Durian/ chocolate cuppies!

My family was invited to go to my uncle's baby full month celebration. As my sis is sponsoring 3 duckies as an add on to the buffet dinner, I wanted to bring along some food as well.. So in the end decided to stick to my forte- baking..

Wanted to bake 40 cuppies, but couldn't decide on the flavor.. I wanted to to bake a variety, but couldn't afford the time, wanna bake a single flavor, but I'm afraid it'll be too boring... So in the end bake 2 different flavors.. DURIAN N' CHOCOLATE!

Bake the Little Devil Chocolate Cupcakes and top with lots of coarsely crushed digestive crackers.. Quite a good move actually as it add on crunchy-ness to the cuppies, and yes.. This cupcake is addictive!

Didn't have time to pack them nicely.. So hehe.. Just stack them up all together in a box and lug them to my uncle hse..

Next up on the list is Durian cupcakes..

Add a tablespoon of cake batter and top with 1 full teaspoon of durian puree..

After baking, I like the golden colour on the cupcake, and yes, its crunchy on the surface, soft inside... And a well hidden "surprise".

Tadah! Surprise revealed! Lots and lots of durian puree! Hmm.. Looks like custard cream right? Hehe..

First bit, your teeth will be welcomed by the crunchy crust, and hit by the softness of the durian flavored cake, then followed by the soft, creamy and slightly bitter durian center, that fills your mouth with the durian fragrance!

*One complaint though... Should triple the amount of durian filling!*

Using a template, I dust the durian cupcakes with cocoa powder.. Tried using Hershey's, but it the colour is too light.. And doesn't complement the colour of the durian cupcakes well.. So I used valhora's cocoa powder.. Nicer contrast.

The guest praises the cuppies! I'm really so glad that they enjoyed the cupcakes (as much as I do)!

On a side note, the durian cupcakes was gone by the first hour, and it was quite a hit among the guest! As for the chocolate cuppies, those who tried gave their comments that it's very chocolate-y, moist and not too sweet.. Even my fussy cousin took 3 piece! Achievement eh? HEHE!

B's granny Chocolate-O-Durian mousse cake

Hey people.. I backed to share with you guys a cake I bake 1 yr ago.. (I didn't have a blog back then).

Baked this cake for B's grandma.. It's her 70yr old birthday.. To the chinese, its considered as quite a big event.. I mean I feel quite embarress to bring out or present this cake.. I mean.. look at the decoration.. So...


The above is the actual cake for B's grandma and it weights about 1.5kg - 2kg.. I know look wises is really ugly and not good enough as bday cake.. *Slap self hard hard*

It was my really really maiden attempt at using whip cream to decorate the cake.. Just simply add mix in pink colouring and green colouring..

Sigh, my piping is really CMI (cannot make it) *slap triple hard again*


I'm like that, if I were to bake a cake for a major event, I'll trial trial to make one for family consumption and to ask them for comments..the picture above is for family consumption..

The blackish thing in between the cake is actually a failed chocolate mousse.. Hehe.. But the durian mousse makes up for the bad ganache failure.. Durian mousse is smooth and bursting with durian flavor.. YUM!

Thank god the 2nd attempt of this cake is a much better attemp.. The chocolate mousse is much much more better, not runny and its smooth. I was so happy that day that I actually assembled the cake w/o much hiccups.. =)

I adopted the recipe from Aunty Yochana's blog.

Choco-O-Durian Mousse Cake

Ingredients

Durian sponge
4 Eggs
250g optima flour
1 tsp ovalette
70g water
1 tsp durian paste
drops of green colouring
70ml corn oil (to be added last)

1. Beat the above ingredients together till thick and fluffy (approx 10mins).
2. Fold in corn oil and pour into a 9" round tin.
3. Bake at 175C for about 45mins or till cooked.
4. Turn cake onto a wire rack and leave it to cool.

Chocolate Mousse
100g good quality chocolate, chopped and melted
200g whip cream, whipped till stiff
20g rum

1. Whip cream till stiff, fold in melted chocolate and rum.

Durian Mousse
2 egg yolks
50g sugar
250g durian flesh
75ml milk
200g whipping cream, whipped
10g gelatin powder
3 tbsp water

1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl over simmering water until puffy, stir in durian flesh and cook for a while to warm it up.
2. Soak gelatin powder with water and let it bloom. Microwave for a while until gelatin melts and add into durian flesh mixture. Stir till well combined.
3. Add in milk and stir thoroughly.
4. Gently fold in whipped cream making sure its mixed thoroughly.

Assemble

1. Spread chocolate mousse on top of a slice of cake, and them top up with the other layer of sponge cake.
2. Pour the durian mousse onto the sponge and level it. Top the cake with the last piece of sponge. Chill cake till set.
3. Cream the whole cake with cream and decorate as desired.

Note: I triple the whole recipe. The cake pan I bought is very big, so the first batch of cake batter I pour in just nice for a layer. Which means I bake the cake layer by layer for 3 times.

Comments were good! Those who tried my cake said that its very nice! And this made me so happy!

I myself find that the cake is very nice too! Maybe its because I'm a ultimate durian fan.. Hehe!

Do try this cake!

Durian Chiffon Cake

Now I'm into the Chiffon craze.. Tho abit late.. Hehe..

I usually walk home (to and from school) instead of taking bus as I treat this as a form of exercise.. So on my way home today, I saw DURIANS! I've a reallly realllly soft spot for this thorny creamy fruit.. So almost immediately I stop and bought a box for $5, consider that as quite cheap as january is not the durian season..

I continue to think what can I do with this durian other than eating it down to my stomach.. So I thought of DURIAN CHIFFON!

I got the recipe from Aunty Yochana's bloggie.. I've it printed out and place it nicely into my file.. hehe!

See how tall this chiffon is..

I really like the golden brown colour on the surface of the cake.. Looks beautiful right? hehe

See the air-holes, and a whineey speck of egg whites.. Hehe.. Didn't fold it well..

DURIAN CHIFFON CAKE

Ingredients

6 egg yolks (use only 5)
150ml coconut milk (Replace with full cream evaporated milk)
4 tbsp corn oil (Use only 3tbsp)
Pinch of salt
150g durian puree
1/4 durian essence (omitted it)
50g caster sugar (use only 10g)
140g plain flour (use top flour)

6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
100g caster sugar (use only 80g)

Methods (base on how I did it)

1. Whisk egg yolk and sugar till light and creamy, and stir in the durian puree, evaporated milk, and oil and stir to mix.
2. Gently stir in the sifted flour and salt.
3. Whisk egg whites with caster sugar till foamy, then gradually add in caster in 3 batches, continue whisking at high speed till stiff peaks forms.
4. Gently fold in the egg whites (in 3 batches) into the yolk batter.
5. Pour batter into a 23cm chiffon tin and bake at 175C for 45mins (I use 50mins) or until cooked.
6. Remove cake from oven and invert pan immediately onto a wire rack and leave it to cool completely.
7. Remove cake from pan, and serve.

Personally I think that baking at 45mins is not sufficient as the skewer did not come out clean.. So I bake at 50mins.. However, I suggest to add addition 10g of flour as the cake surface is dry, but interior is slightly wet/moist..

Nevertheless, mom love this cake.. she rated it 8/10... However I suspect it's because she likes durian.. So for her, anything that goes with durian is good.. Haha! I wrote down in a short note from on the recipe, next time try pairing this cake up with durian mousse.. I think it will be heavenly! Hehe!

But I would say that this cake is quite sucessful! Will definitely try this again, when the durian season (June/July) approach! Hehe!