Global events have significantly changed the way individuals work and live. Today, many are choosing to stay and dine at home – even during the durian season this year!
Thanks to online food delivery services, you can easily satisfy your durian cravings this season with just a few taps of your phone.
Since most people are choosing to spend their weekends at home, many have been turning to little projects to keep themselves entertained with cooking being one of the hugest trends born out of the stay-at-home culture.
Durian season is upon us – which means there will be numerous durian desserts out there for you to satisfy your cravings. But if you want to minimise going out as much as possible, why not try to hone your culinary skills and create your own durian desserts?
Believe it or not, cooking with durian isn’t as daunting as it seems. In fact, cooking can be stress-relieving for some individuals. It also gives you room to explore different flavours and cooking techniques.
What’s even better about cooking at home is that you can customise a dish to your liking. You could use durians like Mao Shan Wang for a more bittersweet flavour or red prawn for a sweeter one.
Sounds exciting? Here are 6 desserts you can try.
1. Durian Layered Cake
Sure, the traditional durian layered cake might look a little intimidating with the alternating cake and cream arrangement. But there are some ways to make it easier.
For one, beginner cooks can buy ready-made cake batter from the grocery store instead of making the sponge cake from scratch. You could also buy ready-made whipped cream and fold in some durian pulp for an extra kick of flavour.
Fresh durian flesh works best for durian layered cake as you can enjoy the pulpy durian bits. You could also mash the flesh to create your own durian puree but do leave some of the pulp intact.
Check out Kitchen Hoarder’s Recipe for durian layered cake.
2. Durian Pengat
Perfect for a rainy day, pengat is a smooth creamy paste made with coconut milk, gula melaka and another starchy component. Usually, pengat is made with banana and yam, but if you want to try incorporating durian flavours, you could try using it as the starch instead!
Durian pengat is pretty rare in Singapore. But it is easy to make at home as well.
Just make sure you stir the paste constantly so that it doesn’t get burned. You wouldn’t want to waste any durian goodness and end up with a burned mess.
This dish is suitable for beginners, you might want to start with a small flame if this is your first time cooking.
Have a look at HerWorld’s 3-step recipe.
3. Durian Ice-cream
Ice-cream is great for a sunny day. Thankfully, we have tons of that in Singapore.
While you can easily find durian ice-cream outside, many suppliers actually use artificial durian flavours instead of fresh durian because it is much easier to work with. But if you really want that distinct durian flavour, you might want to consider making your own at home.
8days has a Mao Shan Wang (MSW) durian ice-cream recipe, but you can switch the MSW with any durian species depending on your preference.
4. Durian Panna Cotta
If you are a fan of creamy and milky jellies, you are absolutely going to LOVE durian panna cotta.
This silky and rich dish is like creamier but solid tau huay. It is best enjoyed with some fresh berries to add some acidity to the rich durian flavour.
For the panna cotta, sweet durians like Mao Shan Wang work best to complement the cream. You might want to avoid bitter durians like XO.
Vegetarians can also replace fresh milk with soy milk.
See the durian panna cotta recipe here.
5. Durian Cream Puffs
This dessert is perfect for the family. If you want to save time, you could use premade choux pastry.
For an extra pop of flavour, be sure to use fresh durian flesh so that you can enjoy those pulpy bits in between.
Do note, however, that these cream puffs are not for beginners as they involved a lot of technical skills like creaming and pastry-making.
See D’Open Kitchen’s recipe for reference.
6. Durian Sticky Rice
A durian lover’s take on mango sticky rice, durian sticky rice is a hearty and filling dessert packed with strong flavours.
This dish is completely beginner-friendly and you could also add more durians to the ‘broth’ for a stronger flavour.
You might also want to lay off the sugar if you want a more distinct durian taste.
Have a look at Hot Thai Kitchen’s recipe.