Durian Choux-nuts

Instructions

Durian Pastry Cream

1. Pour the sugar, cornstarch, and salt into a medium sauce pot and whisk together
2. Pour the milk, durian extract (or durian puree), and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk until all combined
3. Add this liquid mixture to the sauce pot slowly and whisk together
4. Put in chunks of the cubed butter into the sauce pot
5. Turn on to medium heat and bring to a boil all the while whisking (it's important to keep whisking the mixture as it firms up so none of it sticks to the bottom of the sauce pot)
6. Transfer the pastry cream to a separate container (optional: first strain it through a mesh sieve to ensure the cream has a really smooth consistency)
7. Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap, ensuring that the plastic wrap touches the top of the pastry cream to discourage the formation of a skin on top of it
8. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours before using

Craqueline

1. Soften the butter and ensure it is nice and fluffy
2. Mix in the pandan extract into the softened butter mixture
3. Add in the all purpose flour, brown sugar, and salt into the butter and mix together until thoroughly combined
4. Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and flatten until the dough reaches about 1/4 inch thickness
5. Freeze the dough until ready for use

Choux Pastry

1. Pour the water, sugar, salt, and butter into a sauce pot and heat over medium heat
2. Stir the mixture together until the water is boiling and the butter is melted
3. Remove the sauce pot from the stove at this point and dump in all the flour in one go
4. Vigorously mix the flour into the butter/water mixture so that all the water is absorbed
5. Once the dough is formed, return the sauce pot to heat and continue to mix and cook down the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the pot and you're able to stick a spoon into it and have it stand straight up (about 2-5 minutes)
6. Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool down for a couple minutes
7. Crack in the eggs one at a time, ensuring the previous egg is fully incorporated into the dough before adding in the next egg
8. Transfer the dough into a piping bag (or a ziplock bag with a small hole cut at the corner)

Assembly

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking tray with parchment paper
2. Remove the craqueline topping from the freezer and cut out disks using a donut cutter (if the craqueline cracks, just wait a bit for it to warm up and then push the cracked parts back together)
3. Pipe out the choux pastry onto the prepared baking tray, in the same shape and thickness of the donut cutter, and top each mound with a craqueline disk
4. (optional: spray the baking tray with water to help encourage the choux to puff up properly)
5. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the choux mounds
6. DO NOT open the oven for the first 25 minutes of the baking process of the steam will release and the choux won't puff up properly
7. After about 25 minutes, open the oven and prick each choux with a toothpick and then return to the oven to cook for another 5-10 minutes depending on the choux size (this helps to dry out the insides to maintain a firm choux)
8. Remove from oven once the choux is nice and golden brown and prick each choux again with a toothpick to allow them to dry out even further while they rest
9. Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and line a piping bag (or ziplock bag) with it
10. Cut a little hole from the bottom of each choux pastry and fill the cream puffs with the durian pastry cream