Durian

In memory of my most beloved dad that will always be in my heart.

12 June is a special day for me, a bit bitter sweet and strange as well. Most people, who know me, would probably think that it is something to do with my birthday.
Actually I have never made my birthday a big deal. As a child & teenager, I was always busy with studying for my exams; while as an adult, I was either overloaded with work or travelling away from home and couldn't celebrate it.
However, one thing has never changed: No matter where I was and how busy I was, my dad always managed to find me, just to wish me a Happy Birthday. However, last year, with the time difference between the city I was and the city my dad lived, he over-slept and didn't call me on the agreed time, so he left me a Happy Birthday voicemail. He promised me that next year (i.e. 2011) he would call me on time and make sure to talk to me directly in order to wish me a Happy Birthday. Unfortunately, my dad would never be able to keep this promise, nor his plan to travel with me.
Beside my birthday, today is also father's day in Belgium, the country where I grew up and where my dad was laid to rest. Although we do not really celebrate father's day in our family, I would sometimes give him some small gifts. I think if my dad would be still alive today, he would ask me an i-phone 4th generation with as much storage capacity as possible.
So it is the first time that my birthday and father's day fall on the same day, but it is also the first time that my dad is not around.
In memory of my dad, today I would first like to introduce to everyone a fruit that both my dad and I love very much. It is actually the only fruit that my dad really like to eat. This fruit, as displayed below, is called DURIAN.

If you do a google search on "durian", you will find an extensive list of results. So I will just give here a brief information about this fruit. Durian is very famous in South East Asia and is often called the "king of fruits". Durian is very unique for its huge size and distinctive odour, taste and thorn covered husk. While some people, like my dad and me, are addicted to durian, other cannot even stand the smell.
Although my dad was not a fan of sweet things, he loved to eat any desert that contained durian, especially my mom's durian cake. This durian cake is actually a bavarois cake that combines a "Gâteau Génoise" and  1 kg of real durian. The below picture shows the durian cake my mom made:

This cake is actually quite a heaven for durian lovers. I have tried to make this cake following the recipe of my mom two times and it was quite a success. Even the dad of my best friend, who never compliments anyone, say that it is "extremely good".

Two years ago, I have found a famous "Durian Pancake" made from fresh durian everyday at a Chinese desert restaurant in Canada. It is so famous and popular that you need to pre-order this dish before you go to the restaurant. This desert is really unforgettably delicious ! I wish my dad could have tasted this durian pancake. I am sure he would loved it.

If you have never tasted durian, you should really give it a try. If you can overcome the odour and the texture, I believe that you will also fall in love with this wonderful "king of fruits" !!!

Crème Brûlée

One of my favorite desert is Crème Brûlée. Few years ago, I have researched and found over twenty good recipes of this amazing delicatesse. Some recipes, which give a good outcome, require quite a lot of preparation time while the ones not needing much effort produce a poor quality of crème brûlée.
Some of my friends in Europe, who also love this dish, usually buy this desert pre-packed at a supermarket.
When I am lazy, I also buy those pre-packed crème brûlée. However not all the pre-packed crème brûlée taste good. Having tasted quite a few pre-packed ones, the only one that is up to standard and that I would eat is the one from Nestlé. Unfortunately, this pre packed crème brûlée from Netslé is not available in all the European countries. So far, I could only find them in Belgium and France's supermarkets.

When I cannot find this pre-packed crème brûlée from Netslé, I would rather make my crème brûlée from scratch, which has the advantage to cost less and to taste better than any pre packed one.
After several experiments by combining recipes and adding ingredients, I have come up with this best and easy recipe for a perfect crème brûlée.
 

Ingredients:

·                          500 ml “crème fleurette” (if you cannot find crème fleurette, replace it with  heavy cream”)

·                          4 egg yolks

·                          100 gram sugar

·                          1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·                          1/2 cup or so of light brown sugar.

In case you don't know what is crème fleurette: 

Procedure:

1) Preheat oven to 100 degrees celsus.

2) Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture becomes white and foamy.

Then add the vanilla extract and crème fleurette into the mixture. Mix it all up until it gets nice and creamy.

3) Pour this mixture into ramekins (those little ceramic dishes). Place the ramekins in a baking pan.

4) Fill the baking pan with hot water, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

5) Place the pan with the ramekins in the oven for 30 minutes to an hour or so. After 30 minutes or so check them every ten minutes. They are done when you can stick a knife in one and it comes out clean.

6) Remove the ramekins from the baking pan, set them on the counter, and let them cool for 30 minutes.

7) Then put them in the refrigerator and let them chill overnight.

8) Sprinkle a thin layer of the light brown sugar on the top of each. Make sure it is thin layer, but also make sure it completely covers the custard.

9) Now torch it! You need to caramelize (melt and let harden) the sugar.

(If you don't have a torch, you may try to put them in the oven (pre-heat the top at high heat) for a minute or so.)

Enjoy it !