Original subtitles

Previously on Dessert Masters:

It's the Team Relay.

It was a race to remember.

Go, go, go, go, go, go.

This classic challenge...

Oh, my God. Please, please, please.

..brought loads of hurdles...

Argh! What do I got to do?

There is so much pressure to carry the baton to the finish line.

..and a photo finish...

AMAURY: I think it's quite gorgeous.

I think it's a dessert that plays very well together.

MELISSA: Talk about one team, one dream.

..with the Purple Team winning immunity from the next elimination.

Tonight, some of their best desserts yet...

..by a country mile.

(COCKEREL CROWS)

(HORSE NEIGHS)

(SHEEP BAAS)

Do you want to have a warm-up barn dance before they get here?

A warm-up dance?

Heel and toe. Heel and toe.

This one.

Do you know how to do a do-si-do,

where they do this around each other?

No, I'm not doing it.

I'm the chef stuff.

Ahem. Professional.

MELISSA: Hey-hey!

Oh! Good luck, guys.

They're like cowboys! Oh, my God. Look at this.

Whoa! What's happening?

DARREN: In elimination, it could always be your last cook.

But I'm excited because I've been to country fairs

and I've spent time with the CWA,

and I'm definitely getting this vibe today.

Come on down, y'all.

G'day, everyone. (THEY GREET THE JUDGES)

Alright, as you know, this is an elimination.

And by the end of the night, someone will be going home.

Having said that, this cook is going to be a barrel of fun.

Oh.

There's barrels!

Oh. (LAUGHTER)

Now to this mouth-watering display.

I made none of that.

This is a range of country classics I'm sure the CWA would be proud of.

You can expect to see any of these

at regional bakeries right across Australia.

We have all your favourites here.

Victoria sponge cake,

jelly slice, lamingtons, custard tarts,

neenish tarts,

scones with jam and cream and vanilla slice.

I often go on road trips to seek regional bakeries out,

and what I love is that we can all understand

the magic that they bring.

For this challenge, you need to take one of those country classics

and put your own spin on it.

I didn't grow up with these country classics.

I don't know what a neenish tart is. I don't know what is, like,

the jelly, like, what is the jelly slice?

I've never tried them.

So this is going to be a difficult challenge.

We want to see a traditional treat done your way

and to help you do that,

we're throwing it some very special ingredients

that must be included in your dish,

and they are being delivered straight from the source.

Please welcome Farmer Andrew and Farmer Scott.

Cool. I love them.

Andrew, Scott, we can't wait to see what you've both brought in tonight.

I have Eureka blueberries.

Oh, that's some nice blueberries. They're gorgeous.

Andrew, what do you love about Eureka blueberries?

They're large, they're crunchy. They're sweet.

Best eaten by the handful.

We've bred these using natural breeding techniques,

replicating what the bee would do in the wild

just to give everybody an amazing experience every time they buy them.

I've never seen Dan look more shocked

about blueberries in your life. Is that excitement?

Look at these, they're giant! They're so good, right?

I just want to eat them now.

Scott, your turn.

What do you have under there?

I have Pink Lady apples and Granny Smith apples.

Scott, what makes these particular varieties of apples so incredible?

Well, Granny Smith and Pink Lady are both bred in Australia,

so both founded here.

Um, they both hold their shape really well

during the cooking process.

Granny Smiths are a bit more of a tart flavour than the Pink Lady,

but you can't beat the colour of a Pink Lady.

And the versatility of an apple is so incredible.

We can do so many different things with an apple.

How do you like them apples? I love apples, too.

Delicious!

Thank you so much for bringing your incredible produce in.

Please give it up for our farmers, Scott and Andrew.

Thank you very much.

One of the first things I cooked as a child was an apple crumble.

And I just love apple tarts.

Apple pies, tarte tatin.

So it's a familiar flavour to me.

It's one I'm more comfortable with.

Alright, guys, you all have 2.5 hours.

If you cook the least impressive dish,

you will be going home.

Alright, get ready to turn

these classics into your own creations.

Your time starts now!

(THEY SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)

Oh.

I'm just going to take these eggs.

What did I forget? Dan, tell me!

Everything. Me too.

Reece is in the coop house collecting eggs.

I'm just getting my eggs.

Are you putting all your eggs in one basket?

Hey! Hey!

Oh, my dear.

For today's challenge, I'm a little bit nervous.

Oh, my God.

