Pineapple Cream Flan

Look'n Cook: A complete cook’s encyclopaedia with step-by-step guides to creative cooking in 60 weekly parts, London 1978

Look ‘n Cook No 17

Pineapple Cream Flan     

225g sweet shortcrust (pie crust)For the filling: 100g (1 cup) canned pineapple, drained & chopped; 100g (1/2 cup) castor sugar; juice and grated rind 1 lemon; 25g (1 ¼ tblspn) gelatine; 50 ml (1/2 cup) hot water; 3 egg whites; 25g (1 tblspn) castor sugar; 150ml (5/8 cup) double (heavy) creamFor the praline: 50g (1/4 cup) castor sugar; 50g (1/4 cup) almonds

1 Roll out the pastry 5mm thick & line a flan case with it. Prick well with a fork. 

2 Preheat the oven to 200° C

3 Bake the flan blind for 20 minutes, then cool. 

4 To make the filling, put the pineapple, sugar and lemon in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour on to the beaten egg yolks & stir.           

5 Dissolve the gelatine in the hot water, and add to the mixture. Cool.                                                            

6 Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the castor sugar and beat again. Gently fold into the pineapple mixture.                                                                                                                                                                              

7 Finally whip the double cream and fold most of it into the mixture.                                                                              

8 When chilled, but not set, pour into the flan case. Chill.                                                                                      

9 To make the praline, melt the sugar in a saucepan over a gentle heat and add the almonds. Stir with a metal spoon until dark brown. Pour on to an oiled tin and cool a little. Crush with a rolling pin.      

10 decorate the flan with the remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with the crushed praline. Chill & serve.                                                                                                                                                                    Serves 8.

The flan in the magazine.

The flan in my kitchen.

Pineapple + Great Barrier Reef = Queensland

 By guest Eco Reporter, Jane:

This story of our beautiful and unique Great Barrier Reef was initially inspired by Ruby Borrowdale’s Coral Reef Pie recipe in the ‘Golden Circle Tropical Pineapple Recipe Book’. The Coral Reef Pie symbolises the largest coral reef system in the world!

Australians created the Great Barrier Marine Park, GBR Marine Protection Authority to protect it. BUT, a recent IPPC report says it could be functionally extinct by 2030.

What threatens our reef???

I. The greatest damage to the Reef is being caused by climate change, through coral bleaching and ocean acidification.

2. Sediment, nutrient and pesticide pollution from catchment runoff kills off reef life.

3. Sediments provide increased food for the formidable coral destroyer, the Crown of Thorns Starfish.

4. Overfishing.          

5. Industrialisation: the dredging and dumping of millions of tonnes of seabed and rock on the reef; increased shipping between the narrow straights of the coral; a greater number of ports, including the development of the largest coal port in the world at Abbott Point.

6. 4 Bombs: in 2013 the US & Australia, during military exercises, dropped 4 bombs on the reef, because the place they usually dropped them was not available.

7. Unchecked Polluters: since 2009 Queensland Nickel, owned by Clive Palmer, released hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste water on to the reef. Under threat of a $6.4 billion compensation claim by Qld Nickel, the GBRMPA did nothing but advise the company to devise a waste management plan.

If you are interested in finding out how to help protect this important ecosystem check out these websites:

http://fightforthereef.org.au/

https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/coal-seam-gas/great-barrier-reef/save-the-reef

http://www.savethereef.org.au/

http://qldconservation.org.au/current-practices-failing-to-save-the-reef/

And if you'd like to recreate some of Jane and Anne’s  “delicious” props in these photos the Coral Reef Pie featured on the Pineapple Princesses blog on 2 October 2012.

Coral Reef Pie.

Pie filling: 440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, 2 tblspns cornflour, 2 egg yolks, 1 tblspn butter, 1 baked 20cm pastry shell.

Heat pineapple and syrup in saucepan. Blend cornflour in ¼ cup cold water, stir into hot pineapple mixture and bring to boil. Remove from stove, stir in beaten egg yolks and butter. Turn into pastry shell, top with pink coral macaroon, bake in slow oven 180°C about 30 minutes or until topping is firm.

Coral Macaroon Topping: 2 egg whites, ½ cup castor sugar, 1 cup desiccated coconut, pinch salt, pink food colouring. Beat egg whites with salt until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar, beating until meringue is firm. Add few drops pink food colouring, then the coconut. Flavour to taste.

There was also jelly, honey, chocolate, meringue, berries, cream and, the Pineapple Cream Tarts appeared in ‘Good Housekeeping’s Picture Cake Making’, Australia in the 1950s.

Pineapple Cream Tarts

Shortcrust pastry; 3 tblsp cream; 1 tblsp chopped pineapple; 2 tsp chopped glacé cherries; glacé icing made with icing sugar and pineapple juice; yellow colouring

Line some patty tins with the thinly rolled pastry and bake blind. Whip the cream, stir in the well drained pineapple and glacé cherries, and put a little of the mixture into the cold, cooked pastry cases, smoothing the service evenly. Mix a little sieved icing sugar with the pineapple juice and a drop of yellow colouring, and spread this icing carefully over filling, covering it completely.

The ideal treat for your Earth Hour get together on 29th March! Anne.

A fish called Pineapple!

Here's just one reason to save the Great Barrier Reef. The Pineapple Fish!

 

There are many more reasons of course, which will appear in the doco on Channel Ten 6pm this Saturday to celebrate Australia's Earth Hour.

