Been super busy the past few days, but here is a quick post on pineapple cakes.  I went home a few weeks ago in order to see my grandmother who was visiting from Taiwan.  She brought with her a lot of snacks including mochi, preserved plums, dried beancurd snack and pineapple cakes.

Pineapple cakes don’t really taste like cakes.  They are maybe more like a cookie.  The outside is like a shortbread crust and the inside is filled with pineapple jam-type filling.  You can find pineapple cakes at Ranch 99, and you can even find them with other flavors. I don’t particularly like the ones at Ranch 99.  You can usually find them at chinese bakeries as well, which taste a lot better though also cost more.

I used to love pineapple cakes when I was little, but then for a while I didn’t like them too much.  A few years ago, my close friend, who is originally from Taiwan, and I were having a discussion on our favorite snacks from Taiwan and she said her favorite was pineapple cake.  I was so surprised.  I didn’t know why she wanted pineapple cakes when they were readily available in chinese grocery stores. Then she went to Taiwan and came back with all these pineapple cakes and gave me a few.  And then realized what she was talking about.  The cakes she brought back were so good! Each was individually wrapped in pretty cold boxes.  The crust was rich and buttery and the inside was sweet and chewy.

Since then, the last few trips to Taiwan, I’ve always bought back pineapple cakes.  My aunt has taken us to all different stores specializing in pineapple cakes.  I’ve sampled ones with pine nuts inside, cranberries, and others.  I’ve had ones with all different types of pretty packaging.

Chia Te Bakery has been voted #1 for pineapple cakes.  I’m not sure if they are # 1, but they do make pretty good pineapple cakes.  I only wish that their packaging was a bit prettier.