Cynthia's Durian Cake

Yesterday was father's day and I was gonna have dinner with my family. I wanted to bake something my dad really likes. He loves durians.. and so does my family.. but the hubby really hates it.. I baked a durian cake anyway cos the durians I found in NTUC were really good! And I got a good deal, 5 boxes for 15 dollars! *poor hubby!*

I did the cake when the hubby was out at work.. I did air the house and place charcoal everywhere to absorb the smell.. We had the cake after dinner and dad was pleased.. He enjoyed the cake and it sure made it all worthwhile :) I was really generous with the durian.. YUMS! 

The cross section of the cake! (: 

I also did a batch of Ribena Vitagen Cheesecakes for a friend.. Taking 2 boxes of heavy cakes out was insane.. >.< 

I wanted to decorate the cake with durian but it wouldn't be pretty unless I did it durian-in-shell style.. so I decorated it with some fresh strawberries, mangoes and strawberry sticks.

This recipe yields a 9" cake and takes about 2.5 hours to bake. I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

Durian Cake Recipe

This recipe yields a 9" cake

6 eggs, room temperature (55g - 60g each)

130g castor sugar (reduced)

150g cake flour

150g canola oil (or any unflavoured oil)

sugar syrup - 1:1 sugar to warm water dissolved

400ml whipping cream (non-dairy)

2 boxes of durians (About 600g with seeds)

50g water

2 tbsp gelatin

Strawberries (6 pcs)

1 - 2 mangoes

1 tin Redondo strawberry sticks

Apricot jam for glazing

red ribbon

Method

1. Prepare sponge cake according to the method in this recipe. 

2. Allow cake to cool completely. 

3. Slice into 3 layers/slices. 

4. Prepare sugar solution.

5. Whisk whipping cream till stiff peaks. I used non-dairy so it'd last longer outside as I had to travel with it.. 

6. Double boil water and gelatin till gelatin has dissolved. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

7. Remove seeds from durians.

8. Add durian pulp and gelatin mixture to mixing bowl with whipping cream and whisk on slow speed till well combined. 

9. Fold mixture if required as durian pulp maybe too thick. 

10. Assemble cake by starting with 1 layer of cake on cake board.

11. Spray cake with some sugar solution to keep the cake moist for a longer time. 

12. Spread a layer of durian mousse on the first layer. 

13. Repeat steps for 2nd layer.

14. Top with last layer of cake and frost cake. (Set aside a small portion for piping under the strawberries) [I found a video tutorial I did on frosting cakes here!]

15. Allow cake to set for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

16. Break Rendono strawberry sticks in half.

17. Wash, halve and dry strawberries. 

18. Cube mangoes.

19. Line Rendono sticks along circumference of cake. Decorate/secure with a ribbon. (I used double sided tape to secure the ribbon)

20. Colour (optional) the small portion of durian mousse and pipe 12 dollops on the top of the cake. I used Wilton 1M tip for a small star. 

21. Place strawberries on the durian mousse that were just piped. 

22. Top cake with cubed mango.

23. Brush on a thin layer of apricot jam on the fruits to add shine/keep fruits fresh. If the apricot jam is too thick, thin it with a small bit of water. 

Enjoy your cake! (: