It does seem like I'm making a lot of black-ish desserts these days. Heheheh. Adding on to my BLACK-HEART SERIES. I really can't help it when I love the colour and how it seems to make every bake looks sophisticated although it definitely isn't. HAHAHA. Anyway, I honestly don't miss much of Singapore food because I rarely eat local food back home. Which is super frowned upon (just because I really prefer to eat western food). I think it has been at least like 5-8 years since I ate Nasi Lemak, Bak Chor Mee, Char Kway Tiao, Laksa and the likes of it when I was at home. What I don't mind eating was Tze Char and Cai Fan, the variety, the variety!!
Okay aside from my random Singapore food rants, what I truly missed is durian. It is definitely something I cannot attempt to recreate unless I grow it. HAHAHAHA. And even if I do, I wouldn't be able to have that silky, bittersweet, pungent fragrance that you either love or hate. It smells so unique and so fragrant (if you haven't had it, you must try it!), until you put it in your fridge and it stinks up your fridge for days. HAHAHA. My dad is also a fan of durian and every time he buys them, hack them up and store it in the fridge...we will know when somebody opens the fridge because the entire house smells like FART. HAHAHAH. And we will start cursing but it still taste DAMN FREAKING GOOD.
Anyway here, thanks to my friends, I found them in Chinatown. The durians are frozen and I was kinda skeptical about how it would taste but when I defrosted it and pureed it, I couldn't stop eating it. Really. I ate spoonfuls for them before I even started making them into a cake. I mean it isn't like the Black Gold ones that I had at home, but this really hit my spot. HIT MY FREAKING SPOT. I JUMPED AND PACED ON THE SPOT BECAUSE I WAS SO EXCITED AT HOW THIS TURNED OUT.
So there, why not make it into a cake? This sponge cake is made without separating eggs and so you have to make sure that you beat the eggs until it triples in volume, turns out pale, airy but thick. If not it will turn out dense when you bake it.
Also, I have been kinda procrastinating on my recipes because I have been so caught up with creating new ones and exploring. HEHEHE. So, sorry if I don't post all the bakes up because honestly, I don't know if people are actually reading this. HAHAHA. But the IG DMs are really helping to motivate me because some really look forward to these recipes. And...I'm so happyyyyy.
SMELLY-GOODNESS-LIKE-MY-HEART DURIAN CAKE
Makes a 6" cake
Charcoal sponge cake
4 large eggs
100g sugar
80g salted butter, melted
100g cake flour
5g charcoal powder
Line your tin with parchment paper and preheat oven to 160'c.
In a standmixer, on high, beat eggs and sugar until it triples in volume and becomes light and fluffy. This will take about 15 minutes, but please watch it to judge. (Beat for a longer time is better than under-beating the eggs)
Then very gently fold in charcoal and cake flour in portions.
Lastly, fold in butter and make sure to not overfold it. The batter should still be thick and airy.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until stick comes clean.
Once baked, remove from oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
Durian Puree Cream
500g durian flesh, pureed
60g heavy cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
Puree durian flesh with a blender.
Whip cream and icing sugar till soft peaks form
Fold in pureed durian with cream. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Charcoal Coconut frosting
70g heavy cream
50g coconut yogurt/greek yogurt
1 tbsp charcoal powder
2 tbsp icing sugar
Whip cream and icing sugar till soft peaks form.
Then add in charcoal powder and yogurt and beat till stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Glaze
1 tbsp rum
1.5 tbsp vanilla alcohol
2 tbsp water
Mix all together in a small bowl
You can substitute with a simple syrup or do without a glaze entirely. I do this to keep the sponge moist.
Assemble
Slice the cake horizontally into 3 layers.
Brush the glaze onto each layers.
Spread a thick layer of durian puree in between the cake layers.
Frost the outside of the cake with the coconut frosting and let chill and set for at least 6 hours or overnight.
ENJOY YOUR SMELLY GOODNESS! This really was super comforting for me.
