Coconut Tartlets with Poached Pineapple and Mascarpone Cheese

I will be catching up on some of the dishes that we have made over the last few months. Our overtime is starting to slow down. Here is a Pineapple Tart that we found on My Recipes that is so good. It is the first time we have used Mascarpone Cheese due to the fact that is is very expensive. We found that the Mascarpone Cheese a bit bland compared to the tang of cream cheese, however the tarts were great. We did not use the pink peppercorns

Coconut Tartlets with Poached Pineapple and Mascarpone Cheese

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (such as Baker's Angel Flake, which has a fine texture)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups diced fresh pineapple (1/4-in. cubes)
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Put coconut and butter in a medium bowl and stir until coconut is moist.

Divide mixture evenly among tart pans and press into bottoms and up sides to form a thin shell. Put tart pans on a baking sheet and bake until shells are golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through, about 15 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes, then gently remove shells from tart pans and cool fully on a cooling rack.

In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine diced pineapple, pineapple juice.

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pineapple is tender, about 5 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer pineapple to a bowl and refrigerate, uncovered, until cool, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, increase heat to high and boil remaining liquid until thick and syrupy and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes.

Remove star anise and discard; refrigerate syrup, uncovered, until cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir mascarpone and pineapple syrup together.

In a separate bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form.

Stir half the cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in remaining cream.

Divide cream filling evenly among tart shells, smoothing it with the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula.

Spoon diced pineapple over cream filling, dividing evenly.

Serve immediately.