I moved to Australia when I was 26.

Coming from Indonesia,

I'm not so familiar with all this regional country classic cakes.

My God.

I have no idea what to cook.

What did you get yourself into, Christy?

But I don't want to go home yet, so I need to make that decision.

Woo! Go, Christy!

Do it for the girl!

This is definitely a tough challenge.

We're asking our contestants to be inspired

by these country Australian baked classics

and then put their own spin on it.

Well, pastry always goes back to the classic.

We like to make it fancy, sometimes overly complicated,

but to all of us, it speaks to a part of us

that love the rustic simplicity of desserts.

Yeah, I think it needs to still have the essence of

whichever dessert they've picked,

so it still needs to sort of be recognisable in taste

or in appearance in some way from the original,

however they interpret it.

It is an elimination, which means someone is going home...

Yes.

..so they really do need to have some fun,

but also take this challenge very seriously.

The stakes are so high.

Mel, I would actually love for you to introduce me

to all the Australian classics.

OK, this is a vanilla slice.

Mm-hm.

That's, um...

Well, you know, I'm glad that pastry evolved over the years.

Oh, my God.

I think his visa might get revoked.

Oh, shivers!

Almost forgot about that.

(LAUGHS)

Feeling really good. Really positive.

I've chosen scones and jam and cream,

so I'm going to do what I do best, which is gelato.

And I'm going to make a sundae.

The fruit I've chosen is blueberry, so I've made a jam.

I'm going to make a scone gelato.

Um, I'm going to make a blueberry gelato.

I'm going to do a beautiful Chantilly.

And then, on top, candy-striped straws.

I want to make a really classic, sort of kitschy sort of vibe.

An old-school sundae glass, defined layers.

So each mouthful gives you the same experience

as you eat it on the way down.

I'm about to get my scones ready.

In Home Ec in high school,

first thing we learned how to make was scones.

So, I reckon I've got it down.

So I'm using the scones in two parts.

First of all, in the gelato.

And then I'm also going to use scone as a crumb layer

inside the sundae.

EMELIA: Oh-ho! Donato on the scones.

The key to nailing this dish will be in the plating up.

So rather than just jamming everything in the bottom,

I want to make the layers.

I want to make sure that they're all even

and the flavours are balanced.

Now there's only six of us cooking,

so there's a higher chance of elimination.

So my dish needs to be bang-on.

Confidence. Confidence will get me through.

EMELIA: Yeah, boy.

How are you going, Dan?

It's good stress. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Today I'm going to make blueberry lamington.

First of all, because I love lamington.

Like, when I moved to Australia 10 years ago,

it was one of my favourite desserts I tried

from this beautiful country,

and then I was like, "What about today?"

I add my own twist.

I added a little bit of blueberry in it.

My plan is to make an optical illusion.

I'm going to be creating a giant blueberry

with a taste of a classic lamington.

Inside the blueberry,

there will be sponge, coconut mousse, and jam

that is going to be made with my fruit of choice - blueberry.

So I just made the cake batter.

I'm working on a chocolate mousse and then the blueberry confit jam.

I'm fighting for my life

because I want to win this competition.

# Pa, pa, pa-ra, pa, pa, pa. #

Please give me five stars on UberEATS.

There you go. Thank you.

Cutlery. Look at this.

(ALL TALK AT ONCE) Sitting.

EMELIA: What a Frenchman!

Everyone, two hours to go.

(CHEERING)

You're all amazing.

What are you whipping, Reece?

I'm just making a meringue. Lovely.

So the judges have asked us to put our spin on these country classics.

I've seen what everyone else is doing.

Like, I know they're all gonna go left field here,

but I want to play to the tradition

and make it in its purest form.

So I'm going to be doing a Victoria sponge cake.

Um, it's a cake that I love so much.

It's one of the best cakes you can ever eat.

My nan always made a sponge cake,

so I'm kind of leaning on her concept of a sponge cake,

but my own flavours.

So we'll have a sponge cake which will have the fillings through it.

So you've got a beautiful cream.

You've got a blueberry jam and a yuzu curd.

Then we'll have a layer of crispy meringue,

which is adding something that's interesting

that the judges may not have seen before.

I've got the meringue cooking.

I'm just working on my sponge now.

My dish today, it's definitely going to just be a cake.

That obviously is a risk in itself.

I'm worried that I may not be as creative concept-wise here,

but I know I can make this my own,

so hopefully that would be enough to keep me from going home.

