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Pineapple cakes (鳳梨酥) have always been my favourite pastries. Regrettably in Hong Kong, one can hardly find good pineapple cakes as most sold locally are out of winter melon, though deceptively called pineapple cakes. They are just sweet and chewy, and nothing pineapple!
A few years ago, a friend of mine gave me a box of SunnyHills (微熱山丘) pineapple cakes from Taiwan. The cakes are not compliant with traditional geometry, being rectangular rather than square in shape. My first bite of this cake was unforgettable! The golden crust shell was like an elegant jewellery box that made everyone feel curious of its content. The surprise came when I took a hard bite into the filling. That was absolutely pineapple! A sourish and fresh taste of pineapple emerged from the firm but not stiff pastry shell and got punched up by the subtle buttery crust. This is still the best pineapple cake I have ever tasted.
A cup of coffee will certainly be a good companion of this Taiwanese delicacy, but never with strong expresso as it overwhelms the mild fruitiness of this pastry. A medium-ground dripped coffee will be the best.
Such a fruity pastry will also make a wonderful after-dinner dessert. But finding an appropriate dessert wine to match with it seems non-trivial, as I could imagine the decimating effect of any sweet wine on the mild fruitiness. My tasting experiments with Sauternes and Ice Wines all confirmed the expected failure. Recently and eventually, I have found the perfect match for this special Sunny Hills pastry. The Bella Ridge Estate Kyoho white wine* from Australia is a non-aggressive light sweet wine having a characteristic flavour of osmanthus, and its mild acidity quietly evokes the fruitiness of the special pineapple pastry.
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Quite an amazing combination worth a try!
November 2015
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