On the Pink Side

It's October and it is the month of pink. Breast cancer awarenesses everywhere. Buy breast-cancer-labeled bras or knickers and everything in pink, you'll get one free. Special pink month. 

I used to bake for breast cancer awareness fund-raising in the town, but I have no idea why there's no more such an event to participate. I got a pleasure to bake while donate. Don't you?

Last year, we have my fellow foodie blogger, Bron Marshall, hosted Pink Paris Bre(a)sts for Pink October. This year, Susan Vriens of Dragon Musings hosts Virtual Girls Night In to support breast cancer awareness througout the world. Please, feel free to join in and let's be merry with lots of girly pinky winky goodies!

I am sending you all my girlfriends these little gem roses. Well, I call them chocolate buttons. These little gems used to be the main target when my mother asked me to accompany her shopping at a local market. Just like many other children who love sweets, I would eat the icing firsthand. Today, my children do the same. Some genetics, is it?

Anyway, these little sweets are easy to make and fuss-free (except you are not too keen on playing up with piping icing?). These can be a great idea for a special occasion, too:  colour  them differently, wrap in a cellophane bag, and pop in to a lunch box, or even a birthday gift bag for your guests to bring home. Help yourself with larger ideas. You'll find a lot of fun!

Cokelat Glasur
Source: Tabloid Lezat. Edisi 141. September 2009.

I made a few changes on the recipe as I don't really like biscuits or cakes which taste overwhelmingly too sweet: using 275g plain flour; 80g caster sugar; and 50g cocoa powder. I also add 1 tsp vanilla extract. I just love the darkness of  chocolate flavour on chocolate biscuit. Next time, I am going to try to make these using dark cooking chocolate. See how it goes.

300g plain flour
1 egg
250g butter
150g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder


Beat butter, icing sugar and egg until soft (what I do is beat the butter and icing sugar until just going pale, and then add the loosely beaten egg). Take a little bit of biscuit dough (I use a teaspoon at a time), roll into marble-size balls, and put on the greased baking sheets. Flatten a bit, and then brush with egg white, sprinkle with desiccated coconut (I omit this step). Bake in a preheated oven to 170C for about 25 minutes or until cooked. Remove from the oven and cool. (I transfer them on a wire rack after leave them on the sheets for 5 minutes).




Icing
175g icing sugar
30ml egg whites
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon pink food colouring (I just use a drop of red food colouring)

Whisk the egg whites in a bowl on a simmering water, add in the icing sugar a small amount at a time, keep beating until stiff. (What I do was making a hot sugar syrup and then pour it with a thin stream into the foamy egg whites while keep whisking, and then add more icing sugar to a thicker paste). Add in the lime juice and the food colouring. Mix well. The icing should be a form of paste rather than runny. Put this icing into a pastry bag with a star or rose noozle. Pipe on to each biscuit. Leave it dry and then keep them into an airtight container. Makes heaps!

Besides all the chocolate buttons with pink icing, I also made gluten-free version which suit me the best. I made vanilla biscuits topped with different coloured icing.




Gluten-Free Vanilla Buttons
Inspired by Tabloid Lezat's Coklat Glasur

350g gluten-free flour
125g unsalted butter
125g margarin
80g icing sugar, sifted
50g milk powder
100g almond powder
1 egg, loosely beaten
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Preheat the oven to 150C. Line the baking tray with baking paper. Put the butters in a mixing bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until just light. Fold in icing sugar and milk powder. Add in the loosely beaten egg. Add in the vanilla bean paste. Mix well. Add in the almond powder and gluten-free flour. Roll into tiny balls (otherwise, you're ending up with golf ball-size buttons rather than marble-size ones). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked and the biscuits are hard but are not brown. Remove from the oven and leave on the trays for 5 minutes before transfer them on wire racks to cool completely. Ice them. Use the recipe above to make the icing. I just play up with different colours. I use pandan paste for the green one. I also drop a few of orange essence on the yellow icing.