Ah.

A lamington with jam and cream is the best.

So, you were supposed to feed me.

What happened there?

So that's the lamington.

Mm-hm.

But before you tell me about your opinion,

just remember that all of Australia is watching.

Yeah.

The thickness of the sponge and the coconut makes it a bit dry.

And it's probably the one I can relate...

Sh.

I love it. Lamington's great!

C'est parfait! We did it!

I actually am lost in translation.

There are not many of those country classics that I actually understand.

In the midst of everything, I just keep thinking

that I've never eaten a true classic custard tart,

but I've eaten and can make custard, and I've eaten and can make tarts.

So let's make a custard tarte tatin.

That's my idea today.

I'm going to make my Golden Delicious,

which is this golden apple

that is made out of a caramelised white chocolate,

and inside is vanilla custard and caramelised apple.

It's going to look like a golden apple.

Having classically trained in France as a pastry chef,

I made a lot of custard tarts.

So, my plan tonight to avoid elimination

is to showcase a lot of technique as well as my creativity.

Hopefully, I could impress the judges

with my version of custard tart.

Something already smells good.

Darren. What's the dish?

I'll tell ya.

OK, so we're going to rework vanilla slice today

through a mille-feuille with vanilla,

making my own puff pastry from scratch.

Love that. Max respect.

I am doing a smoked white chocolate and vanilla cream for the middle.

I am also doing a really awesome compote with the apples.

OK.

Well, I don't know if you know, Mel, but the classic way of doing

a puff pastry can take up to days.

So, Darren is shrinking days into 2.5 hours.

Yeah. You feel good about this?

I feel like it's a challenge.

And that's what we're here to do in the kitchen, you know?

It is a brave move, Darren, and I like it.

I hope you love it. Thank you very much.

At the moment, I've got everything on the go.

Apple sorbet is underway.

I've started on my apples for inside

my mille-feuille vanilla slice puff pastry.

I'm about to put the butter in.

I'm going to do it the long, hard way

because I want to get lots of layers in my pastry.

John, are you making puff?

I am making puff. Crazy.

That freaks me out, but I believe in you.

I'm going to do vanilla slice today.

I'm actually going to do a vanilla slice tart.

I'm going to use apples.

I'm going to use Pink Lady and Granny Smiths.

And I'm going to make puff pastry and then a tart dough,

and then I'm going to make

this beautiful mascarpone-infused custard.

Hey, John. Hello.

I don't know if you know,

but Darren is also making his homemade puff, right?

Yeah. I got a peek over there.

Yeah?

Should I be nervous? How will yours compare to it?

I hope that... I'm confident

this is going to work the way I picture it.

Alright.

Have you spoken to her?

It's smiling at me.

So it's keeping me safe.

Is she offering you gentle reassurance?

She's giving me the confidence to take some risks today, for sure.

OK.

(THEY LAUGH)

Johnny, can I pinch this part of the bench for 30 seconds?

Take... Mi casa, si casa.

Su casa. Su casa.

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

This, I would like to try.

Jelly slice.

Does the wobble freak you out?

Yeah. It doesn't appear to me as something great.

It smells delicious, though.

You know what, Mel? What?

I was going to speak ill of it

because just the look of it -

it jiggles too much for me.

Taste-wise, it reminds me of, like, a panna cotta on a sable.

Right. It's actually very pleasing. Really?

You know what? Before you judge, try it.

Anything from the...? No, thank you.

Well, this is a bit exciting.

We've asked them to be inspired by classic Australian baked treats,

and there are some great ideas out there.

Yeah, I like that everybody leaned into the challenge

and some people really challenged themselves even more.

Yes. Now let's talk about who's exciting us out there.

Christy, she's really pushing the hardest

in terms of creating something that is a pastry illusion,

but also has the spirit of a custard tart.

It's very challenging.

I just hope she will have enough time to complete the vision.

Yeah. Let's talk about Reece.

He's making his interpretation of his nan's Victoria sponge.

And, you know, he is in his element with a challenge like this.

But, at the same time, when it is everything you know and you love,

you put a lot of pressure on yourself to perfect it.

I'm a little bit worried for him.

Reece, he took a more traditional approach.

Yeah. He's going classic look.

Very little tweak in order to keep the same original recipient taste.

If he's going to survive this elimination,

that sponge needs to be perfect.

