For those who enjoy eating durian, the king of fruit, you will enjoy this soft and bouncy mousse texture infused with aromatic durian puree. This no-bake durian mousse cake is easy to put together. The mousse cake can be made with gelatin powder or agar agar powder.
You can use 6.5", 7", or 8" springform pan. The 6.5" will make really tall cake where 7" is a decent height and 8" will be shorter. You can also use mini springform like the one I used in the photo. The size is 4" in diameter and about 1.6" high. You will get close to 6 small mousse cakes
Prepare the crust:
Melt the butter and let it cools down as you prepare other things. Put the biscuits/crackers in a food processor and process them into fine crumbs. You can also put them in a thick plastic bag, push out air and seal. Use a rolling pin to crush them and roll back and forth to make fine crumbs
Pour melted butter over and combine the two. If you have a springform pan or round pan with a removable bottom, that will help a lot to unmould the cake later. Whichever pan you use, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Press the crumbs firmly onto the bottom of the pan. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
Prepare whipped cream:
Chill the mixing bowl and whisk before whipping the heavy cream. Whip the cream until they are just thickened and a very soft loose peak. It shouldn't hold any peak actually. This is the key to a soft mousse. If you whisk until stiff peak, the mousse won't be soft
Prepare the mousse (if using gelatin):
Put 4 Tbsp of water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin into the water to let it blooms for about 10 minutes
Blend the milk, sugar, and durian puree until smooth and then transfer to a saucepan. Just heat up until the sugar melts, don't let it boil. Remove from the heat. Then add the gelatin and stir to combine. Let the mixture cools down until just warm, but it should be still flowy and not set yet. Add the whipped cream into the durian mixture until they are combined. The mixture should be medium thick but pourable
Prepare the mousse (if using agar agar):
Put the milk, sugar, and agar agar powder in a saucepan. Stir to combine. Put on the stove over low heat and cook until the agar agar dissolves and mixture comes to just about to boil, but don't let the milk boils. Just let it simmers for about 5 minutes until you no longer see specks of agar agar powder
Stir in the durian flesh and continue to whisk over low heat until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let it cools down until just warm, but it should be still flowy and not set yet. Add the whipped cream and combine
Assembling:
Pour this mixture into the prepared pan. Give it a few taps on the countertop to make sure things even out and there won't be any air pockets inside the mousse
Transfer to a fridge and let it chill for at least 4 hours or overnight
Serving:
If you use a springform pan, put a warm towel around the pan. Then simply release the ring, decorate the cake with some fresh fruit or cream or whatever you want. The cake can be served as is too
If you use a regular round pan without removable bottom, gently loosen the side of the cake using an offset spatula and then put a plate on top and gently turn upside down to release the cake, then flip it back onto a serving platter
Store:
For short-term storage: Mousse cake must be kept in the fridge. Try to finish it in about 2-3 days for the best result
For longer storage: Mousse cake can be kept frozen for 1-2 weeks. I won't freeze any longer than that as the texture suffers after that. Simply slice and put them in a freezer-friendly container. Few hours before you plan to serve them, move them from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw out