix in 6 oz plain flour, 1 oz milk powder and ⅓ oz finely grated Parmesan-style hard cheese (vegetarian) if using, until it just comes together as a soft dough. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Step 5: Heat the oven to 350°F (fan 300°F). Divide the dough into 12 pieces of about 28 g. Flatten each into a disc in your palm, set a jam ball in the middle and push the dough up and around it until sealed. Roll gently into an oval.

Step 6: Press each one into a lightly greased 5 × 4 cm rectangular pineapple-cake mould set on a lined tray, flattening the top so it fills the corners. (Without moulds, shape into neat 2 cm-thick squares.)

Step 7: Bake for 12 minutes, flip each cake (still in its mould) with a spatula and bake for 8–10 minutes more, until both sides are an even golden colour.

Step 8: Cool for 10 minutes, then push them out of the moulds. They taste best the next day, when the pastry has softened slightly; keep in an airtight tin for up to a week.