Yeah, I mean, he goes classic,

it has to be a perfect classic.

Look at the colour! That looks beautiful.

Chefs, your dishes need to be ready in one hour.

One hour! One hour.

One hour.

Whoo-hoo!

Go, guys.

Little blueberry cake on the base.

Cake looks good, Dan! It looks beautiful.

Yay!

Next, tuile.

Donato's so in the zone when he cooks.

Today, my strategy is keep cool, keep calm.

I'm making ice cream. It's what I do.

So, the jam is in.

Chantilly is in.

Scones are baking.

I'm about to get my tuiles ready

because I'm going to make some candy-striped straws.

Then head on to my gelatos.

Because I'm doing a scone gelato,

I've got to wait for the scones to cook.

So, yeah, so far so good.

John, I'm doing tuiles, bro.

It's not... It's not kind.

For that, I'll use a tuile mix,

half vanilla and half chocolate.

Put the vanilla down first.

Create the lines through it.

Put my stencil back over it and scrape the chocolate.

Then it goes in the oven.

That's so cool.

I want to add my sprinkles.

That looks magic. What's going on? Oh, wow.

So I just don't want to go in the pantry

and grab a packet of sprinkles.

I'd rather make them myself.

So I add some colours to some tempered chocolate

and I'll do little lines of it.

Cut it down and we'll use those as sprinkles.

And now it's time to make my blueberry gelato,

which is going to sit inside the sundae.

I feel confident, in a good frame of mind

to just chill and enjoy the process.

So blue. Oh, mate, so blue.

I would kill to try that. Yeah.

It's split.

Oh, my God.

(EXHALES)

It's split.

It's split. I don't want to use it.

Oh!

Silly me.

I added my blueberries into a hot gelato mix,

which is a no-go.

I'm supposed to allow the base to cool

before I add the blueberries,

because the blueberries are high in acidity

and they'll split the base.

I need to make this again, but I'm panicking.

There's still so much work that I need to do,

and now I'm running out of time.

This is not good.

OK. 350. Go, Donato!

Make these classics your own.

30 minutes to go!

Let's go, team!

Darren amazes me with how much he can do.

He moves quick. He's such a gun.

I've got apple sorbet in the blast chiller.

I've already done a couple of turns on my puff pastry.

I've done some pickled apples in some cider vinegar.

And I've got the apples

for inside my mille-feuille and blast chiller.

So now I'm just about to smoke white chocolate and vanilla mousse,

which I'll be piping inside my vanilla slice.

For my vanilla slice-inspired mille-feuille,

I'm going to smoke this cream using apple wood chips.

I thought it would tie in with the theme really well.

Oh, wow. He's doing smoked.

Check it out. He's smoking.

Smoky.

Daz is on fire.

This is my spin on the custard cream vanilla slice.

And I'm hoping that the smoke and the white chocolate

and the vanilla form this perfectly light and roasty flavour.

Ladies...

..do I look Australian?

G'day, mate.

G'day, Amaury!

How are you going, Christy?

Thumbs up.

Right now, I'm feeling a little bit nervous

because I'm trying to push myself to make a country classic.

I need to unmould my apple for my twist on a custard tart.

I need to dip it, and, uh... Yeah.

And I need to plate.

So this has to work.

If this apple is not set properly, I don't have a dish.

So everything culminates to this point.

My God.

It's split in half, which means that

there is a risk that the other three are not frozen enough.

Oh, my God.

So I'm praying to every single cell of my body, please work.

Oh, good.

Yes, I have apples.

Let them eat apples.

Alright, I got a glaze.

(SINGS) I got a glaze.

So, now is the time to create the aesthetic look,

the optical illusion.

To make it look like real apple.

Polish it. Make it golden.

I love it, I really love it.

It is really pretty.

I know it tastes delicious.

It looks like an apple.

And I just hope that when the judges take a bite,

they will feel the essence of a custard tart.

(SHEEP BAAS)

Don't let this be the final straw.

15 minutes to go.

Come on, guys! Go, guys!

Come on! You're doing so well.

Final push.

It was really hard for me to choose which country classic,

because they were all a bit nostalgic for me,

but vanilla slice is my fave.

Feeling good, my tart shell, I'm really happy with.

It's got a lot of that saltiness I was hoping

and it's nice and even. I got all my bases made.

I've got a creme patissiere and a mascarpone Chantilly.

