October 6, 2011

Durian Ice Cream - No Machine Needed 榴蓮雪糕

dessert, Durian, durian ice cream, fruit, ice cream, recipe, no machine, 榴蓮雪糕
By Published: 2011-10-06
Hard on the heels of our Durian Taste Test, I decided to make 榴槤雪糕, or durian ice cream, with the leftovers of this fruit known as the King of Fruits. I had never made nor tasted durian ice cream so I was very curious to see how this would turn out.  In concept it seemed a perfect match, given the creamy and sweet nature of the durian and the cold creamy sweet character of ice cream.  

The only thing was that there was not that much durian left over after my daughter and I had munched on it that first day I brought it home; the 熱氣, or heat to the body, from the fruit causing me an slight outbreak of my ezcema and my little daughter to have her very first wee pimple, right in the middle of her perfect little nose.

dessert, Durian, durian ice cream, fruit, ice cream, recipe, no machine, 榴蓮雪糕

So I scooped what was left of the durian flesh into a bowl and then mashed it through a strainer to get out the pulp.  There was barely maybe 3/4 cups.  Humm...?  Should I try to make ice cream or not?  What if it was not enough durian?  I had tried making ice creams before where the taste of the fruits just seemed to lessen the more they froze.  Well, what the hey, why not?  Only had one million other less fun things I could be doing.  

So my daughter and I mixed the mix and churned the ice cream without an ice cream machine as always and waited patiently until the second day before any tasting.

dessert, Durian, durian ice cream, fruit, ice cream, recipe, no machine, 榴蓮雪糕

On the second day everyone got a tasting.  My daughter still cried 'Smelly, mom smelly!' but stuck out her little tongue for more and my 老公, or hubby, declared his change of heart from 'take it or leave it' to 'true love for durian.'  Yeah for durian, the king of ice cream as well as the king of fruit!  For myself, I found it quite delicious and just as complementary a pairing as I had imagined: creamy, cold and fruitily sweet.  

The thing that took me by surprise was the strength of the durian flavor given that I had been worried that I was not adding enough of the fruit.  It was almost as if, if you closed your eyes and didn't know any better, this yummy stuff you spooning into your mouth was, well, just plain ol' durian but somehow just creamier and tastier than you remembered.

Tip:  When the durian is in season as it is now, you can buy prepacked sections of it at the grocery market instead of the whole fruit (which is heck of a lot of durian and just a prickly deal besides.)  Use your nose and smell for the fruit that smells strong and ripe and looks plump and a golden yellow color.
Durian Ice Cream Recipe 榴蓮雪糕
(makes 1 liter)  (Prep time: 5 mins  Cook time: 10 mins)

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup durian pulp
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 egg yolks

Directions:

Mash the durian pulp through a mesh strainer to remove the strings.

In a small pan, stir the milk, cream and sugar and heat until hot but not boiling and the sugar is all melted.  In a separate bowl whisk egg yolks.  Pour a tiny bit of the hot milk/cream in to the eggs, stirring constantly.  Add more hot milk mixture a little at a time, remembering to stir constantly, until half the mixture is in the eggs.  Then pour the egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the hot milk/cream/sugar and stir.

Heat over low heat, again stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.  Stir in durian pulp and let the mixture cool down.  Chill in fridge to prepare for making with your ice cream machine or...

Make it the old fashioned way! (kudos to David for his no ice cream machine method of madness)

Cover and put in freezer. After 45 minutes check to see if the edges are icing up.  If so use a whisk to break everything up.  Freeze for another 30 minutes, check and again break up any starting to ice up bits on the sides of the bowl.  

Keep checking every half hour or so for another 2 to 3 hours, always breaking up the icing up bits as well as you can.  It will sometime then reach a goopy soft serve kind of stage.  

This is when you can transfer to the final container and then just leave it in the freezer to firm up over night and the next day you will have perfect, creamy ice cream.  Just remember to take the ice cream out about 5 minutes beforehand so that it can soften enough to be scoopable.  Enjoy!

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4 comments:

  1. Hi, happy to find this post!. The last paragraph of instructions you say to leave it in the fridge...is that fridge or freezer? Can the sauce me made ahead...say two or three days?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Beagle Mama - Oops, you're right, it should be freezer! Not sure what you mean by the sauce tho'? ~ ellen

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  2. Replies
    1. Hi Beagle Mama - Corrected above. Thanks for spotting that! ~ellen

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