I will never look at the Merlion the same way again 🤭. When this image popped into my mind, I couldn't help giggling and knew I had to turn my imagination into a loving creation, complete with a cake flavour fitting for the celebration.
Singapore's 60th birthday is just around the corner so I am sharing with you this yummy and simple durian ice-cream cake! I used premium durian with complex flavour for this.
I will just share the ingredient list in this blog post for your convenience. You may find the video of the process and method in the pinned comments of my reel:
( I will update the blog post with the reel once it's ready!)
White chiffon sponge cake (12x12" sheet):
A)
30g oil
40g milk
40g pandan water* (or replace with milk and more vanilla)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
70g cake flour, sifted
1/8 tsp salt
B)
4 large egg whites (150-160g)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
60-70g caster sugar
Durian ice-cream:
350g durian puree*
200g whipping cream of choice*
8g gelatin powder*
40g cold water or milk
* Additional Notes:
🔸Pandan water:
Boil a small saucepan of water with a few knotted pandan leaves for 5min. Leave it to steep for another 5min after taking it off the heat. Discard the leaves. This is optional but I find the hint of pandan aroma with vanilla complementary to durian.
🔸Durian puree:
I didn't use a blender because I wanted chunks of durian in the ice-cream. I just pulled the flesh off each durian seed and tore any fibres into smaller chunks. You may make the puree smooth if that's your preference. I used a premium durian (王中王(king of kings) 猫山王 (mao shan wang)) which has a complex flavour profile and creamy flesh. Use less durian and more cream if you prefer a milder durian flavour with stronger fresh cream taste.
🔸Whipping cream:
I used 100g dairy and 100g non-dairy whipping cream to get a balance of stability, good taste and ease of whipping. This combination has no risk of overwhipping and there is no need to add sugar because non-dairy whipping cream is pre-sweetened.
If you are using only dairy cream, you may add a little icing sugar to whip together if you wish, and be careful not to overwhip. Non-dairy whipping cream also stays creamy and soft when frozen so it helps with keeping the ice-cream texture creamy and soft.
🔸Gelatin powder:
Adding gelatin not only helps to stabilize the whipped cream if you intend to serve this chilled instead of frozen, it also helps to prevent ice crystals from becoming large when frozen so the ice-cream stays creamy and soft. You may use fish, beef or pork gelatin. If you need a vegetarian option, skip this and use xanthan gum instead.
Just to share more pictures of the cake...
Painted design using the printing technique shown in the reel. You just need to bake a blank canvas of white sheet cake. No messing around with patterning batter!
A peek at the sides of the cake
A closer look at the durian ice-cream chock full of durian chunks!
Do give this recipe a try even if the design is too challenging for you. According to the durian lover who received this cake, it's really yummy!
with lots of love,
Phay Shing