I'm going to combine them for my custard,

and I had to adjust the sweetness to let the apple come through.

I've got my puff pastry.

I just need to now cool that,

cut it down and finish the piece.

When you eat this, it's going to be super nostalgic

and it reminds you of a vanilla slice.

But it's also modern and better than what you imagine.

I like the look of this, John. Thank you, chef.

Puff looks so good.

It looks amazing.

DARREN: I think I'm good. I think I'm good.

Got all my elements done.

So now I'm ready to plate up my dessert.

I'm tasting the cream and it just tastes too smoky.

I've overdone it.

I was really hoping for something

that was just on the back of the palate.

Nice little sort of smoky element.

But I've got something that's really quite harsh

and really overpowering.

I'm a bit disappointed in myself.

I don't have time to make another white chocolate and vanilla cream.

I'm a little bit freaked out at this point.

Now I'm thinking, "How can I fix it?"

I've made a smoked white chocolate and vanilla cream

for the apple mille-feuille...

I'm in the shit!

..but it just tastes too smoky.

I don't have time to make another white chocolate and vanilla cream.

Come on, Darren.

So I'm thinking, "How can I dilute this flavour

"in some way, shape or form?"

I've got some whipped cream in here.

This is for my smoked white chocolate cream there.

And then we're going to add it together just to adjust the taste.

I'm a little bit frustrated, but there's nothing I can do.

I just need to try and plate this dish up as best I can.

And, hopefully, I managed to dilute

that flavour a little bit in the cream.

We can't wait to taste your classics.

Five minutes to go.

They look perfect, John.

Thank you.

Go, Reece! We got this.

So all of my main components are done.

I'm really happy with the sponge cake.

They're super light. Really airy.

It's hard to say just like Nan's,

because, like, in my eye, she was perfect.

But, um...

Yeah, I think she'd be happy with them.

My Victoria sponge cake looked so delicious.

I love the layers and I love the crunchy meringue in the centre.

This is going to add more flavour,

texture, deliciousness to the cake.

I turned some of the meringue leaves into, like, little kisses.

I just want to get a few garnishes on the cake.

I know it's an elimination, but I'm in my happy place.

And I know if my nan was still here,

she'd be proud of what I've done.

I love it.

Yes, yes, yes. Well done. Yes.

My giant blueberry lamington is set,

but my glaze is not ready yet.

I need to rush because I don't have much time.

So I can find the colour.

There are wild scenes across this kitchen.

We have some cool, calm, collected operators.

And then we have Dan...

..who literally looks like one of those inflatable men

going like this on the street, flailing about everywhere.

Dan, more colour. Add more colour.

Listen to her.

EMELIA: What's the colour of a blueberry?

Yeah! Beautiful.

Yes. Well done.

I'm so happy! They will be able to get the coconut mousse,

the sponge, the blueberry jam and the chocolate.

All these flavours, they combine together

just to give a beautiful experience.

Will yours be an instant classic?

Two minutes to go.

ALISHA: John, slip us a tart, would you?

It looks like you've got a spare.

I've remade the blueberry gelato.

That took a long time to make,

but now all the elements for the sundae are complete,

ready to go, ready for my plate up.

The most difficult part of the dish is the plating up.

You want to make sure that every spoonful,

you get every element that you've put in there

so it resembles the scone, jam and cream flavour.

At the moment, I'm feeling under pressure.

As I'm planning the sundae, I want to do layers,

but now I'm just rushing things, trying to bash this out in time.

It is what it is.

Tools down in 10...

Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four, three,

two, one!

Hands up!

(CHEERING AND WHOOPING)

Well done, mate!

Thank God I finished it on time.

Yeah. I'm happy with how it turns out.

It tastes great.

And I really tried to champion the custard and the apple

all together as best as I could.

Um, put a bit of twist of myself into the dish,

so, like, yeah, I hope it does meet the brief.

Managed to do some great things on this cook,

but I'm still really worried about the flavour of the cream.

So I know that I'm serving something

that is not the best that I possibly can make.

I'm really freaking out at this point

that I could be the one going home today.

Well, that was definitely a high-pressure cook

because classics are classic for a reason.

So, to put your own spin on it

and produce a really fantastic dish,

that's a really tough task.

Of course, the least impressive dish will send its maker home.

There is so much on the line.

Well done, Christy. Good luck.

REECE: Very good. It's beautiful. It's really beautiful.

