Durian Cheese Cake

Have you wonder where and how do I get the energy to be able to bake & blog so frequently? Imagine all that washing up and prepping of ingredients for each bake, yes, it ain't all me, haha! Well, it should be no surprise to you that I do have a helper at home. And my helper has been with me for the past 2yr plus and she is indeed pretty handy in terms of cleaning up the mess I made in the kitchen. :-P And today is her birthday, so I decided to bake something nice for her. Since she likes durian and cheese, so it's really a brilliant idea to combine these 2 already sinfully yummy ingredients to make a durian cheese cake!

Have initially wanted to bake a simple fruit cake for her, but thought why not just use durian instead? Durian is a fruit right, haha. The result was really satisfactory, I even made mini cheese tarts for my friends and they both love it! ;)

Ingredients for Durian Cheese Cake (for a 5" mini cake):
Cookie Base:
5 pieces original digestive biscuits, crushed to bits
3 tbsp salted butter

Method:

• Grease and line the baking pan with parchment paper.
  
• Melt the butter and add to the crushed biscuits and mix well till well combined.
• Press the mixture into the cake pan till it covers the base, using the base of the cup helps.
• Preheat oven to 160°C.
• Bake the cookie base for 10 minutes and remove from oven and let cool.

Cheese cake filling:
200g Philidaphia cream cheese, room temperature
30g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp all purpose flour
100ml heavy whipping cream (not whipped)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
150g durian flesh, mashed with fork
1 egg white
Pinch of cream of tartar
2 tbsp caster sugar

Method:

• Beat cream cheese until smooth, add sugar and continue to beat till well combined. Scrap the sides to make sure everything is mixed in.
• Add in egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix. Then add in flour and stir well.
• Then fold in the durian and stir till just mixed in.
  
• In another clean bowl, beat the egg white till foamy. Add in cream of tartar and sugar and beat till stiff peaks.
• Preheat the oven to 160°C. Pour some water on to the baking tray to create a water bath. Then wrap the base of the cake pan containing the cookie base with aluminmum foil to prevent the water from seeping in.
  
• Gently fold in the egg white into the cream cheese mixture.
  
• Pour the batter into cake pan containing the cooled cookie base. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Do not over bake the cheese cake. So long at the top is not watery or jiggery , it should be done when the baking time is up.
  
• Let cool completely before refridgerating it. Keep chill for at least 4hrs or overnight.

I merely used some semisweet chocolate to do some simple deco on the cake...did not think it need anything else. ;) Also I was lucky that my recipe was not too sweet but just right and still able to taste the fragrant aroma of the durian in it. And since I used quite a bit of durian in this recipe, you can taste chunks of it inside, yummy!

It's not too thick or rich, but it's smooth and creamy, and eating a slice with a cup of hot tea is such a wonderful treat in the afternoon. Most importantly, my helper loves this cake and told me she has never tasted durian cheesecake before. :) Anyway, mission accomplished! Everyone likes the cake and even my youngest daughter had a big slice too! And not forgetting the durian aficionado of my household (my husband), has also approved of the tastiness of this cake, haha:-D Since it's durian season now, do consider trying out this recipe if you are bored eating durian on it's own. Happy baking!