my family is a huge fan of 'the king of fruits' aka durians... so when i felt like baking a durian-licious dessert, i decided on durian puffs... :-)
the choux pastry used for the puff shells are quite simple to make actually... it doesnt call for any particular pastry-making skills such as lightness of hands or careful rolling... its the exact same type of pastry used to make those cute eclairs...
as for the durian filling.... since i'm not too picky when it comes to durians, i simply used the cheap ungraded ones... yes, the durians which had been conveniently pre-packed into those white styrofoam boxes & covered with plastic food wrap with $2 or $3 scrawled on it with a marker pen... hehe.. oh, and as a tip, i suggest preparing the filling earlier and chill it before baking the puff shells...
Durian Filling:
durian pulp from 12 pcs of durian
2 tbsp milk
2-3 tsp honey (you can have more for extra sweetness)
200ml whipping cream
1. Beat cream till soft peaked, put aside.
2. Add durian pulp, milk and honey into another bowl and mix till smooth using a wooden spoon.
3. Combine cream and durian mixture together till well blended and chill in fridge till ready to fill the puffs.
Choux Pastry Shells:
100g butter
1 cup cold water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 beaten eggs
icing sugar - optional for decoration
1. Place water, butter and salt into saucepan and bring to a boil till butter melts.
2. Turn off the heat & add in flour. Stir vigourously with a wooden spoon till it becomes a smooth ball of dough and doesn't stick to sides of pan.
3. Add eggs a little at a time into the dough, mixing each addition thoroughly before adding the next.
4. Beat well until it becomes a smooth glossy paste.
5. Put the paste into a piping bag or ziplog bag, snip a small hole at one corner and pipe swirls onto a slightly greased baking sheet. Ensure to leave about 1inch or 2.5cm gap between them.
[*you can use a spoon to scoop too]
6. Bake for 20 mins at 220 degree celsius till golden brown in colour.
7. Pierce the side of each puff shell to let out the steam & cool on rack.
8.Once cooled, fill puffs with durian filling, sprinkle icing sugar on top and serve chilled.
