Durian Cake ~ Malaysian Monday No. 5

Durian, the King of Fruits in Malaysia is in season now.  This thorny fruit may be fragrant to some but offensive and overpowering to others.  While some may describe the fruit as 'smells like hell but tastes like heaven'!  The long lingering  odour has led to the fruit being banned from hotels and public transportation in South East Asia.  The pulp comes in shades of yellow and white with a subtle flavour, succulent and creamy and if you can stand the smell it's delectable and sweet.
Durians are not plucked but allowed to fall and that's the best time for eating.  As they're highly nutritious, it's not advisable to consume this fruit in excess.  Pregnant women and people with high blood pressure are traditionally advised not to consume durian.  The seeds are believed to posess a toxic property that causes shortness of breath.  Also it is generally advised not to have alcohol after consuming durians.
Durians are believed to be heaty and one way to counteract this warm or heaty effect is to pour water into the empty shell of the fruit after the pulp  has been eaten, you can add in a pinch of salt, then drink the water.  Sounds like a grandmother's story, but it works.  Another way is to eat  'mangosteens' which is supposed to have a cooling effect.


Now, back to my Durian Cake which is adapted from  'Kitchen Corner'  with a very slight modification.  I reduced the sugar a bit and this cake is soft, moist and with a subtle durian flavour ......... it's sheer yummy!

Whole durian before prising it open.  Exposed durian with whitish pulp which has a very slight bitter taste.
The last picture shows a cute, small durian with yellowish creamy pulp.

To me, this cake tastes much better the next day, kept refrigerated in a container and eaten at room temperature.

Ingredient

• 250 gm butter/margarine
• 170 gm caster sugar     (I reduced to 150 gm)
• 4 eggs
• 250 gm durian flesh
• 230 gm self-raising flour
• 1/8  level tsp baking powder
• 1/4  level tsp bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of salt

Method

1. Lightly grease and flour a Bundt tin, set aside.  (You can opt to use other cake tins).
2. Sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar till light, creamy and fluffy. 
4. Add in eggs one @ a time, mix well.
5. Stir in durian flesh and mix to combine.
6. Fold in sifted flour and mix well, scraping from the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl.
7. Pour into mould.
8. Bake in preheated oven @ 180 deg C for about 45 to 50 mins.  Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
9. Let cake cool in mould for about 5 to 10 mins, before removing onto a wire rack to cool.

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