[RECIPE] Durian Puffs

 

Never in my wildest dream, there will be a day I attempt to make choux pastry for durian puffs. It isn't that difficult actually. Maybe just a little lehcheh (time consuming) to bake the choux pastry. But it sure is very worth it and the sense of satisfaction with thumbs up from the family and a neighbor who have been my faithful "guinea pig", whenever I try a new bake.

Here's a fail proof recipe, adapted from Kenneth of Guai Shu Shu

Preparation for durian filling (to be done first and chilled)

- Use good quality durian flesh so you need not compromise on it's flavor. I've used mao shan wang.

- 300 grams was the approximate weight of my de-seeded durian flesh. Give a quick blitz of the flesh in a blender, keeping some durian texture. This weight was approximately a full box of mao shan wang. But it's ok to have more of this filling than not having enough.

- 1 or 2 tbsp of dairy cream to be mixed well into the blended durian. While this is completely optional, Kenneth mentioned in his post that the durian cream will darken over time and may not be an appealing color when served. So adding some cream reduces that possibility. I didn't want to take the chance.

- Keep it chilled.

Preparation of choux pastry (yields approx.40-50 pcs)

- Pre heat oven at 200 deg celcius

- 4 eggs

- 125 grams unsalted butter

- 125 grams plain flour

- 250 grams water

Method :

- In a sauce pan on medium fire, melt the butter with water.

- Remove the sauce pan from fire and add in the sifted flour. Mix well.

- Place the sauce pan back on the fire and continue to mix till the dough leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball.

- Place the dough into a whisking bowl to cool down. I've spread the dough apart to speed up the cooling process. This took less than a minute.

- Add in the eggs, one at a time into the dough and whisk well. Do the same for the rest of the eggs.

- If the mix feels runny, continue to whisk till thicken.

- If you have a piping bag, transfer the mixture into it. I had to improvise since I don't have one. I used a clean ziplock bag and cut the tip of the bag to pipe about 2cm dough onto the baking tray. Leave a reasonable gap in between for expansion.

- Bake at 200 deg celcius for 10-15 minutes and reduce it to 175 deg celcius for another 10 minutes until it has turned golden. Oven to oven temperature may also vary so do keep an eye.

- Avoid opening the oven door during the entire process as the puffs may deflate.

 - Once it's ready, take the tray out and then use a toothpick to poke 2 small holes on the side of the choux pastry. This allows the trapped moisture to escape. *This is an important step.*

 - Transfer the choux pastries to wire rack for complete cooling. This doesn't take very long.

 

- You will know that your choux pastry is successful when the insides are hollow.

  Complete the durian puffs and eat them!

- Prepare to slice the puffs into halves and fill them up with dollops of durian filling.

- Keep it chilled in the fridge till ready to serve. Best eaten on the day itself.

- Enjoy!

Till the next post, have a blessed week!