In Cookie Haven: Blushing Pink and White Kueh Bangkit

Wednesday 6 January 2016

Blushing Pink and White Kueh Bangkit

Hello 2016! I had a good Christmas and New Year break, spending time and feasting with family and friends. In nearly a month's time, it will be Chinese New Year! The festive mood does not seem to end. Let the celebrations and feasting continue!

Kueh Bangkit is my family's favorite Chinese new year cookie. It is crumbly, melts in your mouth releasing the coconut and pandan (screw pine) flavor. Last year, I made these cookies using dry fried tapioca flour. This year, I chose to dry fried sago flour instead. The texture is even more crumbly and melt in your mouth.

As kueh bangkit is traditionally made without addition of coloring, the cookies are white or off white in colour. I gave the colour of the cookies a twist by adding beetroot powder to half of the dough and they turned out blushing pink after baking. Very cute and sweet looking.

Just in case you are worried, very little beetroot powder was added, thus the texture and flavour of the cookies were not affected.

Blushing Pink Kueh Bangkit

Let's get baking.

Kueh Bangkit (makes 196 cookies)

Ingredients:

Microwaving the sago flour (fried sago flour):
(to be done at least 1 day before baking)

1kg sago flour
50g pandan (screwpine) leaves, cut into 5 cm long

Directions:

Using a microwavable non-plastic bowl, mix the flour with the pandan leaves and microwave on High for 2 min interval for 8 - 10min. After every 2 min, take the bowl out of the microwave and give the mixture a stir.

Stop the process of microwaving when you noticed that the flour is giving out very little or no more steam after the interval, approx. at 8min. You will notice that the pandan leaves have dried up and do not let the pandan leaves burn as the smell will permeate the whole batch of flour. Remove the pandan leaves from the flour once they are very dry.

Place the flour aside to cool down and DO NOT cover it. After 2 hours, sieve the flour and keep the flour in an air tight container to continue cooling.

The flour need to cool for at least a day before using. The flour can be kept in the container for at least 2 weeks.
After drying 1kg of sago flour, I was left with approximately 720g of flour.

Ingredients:
690g fried sago flour
30g fried sago flour for dusting the mould

(A) 250g coconut cream (not coconut water) - may need a little more or less depending how dry is the flour

(A) 233g icing sugar

(A) 1/4 tsp salt

(A) 4 large egg yolks

1/4 tsp of beetroot powder (for the pink kueh bangkit)

Steps to kueh bangkit:

Whisk egg yolks, coconut cream, icing sugar and salt till frothy (3 min)
Fold in flour in 3 additions into (A). Using a light hand on the dough, do not over knead the dough. The dough should be on the drier side.
Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and add beetroot powder to one half of the dough. Light knead the dough till the beet root powder is fully incorporated.
Place the dough in bowls and cover with a cling wrap. Let dough rest for 30 min.
Dust mould with some flour and pinch some dough and press lightly into the mould. Remove excess dough using the back of a butter knife.
Give the mould a knock against the table top and that will get the cookies out.
Place cookies onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius and bake cookies for 25 min.

Kueh Bangkit how to:

Cleaned and dried mould

Dust the mould with some of the fried sago flour

Tap the flour out

Pinch a little of the dough

Press it gently into the mould

Remove the excess dough using the back of a butter knife

After scrapping, this is what you will get

Tap the side of the mould against the table top and tap the cookie out