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!

Baked Chicken Curry Puffs

I cannot remember how long have I not made curry puffs now. Probably a good 4 years since the last time?! Until last week my husband asked me how come I did not blog about my curry puffs? Truthfully, I also do not know why, haha! I guess I am those that likes to keep on trying out new recipes. But I remember I used to make these curry puffs pretty often when we were still in California. Perhaps it has something to do with not being able to taste these good local Asian cuisines easily there. I cannot say mine are anything close to those like Old Chang Kee but it's a family favorite now and we all love it, yes even my picky eater elder daughter. :)

I remember I used to make these puffs when it was close to my pregnancy due dates. Why? Well, I make them in advance so that when I went in to deliver, my husband will have something to eat when he is home alone before I am back with the baby. He simply just pop these unbaked, frozen puffs into the oven for 20 minutes, and Voilà! Beats store bought food anytime of the day. ;) Furthermore, he loves them, so nothing pleases me more then to know him enjoy the food I prepared specially for him. :)
Mind you, these puffs are baked, not fried, so it is consider a healthier version of these delicious snack. And my pastry recipe is actually adapted from a pie crust recipe, haha! But I really like it's flaky with a very slight crunch, and melt in your mouth texture! But the pastry is really "fragile" and pretty hard to mould into a nice shape, and that is why the puffs aren't that pretty to look at. ;)

Ingredients for Curry Chicken Filling:
1 chicken breast (about 200g)
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 medium onion, cut small
2 small garlic, minced
2 tbsp curry paste
1 tsp chili paste
1 tbsp sugar
125ml coconut milk (can be replaced with full cream milk )
salt and pepper to taste

3 hard boil eggs (slice into 6 to 8 wedges)

Method:

• Marinate the chicken with 1 tbsp of the curry paste and some salt and let seat for at least 20 minutes before use.
  
• In a saute pan, heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil. with medium low heat Add garlic, onions and stir fry for 2 minutes, add potatoes and stir for another 5 minutes.
• Add curry paste, chili sauce and stir till well mixed. Add chicken and continue to cook till the chicken is all cooked through.
• Add coconut milk and stir till well combined. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 3 minutes and remove from the fire.
• Let chicken filling completely cool before use.
  

Ingredients for Pastry:
2.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into small chunks
1/2 cup ghee
1/4 cup ice cold water (adjust accordingly to make the dough come together)

Method:

• Whisk together, flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add butter and ghee and mix with your finger tips till it resemble course meal.
• Then gradually add ice water and press the dough together till it just come together. Do not add too much water or the pastry will not be flaky.
  
• Press the dough to form a thick flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 1hr before use.

Assembly:

• Take out the chilled dough 20 minutes before use.
  
• Roll out the dough into 1/4 thick, sprinkle a little flour if it gets a little sticky on the rolling pin.
  
• Then using a 4.5" round cutter, cut out as many circles as possible and gather the rest of the dough for later.
• Using a circle, place an egg wedge in the center and about 1 heaping tbsp of chicken filling. Repeat with rest of the dough.
  
• Gently lift and seal the dough edges and place on the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C. Brush the puffs with egg wash.
• Bake the puffs for 20 minutes till golden brown. Serve warm.
  

It was such a treat to eat these again, really bring back some nostalgic memories, haha! ;D

Since I had some filling left, I decided to try out another pastry dough recipe. Turns out it was much easier to mould but taste wise was not that good. However the good part was, I was able to fill with plenty more filling in it and thus can enjoy more of the spicy chicken curry for this version. ;)
Will not be posting the other dough recipe since I find the taste so-so only. So eager bakers can try out my above recipe and let me know how you all like it. ;) Enjoy!