 

http://fightforthereef.org.au/

 

Marine scientist, David Harasti, says that the Pineapple fish (Cleidopus gloriamaris) which can be found off New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia “is a very popular species with scuba divers and it can be tricky to photograph as they generally hide in the darkness at the back of a cave or ledge away from the prying lens of a camera!”

 

“The scales are very tough and act as armour whilst there is a small light organ that can be found on either side of the lower jaw that produces a greenish glow. It is believed that the colour of the light organ changes from green to red as the fish matures. This light organ is best seen at night as it is luminescent and the Pineapple fish uses it to attract small microscopic prey to its mouth to feed on.“

David also says that “even though this fish resembles a Pineapple it is reported that it is not very good eating!”

Thanks very much for allowing us to use your photograph David.

For more information on this remarkable creature check out his website:

http://www.daveharasti.com/articles/speciesspotlight/pineapplefish.htm

Pineapple: Interiors and Exteriors

 When I asked German designer, interior architect and photographer, Katrin Greiling, if I could use her photographs of her commissioned  design bar and VIP lounge at the Stockholm Furniture Fair she immediately replied with “This sounds fun! Thanks for asking… Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book, wow! I'm having a look ... Of course, take what you can find, we are happy to share the studio's pineapple love!”

Thanks very much Katrin, pineapple love must be universal!

She says that "the concept for the design bar reflects my experiences of recent years, during which I have spent much time working and living in different cultures. My goal has been to create an environment that draws on these global impressions,rather than telling a linear story. I like visitors to be able to come here for a break from the hustle and bustle of the fair. They become part of this stimulating environment, which plays with one's perceptions of private and public space."

http://www.designboom.com/design/katrin-greiling-design-bar-at-stockholm-furniture-fair-2011/

 

The beautiful Prada Store (sometimes nicknamed 'The Pineapple') was designed by Herzog and de Meuron and completed in 2003.

The intent of “Prada’s Tokyo ‘Epicenter’, in the fashionable Aoyama district . . . is to reshape both the concept and function of shopping, pleasure and communication, to encourage the meshing of consumption and culture.”

Interestingly Herzog says that “Tokyo is a city where not a single building relates to its neighbourhood, and every building fills its whole site. We took a chance in creating a little space outdoors, like in European cities. We also reversed the typical Japanese emphasis on looking inward by giving importance to the view.”

http://www.architravel.com/architravel/building/prada-store-epicenter/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fugutabetai/2202265575/

Thanks very much to Japanese photographer, Fugu Tabetai, for the use of his photograph.

Photographer, Ian Sutton, generously said we could use his photograph of the flamboyant Grand Lisboa, in Macau.  He said “It's actually meant to be a lotus flower, but perhaps it is more pineapple like? :)”

“Grand Lisboa (Chinese: 新葡京) is a 58-floor, 261-metre-tall hotel in Macau, designed by Hong Kong architects Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man. Its casino and restaurants were opened on February 11, 2007, while the hotel was opened in December 2008. The casino offers 800 mass gaming tables and 1000 slot machines. The hotel contains 430 hotel rooms and suites. The Grand Lisboa is the tallest building in Macau and the 118thTallest Building in the World (by architectural structure).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lisboa

Thanks alot Ian!

www.flickr.com/photos/31727028@N08/6296013920

"Chinese Fruit Salad"

Vogue Living Entertaining & Cooking Guide ’78, Australia

Chinese Fruit Salad

1 440g can pineapple pieces; 1 can lychees; 1 tblspn glace cherries, chopped; 2 tblspn crystallised ginger, chopped;  ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted.

Drain syrup from canned fruits. Combine them with cherries and ginger. Chill well. Sprinkle almonds (heated and stirred over heat until lightly browned) on top. Serve.

These 1970s glass bowls are an absolute treasure that were recently delivered to the Pineapple Princesses from Western Australia. They are beautiful, thanks so much Kylie, that was very generous! Anne.

Flambe that pineapple!

Look'n Cook: A complete cook’s encyclopaedia with step-by-step guides to creative cooking in 60 weekly parts, London 1978
Look‘n Cook No 43  

Flamed Pineapple Meringue

2 whole eggs; 6 egg yolks; ¾ cup icing sugar; 1 cup + 2 tblspns flour, sieved; 1 cup pineapple juice; 3 cupos milk; 1 tspn vanilla essence; 10 slices pineapple; 50g butter, softened; 150ml white rum

For the meringue: 4 egg whites; ¾ cup icing sugar

1 In a mixing bowl, blend together the whole eggs, egg yolks and icing sugar. Whisk well, then mix in the flour. Stir in the pineapple juice.

2 Heat the milk in a heavy saucepan and, when boiling, pour it over the egg and pineapple mixture, stirring all the time. Add the vanilla essence and pour back into the saucepan.

3 Return the pan to the heat and boil for several minutes, stirring continuously, until it thickens. Then remove from the heat.

4 Cut 2 of the pineapple slices into cubes and mix into the crème patissiere. Then stir in the butter and 50ml of the rum.

5 Preheat the oven to 200°C.

6 Beat the egg whites until stiff. Gradually add the sugar, beating all the time until stiff and shiny.

7 Spread the crème patissiere over the base of an ovenproof dish. Arrange the remaining pineapple slices on top and then cover with the meringue. Place in the oven and bake until the meringue is cooked and golden.

8 Just before serving, heat the rest of the rum in a small saucepan. Pour it over the meringue, set it alight, and serve the flaming dish to your guests.

Serves 8

"Tip: There are a number of variations on this dish. You can substitute brandy or another spirit for rum and can even use alternative fruits for the filling."

Note: The fire extinguisher was close at hand!