Pineapple and Palm Sugar Turnovers

Missy Wombat's Note:

From Notebook magazine, November 2006

• Total Time: 3 hrs
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• ½ small pineapple
• 50 g shredded coconut
• 50 g palm sugar , grated
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground star anise
• 60 ml milk
• white sugar , for sprinkling

Sweet pastry

• 80 g icing sugar , sifted
• 2 egg yolks
• 250 g plain flour
• 125 g unsalted butter , shilled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chilled water
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

1. Make a quantity of sweet pastry by combining the flour, icing sugar, butter and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Whisk the egg and water separately until combined and then add gradually to the flour mixture while processing. Stop processing when the mixture forms large clumps before it forms a ball.
3. Turn the pastry out onto baking paper and knead gently to bring together. Form into a log and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 190 deg Celsius.
5. Cut the skin from the pineapple, then cut flesh in half lengthways and remove core from each piece. Cut flesh into 5 mm cubes and place into a bowl. Add coconut, palm sugar, vanilla and star anise. Mix well to combine.
6. Divide pastry into 8 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll pastry out on a lightly floured pice of baking paper until 15 cm round.
7. Place a heaped tablespoon of pineapple mixture on 1/2 the pastry round. fold pastry over to form a semicircle. Using fingertips, fold over the edge and crimp. Place on a baking paper lined oven tray. wit a small sharp knife, cut slits into the top of the pastry at 1 cm intervals. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.