Paifala – Samoan half-moon pies (traditional recipe)

By panipopos

I’ve done something a little different this time. I’ve made someone else’s recipe.

You see, back in my pre-blogging days, whenever I googled “paifala recipe”, this one recipe would show up 95% of the time. (And Google would also ask me if I meant to search for “paella recipe”. The nerve!)

Since this recipe is out there in Googleland as the recipe for paifala, I was intrigued and had to try it out. Now this is not, I repeat, this is NOT my recipe. Paifala at my house were pineapple-custard stuffed confections enrobed in a buttery, smooth shortcrust pastry. No, this is definitely not that recipe.

This recipe uses cornstarch instead of custard, and the piecrust is similar to masi samoa. The pastry is much nuttier and fragrant than the paifala I’m used to, and the filling is just as good as custard. The ingredients are so simple and unpretentious, and the taste is – what’s the word I’m looking for – honest. That’s why I’m labelling this a ‘traditional’ recipe. No yellow food colouring to be found here folks!

So really, whose recipe is this?

Why, it’s Lily Dayton’s.

Who?

Here, check it out for yourself. I think she finally deserves credit for her much-plagarised recipe.

Unless she got it off Google herself. LOL.

JK. Much respect for Ms Dayton and her paifala.

I’ve made slight changes (5 cups of flour was a tad bit too much for me and her baking time was too short), but otherwise, this is a solid recipe. So here it is, good ole’ honest island-style paifala.

Paifala (makes 5)

adapted from Lily Dayton's recipe

Filling:

2 cups drained crushed pineapple

1 cup (200g) sugar

½ cup (120ml) milk

⅓ cup (30g) cornstarch

⅓ cup (80ml) syrup from crushed pineapple

Piecrust:

3 cups (375g) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

⅓ cup (75g) butter

1 cup (240ml) coconut milk

pinch salt

Make the filling ahead and give it ample time to cool to room temperature. Simply mix the pineapple, sugar and milk in a saucepan and heat until simmering. Dilute the cornstarch with the pineapple juice and add this to the pineapple mixture. Stir it over low heat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and cool.

For the piecrust, throw everything in a bowl and mix. When it starts to come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and press it together. Don’t knead this dough or it’ll be chewy and tough.

Cut your dough into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into an 8” (20cm) circle. Put some of your cooled pineapple filling into the centre. But pay attention to how much you put in - too much and the pie will burst in the oven, too little and people will complain. The recipe above makes just enough for five pies.

Lightly wet the edges of the piecrust with water, and then fold one half of the pie over the other. Press the edges together with your fingers or, if you wanna be fancy, with a fork. Pierce the top of the pie several times then bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35-40 minutes until light golden. Remove from the oven and cool.

Big half-moon pies are usually served in thick strips, but since these are only 8” wide, I reckon you could give a hungry Samoan a whole one. Or two.

 

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