Durian Cupcakes With Durian and Apple Cream



Durian Cupcake





Durian Cupcake with Durian+Apple Cream



Alright sooo, as all of you would already know, durian cake is quite common nowadays as you can get it in almost any bakery shops. Especially during the durian season. However I've never made one before until yesterday. Why make it out of the blue? Well, my grandmother suggested that I make a durian cake for her considering she brought home many durians from her orchard in Raub. It wasn't a bad idea experimenting but. I just didnt like the thought of eating the durian cake just by itself. I figured it needed something else to make it more delightful to eat. So I came up with this cream by myself, which actually is just a mixture between durian and green apple bits. Trust me, it is LOVELY. Especially for all you durian lovers out there, this cake would be heavenly for you. 

Ingredients: 

Durian cupcakes:

250g mashed durian flesh

250g butter

150g castor sugar

5 eggs (break all eggs into a bowl and beat it lightly)

240g all purpose flour (sifted)

2 tsp baking powder (sifted)

Cream:

200ml whipping cream

10 pieces of durian

stewed apples

Stewed apples:

40g sugar

20g butter

3 green apples (granny smith's)

1/4 tsp lemon juice

Method:

Stewed apples:

1. Remove the skin of the apples

2. Chop into tiny bits (about the size of those apple bits in the Apple Pie from McD)

3. Heat butter in a saucepan and saute the apples for about 3 minutes

4. Add in lemon juice

5. Sprinkle sugar over the apples to draw out the juices from the apples

6. Stir ocassionally and cook until the apples are as soft but not mashed. You want them to be about the same texture as the apples in the apple pie from McD.

7. Set aside and wait for it to cool down before using it.

Cream:

1. Using the mixer, whisk the durians for about 2 minutes

2. Add in the whipping cream and mix together until it starts to thicken

3. Add in the stewed apples (must be room temperature)

4. Gently mix the apples around so that it doesnt stay in one spot.

5. Once its done, into the fridge it goes. Make sure you cover it with cling wrap before putting it into the fridge

Durian cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. 

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add in the egg mixture about a tbsp at a time and continue beating.

4. Add in durian gradually and beat. Roughly will take about 3 mins to completely beat in all the durians.

5. Add in the sifted flour and baking powder in 3 stages. Just roughly divide the flour into 3 portions and mix. (This is to ensure all the flour is beaten into the batter properly)

6. Pour your batter into your prepared baking tins but in this case, small cups because we're making cupcakes. However you can choose to make it into a cake by just pouring it into a baking tin. :)

7. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes if you're making cupcakes OR 40-50 minutes if you're making a cake.

Explanation:

1. Why use apples?

In making a cream, consistency is a huge matter. Put a fruit that contains too much liquid in it like oranges might screw up your cream because it'll liquidify it. So fruits with high liquid content is a definite nono. Besides that, durians are given the title 'King of Fruits' for a reason. They overpower almost ever other taste. So dont try mashing some fruit and expect it to compete with the durian's taste. Instead I chose apples, specifically green apples chopped into bits because it gives the cream a nice texture and sudden shock. Those tiny bits of apples weren't put in to overpower the durian, but boost the taste of it and support. The sourness it provides just completes the 'lemak' taste of the durians.

2. When dealing with durians, expect a distinct smell on your hands and in your breath after making/eating it. I can't really help you much on the breath part but I can help you with the smell stuck to your hands. What you do is take the seed of the durian and just wash your hands with it. Rub the seed on your hand under running water and the smell will slowly come off. Magical isn't it?

Well that's about all I can think off. Leave a comment if you're unsure about anything and I'll try my best to help. Happy baking! :)