After failing to impress in Sunday night’s invention test, Pete, Ray and Pia faced elimination in an epic pressure test set by the King of Cakes, pastry chef Andy Bowdy last night.
Their challenge was to replicate his immense layer cake, Rita. With 12 different elements, the contestants had four-and-a-half hours to cook, build and decorate their cakes.
Pete led the way early, confident in following Andy’s intricate instructions. Ray also worked consistently and methodically. His first issue arose when assembling the cake, where he rushed to squeeze elements in.
Pia stumbled early in the cook, mixing the custard for her bavarois with an electric mixer instead of by hand, causing concern from Andy and Gary Mehigan. She was forced to re-do her meringue as she was not happy with the grainy result of her first attempt.
During the tasting, Pete’s cake was a resounding success and the judges agreed he did an outstanding job. Although Ray knew his Rita did not resemble Andy’s, the cake was delicious and the judges loved the pockets of coconut cream dotted throughout.
The judges were impressed with the beautiful chaos atop Pia’s cake, but overall the bavarois was dense and heavy, and while she nailed the biscuit base, it was not enough to keep her safe. Her errors outweighed the appearance of Ray’s cake and Pia was eliminated from the MasterChef Australia kitchen.
Pia has since completed work experience at Om Nom Dessert Bar in Melbourne. She has also begun writing her family recipe cookbook.