I know it tastes good, but deep down,

I'm still asking if I'm taking

the essence of custard tart enough in this, so I'm worried about that.

Hey, Christy!

Hi. Hi.

Oh, wow!

This is pretty. Thank you.

Very, very cool.

It's called My Golden Delicious.

I got the inspiration from custard tart.

So, inside of it, there is caramelised apple.

Then there is custard,

the base is a spiced drizzle and then honey,

muscovado and nutmeg tuile leaves around.

I came to Australia actually from France

where I studied there and worked there.

So this is an accumulation of everything

that I have learnt back then,

you know, of who I was as a pastry chef

coming fresh, fresh-faced in Australia.

This is MY country classic.

This is my interpretation of Australia.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, guys. Thank you. Thank you.

What a golden, magical marvel.

I mean, it's begging to be bitten.

Nice.

That's the sexy inside.

So we can both agree

that it doesn't look like a custard tart.

So the big question here is,

does it eat like a custard tart?

And I think it does.

It's about the textures.

You look at the textures of custard within the apple itself,

and they have almost like a slightly bouncy density to it

that is really faithful to the original.

I love the gorgeous aroma of the cinnamon and the nutmeg.

I think it really elevates that style of custard.

And I think that the detail in the garnish

is really to be commended

within the time limit as well.

This is a fantastic dessert.

I so love it.

It's so good.

The roundness of the rum, it pairs perfectly.

The custard filling has a little bit

of that starchy, bouncy type of texture.

Yeah.

Pairing perfectly well with this delicious streusel.

I don't think I would change anything about it.

She has done so good.

When someone with a significant amount of skill

experiences something for the first time

and interprets it in a way that no-one else could.

This may be Christy's first elimination,

I don't think she's going home today.

No, she's not.

This is banger.

Yeah.

Good luck, mate. Thank you.

I'm feeling not as confident as I want to be.

I ran out of time that I needed to plate up the sundae,

so I haven't tasted the flavours together

and I don't know if they're balanced.

So the seed of doubt has been planted and watered

and is growing wonderfully.

NARRATOR: Don't miss a delicious moment

of Dessert Masters.

Watch full episodes on 10play now.

Donato, tell us about your dessert.

I chose scones, jam and cream

and I thought I would go Messina on that

and I've created a sundae.

So we've got... Naturally.

Naturally, of course.

So we've got blueberry jam

highlighting the blueberries.

Then we've got scones.

We have a creme Chantilly.

Then there's a scone gelato on top.

In the centre you'll find a blueberry gelato.

We're gonna taste it now. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Donato. Thank you. Thank you, Mel.

Wow. What do you think, Amaury?

It's quite seductive.

Well, it looks like one perfect dessert,

but the big question is,

will we feel the spirit of the scone?

Let's find out.

One thing that we can always guarantee about Donato

is that his gelatos are going to be superlative.

In this particular case,

the gelato itself is beautiful in terms of construction.

It has a lovely warming texture to it,

and I like the tartness of the blueberries.

I think the jam is really nicely made.

I agree with you.

I love the texture of the gelato.

The infused cream of scone is very well done.

All the elements there? Yes.

But for me

it's all about the balance, right?

Does it really translate into scone?

I don't really feel it.

And I'm going to tell you why.

The blueberry ice-cream and the jam

kind of take over the scone ice-cream.

Second of all, the bits of scone

that, once being mixed into an ice-cream,

not only taste wise, they're a bit muted,

but they also get a little bit more solid.

Right now I have a very good sundae.

I don't have the perfect scone.

Mm.

I think Donato could be in trouble.

Hey, Dan.

Hello. Hey.

Look at that.

It's a blueberry Lushington.

So my takeover classic is to incorporate the lamington

inside the blueberry.

I think this may be the prettiest dish

that Dan has plated up in the competition.

Wow.

I really like it.

When you take layer by layer, it is fresh,

it is soft.

I would finish the whole plate, which is very rare for me.

It's really clever.

Backed up with flavour.

It's his best dessert so far.

I'm so proud of him.

Hey, John. Hello. Hello.

Wow.

It's so glossy.

What's the name of your dish?

Vanilla slice tart.

So I've got a sweet paste crust.

There's a caramelised apple puree I've made

with Pink Ladies and poached Granny Smith apples.

Then on top is a dome of creme diplomate.

And then there's a puff pastry on top.

Oh, that snap!

