Durian Cheesecake / Cheese Tart

I reserved some of the better tasting frozen durian we got from H-mart to make my Durian Cheesecake. The bland ones, I made into Durian Butter Cake. Susanna C emailed me back in October and requested for my Durian Cheesecake recipe I made in February. I had told her that I will share the recipe on the blog once I re-attempt the recipe and make sure the cheesecake will turn out good again!

I’ve probably mentioned it before that I love baking cheesecakes using a tart pan. That way, I will most likely get a nicely baked cheesecake (tart) without the fear of cracks appearing on the surface. Also, I will not feel too overwhelmed with a big piece of cheesecake!

In this recipe, I used about 2/3 cup of durian flesh (Frozen Thai Durian Flesh). Frozen Thai Durians are the only durians I can get in the US and are often not as flavorful as local (Malaysian) durians. Therefore, if you’re using a stronger (more fragrant) tasting durian, you might want to reduce the durian flesh to about 1/2 cup. I would rather eat the stronger, more fragrant, yummier durian than turning it into a dessert. Well, I guess it’s ok if you have had enough of fresh durians! =)

DURIAN CHEESECAKE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Crust):

• 1-1/4 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs*
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Butter, Melted

*Make sure crumbs are finely grounded. Pack them into cups when measuring.

Part B (Filling):

• 2 – 8oz Cream Cheese
• 2/3 Cup Durian Flesh
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 Tbsp Flour

Method:

Mix Part A together and press the mixed crumbs onto the bottom and the sides of a 9” tart pan. I use the bottom of the glass to help me press the crumbs.

Blend milk and durian flesh until smooth. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one by one and mix until smooth. Add in blended durian flesh and vanilla extract. Finally sprinkle in flour and mix batter well. Pour cheese mixture into tart pan. Bake tart for about 40-45 minutes until the center is set. Remove and let cheese tart cool before chilling in the the refrigerator. Serve cold.

June’s Comments: And of course whenever I need / want / am looking for something….. I couldn’t find it! I was unable to find my faithful tart pan to make my cheesecake. I resorted to making individual mini durian cheese tarts instead! Instead of using graham cracker crumbs, I used Sandies Original Shortbread. I greased my regular muffin pan and drop a Sandies shortbread (fits perfect) in each hole. I then pour the batter until the rim and bake it in a preheated (350 F) oven for about 30 minutes. When it’s done, let it cool before running a sharp knife around the inside edge of the muffin cups to loosen the cheesecakes and gently pop the cheesecakes. This gave me about 20 individual cheese tarts.

The use of this shortbread gave me a somewhat thicker (and softer) crust. I think I ended up with equal portions of cheese mixture and crust. This is probably not ideal if you prefer to have more cheese in your cheese tart. Perhaps Nilla Vanilla Wafers would be a better choice for individual cheesecake crust! And I just found out NIlla Vanilla Wafers are too too small for regular muffin pan.

Alternatively, line muffin pan with baking cupsto ensure easier removable of the cheese cakes/tarts.