Haven’t bought your mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival because you haven’t found the perfect one? If you’re up for something more than the prototypical lotus paste mooncake or its contemporary snowskin cousin, why not try durian mooncakes?
Rich, creamy and pungent, these thorny fruits are reaching the tail-end of their annual season – but we can continue to enjoy them, in all their bittersweet, velvety glory, baked into mooncakes. Even among durian cultivars, there’s room for a bevy of different tastebuds. Some, like the D24 and XO cultivars, feature an alcohol-like aftertaste, not unlike some mooncakes that feature various liqueurs. At the very least, incorporating the creamy flesh of the fruit into mooncakes offers a fascinating mouthfeel that you’d be hard pressed to replicate with other modern-day elements.
Love it or hate it, picking the right durian is a balancing act in itself: after all, you’re looking for a fruit that’s neither too bitter, nor too sweet. The challenge is compounded when factoring in other ingredients, which is exactly what makes these durian mooncakes so exciting – and deserving of one’s stomach space this festive season.