With a couple of kilos of ripe langka in the deep freeze, the question was what to do with it… We had enjoyed langka fresh, frozen and eaten plain, frozen and served with some brandy, cooked into banana turon, and in the past, preserved in a simple sugar 
syrup for future use in halo-halo’s, but I had never baked with langka (jackfruit)… I searched the internet and found a langka empanaditas recipe that looked interesting (though I was almost certain that the amount of dough mentioned was insufficient for the filling) and remembered that I once did a pie crust triangle or turnover with a filling of santol jam, so I thought I would experiment… Here are the results… flaky, buttery pie crust triangles filled with a delicious, pungent and tasty langka filling…they were very good eating!
To make the filling, I took about 2.5-3.0 cups worth of frozen langka pieces (no seeds) and blitzed them in a food processor until finely chopped, not mashed. This should yield about 1.5 cups or little more after blitzing. Do this while the fruit is frozen, you are 
less likely to overblitz it then. If you are blitzing fresh langka, do it in short blasts to make sure you don’t overblitz. You can also chop it up finely if you like. Set this aside. Next in a heavy saucepan, add two cans of condensed milk and 7 eggyolks and whisk or stir over medium heat until quite thick. I added ½ fresh vanilla bean (throw the entire half bean in pod and seeds). After 2-3 minutes, remove the bean and scrape out the seeds and add the seeds to the mixture. When the mixture has thickened, say 12+ minutes of stirring, add the blitzed langka and about a tablespoon of butter and mix until well blended. If the mixture looks to liquidy, cook a few minutes more before removing from the flame and setting it aside. The mixture will set or seize up a little and look like a custard. Taste this now and you will get a preview of this delicious dessert…I had at least 4 spoons of the mixture, and that’s before the langka had a chance to really let some flavor loose…
Next make some pie dough, but a little wetter than usual. In a large bowl, add 6 cups of all purpose flour (I like to leave mine in the fridge or freezer for 15 minutes at 
least to ensure it is cold), add 1 cup of cold cubed butter and ¾ cup of vegetable shortening (such as Crisco), also cold, 2 teaspoons of table salt and “cut†with two knives until the butter and shortening are blended into the flour in very small pieces. Add about 10 tablespoons of cold water and mash with a fork until the dough starts to come together. Form the dough into 3 or 4 large balls and flatten and wrap these in some plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before rolling it out. Next, out the dough until thin. If the dough is too cold, it will be flaky and difficult to work with. Wait a minute or two for it to warm a little. Then, cut the dough into shapes (round is classic for empanadita shape, but I find square is more efficient cutting and easier for me to work with) put a little spoonful of the langka filling in the center and seal the turnover and brush with an egg wash and bake in a 375 degree oven until just golden brown, about 18 minutes. When you remove the turnovers from the oven, brush with unsalted butter and sprinkle with caster sugar. These were REALLY good warm and straight out of the oven. But they got better a few hours later or even the next day when the langka had a chance to really work its wonders… perfect for a Pinoy inspired afternoon tea…
And if you find yourself with too much filling despite the tons of pie crust you made, do 
what I did and make some mini langka/jackfruit pies! Just be careful not to overstuff with the filling, it can be overpowering! These mini-pies also turned out fantastic and anyone who loves langka would be in heaven. I have to point out that some folks have a real dislike or aversion to langka precisely because of its strong flavor and pungent smell, but unlike durian of which I am not a fan, I do love langka. The turnovers were nice and firm and when i put two pieces into clear cellophane bags and added a ribbon, they made terrific giveaways for a dinner I was going to that evening!
17 Responses
hmmm…if i made this, i can’t promise there’ll be enough filling left for the dough….i can imagine the filling tastes like langka pastillas, which i love!
You maxed out the langka and nice job on your turnovers. Your turnovers giveaways look fantastic in cellophane pouch with the ribbon – very hype. I can picture myself savoring them with unflavored unsweetened iced tea. Great afternoon delight!
yummmm!!
thank you for the wonderful langka turnover recipe!! When you have a langka tree, it really gives out lots of fruits…I tell you, you’d really have to be very, very creative in making the best of the good ones. In our province, everyone will have a langka tree so giving/sharing your excess fruits is just a joke:-). The trees all bear fruits at the same time :-)! Sorry, I come from the city, so these are all phenomenon(s) to me :-) You have supplied me with very good ideas! I also love cooking unripe langka as a vegetable—with fresh, thick gata and lots of shrimps & garlic!
i don’t like ripe langka but i love the raw “vegetable” langka in viands with gata, munggo and dried fish.
I’m sure they taste as good as they look! Nice packaging! Gotta try this!
Like your neat idea of leaving your pre-measured flour in the fridge or freezer for coldness. It makes a lot of difference in crumbly texture. I read all of the baking and pies cookbooks in print as of this date but have not seen this before. Another innovative approach of yours – you are a Champion Baker!
Maria Clara, it is just too hot in the Philippines to bake pastry properly unless you have a chilled margle counter and an airconditioned kitchen…so keeping the ingredients cold is the only obvious option…
yahoo. got the mag via lbc just now 3:55 p.m. Thanks marketman
I had never, ever enjoyed ripe langka (unripe, as a vegetable, is fine). I hated when someone would would put it in the fridge and the water would take on its taste/smell. The only form in which I’d ever liked it was when Twin Popsies used to come in a langka flavor when I was a kid. But these empanaditas are different. I’m now reconsidering my langka aversion. :-)
By the way, is this crust different from the one you used for the mango tarts in the last post? Because in that post you said you had trouble with folding crust over, that they would always crack open (as the mango tarts did). But these turned out perfectly.
whoa MM! you really never run out of ideas!! this is one of the reasons why i love visiting the thread everyday, err, make that every hour since am online most of the day.. hehehe! i do hope that book of yours would soon be a reality so it would be easier for us to check the recipes whenever the need arises!!
If you chop the jackfruit fine…you can turn it into a yummy preserve too….like the strawberry ones where you have chunks of fruit to bite into. My mom made some and it was pure heaven as topping with some good vanilla icecream. This idea of yours is inspiring. I will definitely try it out.
Thanks for the wonderful idea MM!^_^ Its like you almost knew my thoughts, i love langka and just about to google where i could buy delectable langka treats. The (supposed) langka boat tarts i got from a commercial bakeshop yesterday are just so frustrating…
The filling looks yummy! I may have to look for the fruit though…by the way, is it possible to use phyllo pastry? maybe a small amount of filling will do. I kinda suck in dough making… Baka pwede to just eat the filling!
elaine, the filling was incredibly edible by itself, albeit sweet and totally intense, possibly overpowering… I suppose phyllo might work… Pie dough is really quite easy though once you get the hang of it. stabuxadix, we all tend to think in terms of food as it hits its peak, so for fruits, foodie cravings are somewhat synchronized… anupama, jackfruit preserves on ice cream…wow, that sounds good. There used to be a local flavor of ice cream redolent with jackfruit so I can relate! Katrina, yes, I did make a new batch of dough which had more butter and more water to make it more pliable…
Speaking of langka… Here’s one experiment I had https://bealoca.multiply.com/journal/item/77/A_Langka_Seed_Recipe_and_Jesper_Ulvelius
You threw half of the vanilla bean???!!?! Vanilla beans, as they are usually used with milk, can be reused a few times. Sometimes before discarding the (over)used pods, you may (for its last life) leave the pod in a sugar container and you’ll end up having vanilla sugar.
On langka—what can one say? It’s one of my favorite fruits. Had a feast of it in Bangkok but obviously not available here in Noumea….