#TracyTravelsFromHome is a series of recipes from The Sidekick photo assignment editor Tracy Tran, who shares her secrets to travel anywhere from her own kitchen.

Around the world, people are traveling less and encouraged to stay safe at home. Traveling to another country might seem like an impossible feat for the near future. But fear not! Wear your apron, grab all the ingredients and let us travel to Taiwan with this Taiwanese pineapple cakes recipe.

Yield: 14-16 pineapple cakes

Ingredients

• 350 grams fresh pineapple  
• 105 grams granulated sugar
• 30-45 mL corn syrup (can be substituted with honey)
• 2 egg yolks
• 5 mL milk
• 60 grams all-purpose flour
• 20 grams condensed milk 
• 45 grams soften unsalted butter
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• ¼ tsp salt
• 15 grams cornstarch 

 Instructions:

For the pastry: 

1. Whisk 5 grams of sugar, condensed milk and butter in a large bowl. Add one egg yolk and continue whisking.
2. Sift the cornstarch, flour and salt into the wet mixture. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. Do not knead or over mix to avoid forming gluten.
3. Ball the dough. Place dough into a bowl and put in the fridge for 1 hour 30 minutes.

For the filling: 

1. Cut off the top and end of the pineapple and trim off the thick skin. Remove the pineapple eyes and separate the pineapple flesh and core. Put the core in a food processor and pulse a few times until it is down to small pieces. Cut the pineapple flesh into small chunks. 
2. In a bowl, mix 100 grams of sugar with pineapple and let it sit for at least one hour.
3. Pour the mixture into a non-stick pan and stir on medium-high heat. When the mixture  thickens, reduce to low heat and add corn syrup or honey.
4. Continue stirring for 10 minutes until slightly thinner than desired, as the jam will harden further while cooling. Remove the pan from heat and let it cool.

For wrapping & baking:

1. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees and line the baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Divide the dough into 14 to 16 pieces and do the same with the filling. Wrap the fillings with the dough into cubes and use the back of the knife to create a criss-cross pattern on the top.
3. Brush the top of each cake with egg wash (combine 5mL milk with one egg yolk).
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes and leave it cool on the baking pan for 10 minutes before moving them to the rack to completely cool.

Enjoy! 

Notes:

• If a smooth filling is preferred (instead of chunky), put the pineapple core and flesh in the food processor and blend.
• Adjusting the amount of sugar may be necessary as the sweetness of each pineapple is different.

Follow Tracy (@AnhImtracy) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.