Choux pastry is a delicate dough that can be used in many delicacies, with cream creams being the most familiar. Its dough contains only butter, water, flour and eggs, stuffed with a piece of cream inside.
The recipe sounds simple enough and the pasta comes out as golden brown and fluffy brown puffs, sprinkled with icing sugar on top. Golden Bites, a dessert brand in durian online decided to take this humble puff one step further.
For the durian season, he released a Premium Puff King Musang Organic. Choux is black due to bamboo charcoal and is sprinkled with gold flakes instead of powdered sugar. Stuffed with Durang Musang King filling, they sell for € 12 each.
Black and gold, a classic color scheme
Shawne, co-founder of Golden Bites, told Vulcan Post that the creation of his premium durian puffs came about by accident.
Golden Bites pastry chef, with 11 years of experience, Kelvin, had actually tried to create a regular cabbage covered with a black layer of craquelin. In the world of French pastry, craquelin is a cookie coating added to the choux to get a new sweet and crunchy texture.
The experiment failed because it was not as attractive as the team expected. They wondered, “Why isn’t everything done? [choux] black and dust gold dust on top, black and gold never work badly ”.
At a cost of RMS 12 per inflation, it implies that the company wants to target a more premium market of people who enjoy the simplest desserts. The black and gold aesthetic also emits a luxurious and expensive look, which can also work well in the gift sector.
Shawne was able to check it out, sharing that the main target for these puffs are durian enthusiasts willing to pay a higher price for the pastry. “We try to get there by word of mouth, or also by those who love Insta-worthy products, which are edible and of course delicious,” he added.
Since the launch of Premium Organic Musang King Puffs on August 1 this year, Shawne reported that more than 100 6-piece boxes had been sold to date, providing approximately RM 6,000 in revenue alone ( after a purchase of 5), free price of 1 promotion).
Cream leaves are not even their main product
Of course, apart from the black and gold durian paste sold by the brand, they also have the option of the more traditional golden brown durian cream sheets. You could say the Golden Bites brand sums up what it has to offer.
However, Shawne clarified that durian leaves are not really the company’s main product: cheesecakes are.
Kelvin spent a decade of his career as a head baker at his Subang Jaya bakery, where his best-seller was the American Cheesecake. He decided to try incorporating durians into the cheesecakes and was amazed at their results, from their taste to the texture.
Sharing the creation with close relatives, he received enough positive feedback to pivot and focus solely on the durian niche. Pandemic pressure on bakery finances further validated his decision to close the store and launch Golden Bites in October 2020.
“Our durian puffs became a favorite of the people, perhaps because of their lightness. Cheesecakes are thicker and are usually chosen for parties or birthdays, but you can eat puffs at any time of the day, ”Shawne told Vulcan Post.
Assuming a more premium brand
It is worth noting that Golden Bites faces a couple of competitors in the scene of durian cream blows, namely Taste better of Melaka, and the Japanese international chain, Beard Papa, not to mention the smaller Instagram bakers who also make them.
If we look at the size of the Golden Bites sheets, it would be more comparable to Beard Papa. This is due to the fact that the cabbages of the Melakan brand are significantly smaller, intended to be eaten in a single bite and therefore cheaper to 2.30 RM per piece.
For a sheet of durian D24 and Musang King, Golden Bites charges 6.90 RM and 9 RM respectively. Beard Potato Durian Cream Sheet costs 7.90 RM, depending on yours List of Zomato.
Shawne claims the Golden Bites sheets stand out as Kelvin has found a technique of its own to preserve the texture of a real durian in the form of desserts for consumers. It seems that the Japanese brand combines durian paste with a cream shape to get a smoother texture, while the Kelvin method differs.
If we look closely at the leaves of Golden Bites, surely you can still see a large paste of durian throughout the cream.
Golden Bites also comes from D24 and Musang King durian pastas from an associated farm that Shawne stated already entailed a high cost. To add, the reason Musang King durians are so expensive is because they are highly sought after despite the limited supply.
In order for the team to control costs, all products are manufactured in batches in advance, as baking desserts in bulk to sell as a la carte orders can generate more waste if sales are low on a particular day. .
To date, Golden Bites has sold more than 8,000 D24 buffs since December 2020 and 3,000 Musang King buffs since June 2021. Not too surprising, as demand from durian lovers never ceases year-round.
Currently operating as an online brand from a central kitchen in Kelana Jaya, Shawne has shared her interest in Golden Bites appearing at meals or pop-up events once she is safe again.
He also shared that Premium Organic Musang King Puffs will remain on the store’s menu as long as the season allows for organic fruit. Otherwise, the rest of the desserts will continue to be sold, such as burnt cheesecakes, normal choux boils and other seasonal items.
- You can find more information about Golden Bites here.
- You can read other F&B related pieces we’ve written here and those of durians here.
Featured Image Credit: Golden Bites
