When I first saw the durian sitting in the plastic basket at the Asian store, my heart skipped a beat. OK maybe a few beats! The DURIAN!!!!! OMG!!! You mean it’s here??? In the States!!! Then my eyes travelled to the price. Another OMG!!!! It’s a ripoff! Daylight ROBBERY!! They sold the whole fruit - spiky inedible shell and all - by the pounds! It struck me as hilarious. Now I could figure another reason why it’s called King of Fruits - besides its overpowering smell - the price! I could easily get a whole durian for $5 in SG and even cheaper in Malaysia. They weren’t weighed at all. So of course I let my eye feast on the durians but sadly my nose wasn’t as lucky. The durians’ aroma was lost probably from being frozen. Well, I patiently bided my time and a few months later, lo and behold, I found packed frozen durian pulp which were so much more affordable. It definitely couldn’t compare to the real fresh fruit but beggars can’t be choosers, right? And I was just so thankful for those durians that I tried to make them last. Making this cream allowed me to savour the durian flavour a little longer. Sllluurrppp….

From this unappealing boring balls of frozen durian pulp

to this creamy ooey gooey yummy creamy filling

Most of the other durian cream recipes used whipped cream which I could definitely do without. This one seemed to suit my needs although I did make adjustments to suit my tastebuds. 

Ingredients: (makes enough to fill 40 mini cream puffs)
Durian flesh 220gm - puree half the flesh and leave the other half in its pulp form
2 tbsp custard powder + 1tbsp milk
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp sugar (more or less according to your preference)

Method:

1. Pour some milk (from the half cup) in the blender to puree half the durian flesh.
2. Pour the puree mixture, milk (the rest of the half cup) and sugar into the pot and bring to a boil.
3. In a bowl, mix the custard powder and the 1 tbsp milk with a whisk.
4. When the mixture boils, add the custard mixture and stir to mix well.
5. Continue stirring until the custard thickens.
6. Turn off the fire at the first volcanic bubble.
7. Immediately remove from heat and pour in a bowl.
8. Place a glad wrap on the surface of the custard and leave to cool.



9. When cooled completely, place in the fridge.
10. Spoon the cooled custard into the cream puffs just before serving.

Tips:

• Add a drop or two of durian essence into the puree mixture to give a stronger durian flavor
• Prepare the custard beforehand so that it’s all cooled and ready to be spooned into the cream puffs
• To have a smooth cream filling, puree all the durian instead of using some of the unprocessed durian flesh. I just prefer to have some of the pulp around to make it a little more chewy!
• Placing the glad wrap directly on the surface of the custard will prevent a skin layer forming on the surface when the custard cools.