It was no ordinary pressure test last night on MasterChef Australia, when Colin, Kira and Jamie fought for their place in the top 10.
Not only did they have to create a croquembouche, one of the hardest dishes in MasterChef Australia history, there was only one recipe to be split between them.
Using her power apron, Tracy had to divide the recipe between the three. Opting to create as level a playing field as possible, Tracy gave Jamie the choux recipe, Colin the caramel and assembly notes, and Kira the crème patissiere instructions.
Facing her first ever pressure test, Kira, who had made a croquembouche previously, was thrown by the lack of choux pastry recipe. Remembering a choux recipe, she decided to make separate batches to be sure it was right. Gary thought Kira should be more precise with her measurements, but she was winging it. After her choux buns rose, Kira was happy with their consistency and moved on to other elements.
Jamie was confident of his choux efforts, but struggled to bring his crème patissiere to the desired consistency and fell behind the others. Colin moved steadily through the cook without many hiccups.
The moment of truth for the contestants came when they de-moulded their profiterole towers. They all looked spectacular and there was high praise from the judges and onlookers.
Next they spun their sugar for the final flourish of decoration. Colin struggled with it and Jamie managed to burn his fingers and palms.
In the tasting, Colin’s choux buns were well cooked, as was his crème patissiere, but his spun sugar was not great. Some of Jamie’s buns lacked filling, but his pastry, dark caramel and crème patissiere worked well.
Kira was overwhelmed at what she had achieved. Her crème patissiere was deemed the best of all three and her caramel delicious. The profiteroles, however, were cakey and biscuit-like. In a tough decision for the judges, Kira’s choux pastry let her down.
Kira is currently working towards her goal of educating the nation on how clean eating can be delicious and quick for the whole family. She is working on a range of tutorial videos for her website and has published a wholesome kids’ cook book.