Yeah. So satisfying.

It's a very lovely and heartfelt interpretation

of a vanilla slice,

and the puff has some beautiful caramelisation

around the outside.

He's really showing off on this one.

Good luck.

Good luck, Darren. (APPLAUSE)

I'm feeling really nervous.

I'm actually really worried about the cream.

I'm hoping that I've got the right balance

and the judges love it.

Hey, there. Hello, Darren.

Hi, guys.

What's the dish there?

This is my take on a vanilla slice.

So it's an apple mille-feuille

with smoked vanilla cream.

I've made puff pastry from scratch.

I made a smoked white chocolate cream,

folded that into vanilla pastry cream,

made an apple compote, pickled apples, and then,

to use up the skins from the apple,

I made a green apple sorbet.

Do you feel like you're safe this evening?

No, I don't feel like I'm safe.

Everyone is amazing.

But I hope I get to cook again

'cause I feel like I've got a bit more to show you.

I think we should consume this one at its height.

Enjoy. Bon appetit. Thank you.

OK... Should we just go for it?

Oh, that's a nice sound. That's nice.

I think the smoked cream is distracting.

I wish he would have not put this

because it would have been an incredible dessert.

But the textures are perfect.

The mille-feuille caramelised to perfection.

I think that's the star of the dish, actually.

For it being done in 2.5 hours,

this is very good.

Absolutely.

Do I think that he's a madman and potentially a genius

for being able to pull off this pastry in 2.5 hours?

Absolutely.

The apple has a lovely texture about it.

The sorbet - fantastic.

Really light, really acidic.

And it really wakes you up.

But he didn't need to smoke the cream.

No.

This dish could see Darren in danger.

Go, Reece. Well done, mate.

This sponge is a more classic style of baking,

but essentially,

it's still a sponge cake.

I'm worried that I may not be as creative

as everyone else's dishes.

I just hope that that kind of still hits the brief

and the judges love it.

Look at her.

It's quite gorgeous. Yeah.

I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

So this is my take on a Victoria sponge cake.

I kind of wanted to play with that sweet acidity

and use, like, the yuzu and the blueberry.

The sponge is soft as heaven.

And then you get a beautiful crunch in the meringue.

I love that. "Soft as heaven."

Thank you so much. You're welcome, guys.

I hope you enjoy. Thank you.

Wow!

That looks so beautiful.

This visual illusion of it being a three-layer cake

when really the third layer, the middle layer,

is a meringue.

Very clever.

Alright, let's get...

Oh, it's a juicy cake.

Nice.

One slice for you, Mel. That looks pretty good.

The flavours are phenomenal.

The yuzu - beautiful.

Blueberry - fantastic.

The cream is silky smooth.

The sponge is airy. It's light.

And it does give you an authentic spin

on a very traditional classic Victoria cake.

For me, it is a cake that I would go back and eat.

It's so generous

and it's just executed to perfection.

Yeah.

I'm so pleased for Reece

because this cake is a triumph.

It is a celebration of his love of classics,

but also a celebration of his love of his nan.

And I think that that's so beautiful.

Love aside, nostalgia aside,

the flavours are,

I agree, phenomenal.

The yuzu is sharp and it's bright,

and while the curd is rich,

it really does envelop you in the most beautiful way.

The blueberry jam as well, it's sweet but tart.

So you just have this dreamy combination

of ingredients going on here.

It's gorgeous.

Oh, absolutely.

Tonight was all about breaking tradition

and creating something new.

I'm very happy to say,

not only did you make this classic your own,

some of you even made them better.

A few hours ago, I didn't really like lamingtons,

but then you completely changed my mind.

I could have eaten the whole thing.

It was so good.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

We loved everything about it, didn't we, Mel?

Maybe even the glitter.

Yes.

Christy.

I wouldn't change a single thing about that custard tart.

It was the perfect interpretation.

Full marks, no notes.

Congratulations, Christy.

Well done.

Awesome. You guys are both safe.

Well done.

When it came down to the least impressive dishes,

there were two that fell just short of the mark tonight.

They were made by...

..Darren...

..and Donato.

Darren, you gave us your version of a vanilla slice,

but the smoke threw us a little off the scent.

Donato.

As a sundae, your dish was superb.

But the spirit of scones with jam and cream

didn't translate clearly enough.

And that's why I'm so sorry...

It's all good. ..you're going home.

All good. It's all good.

Thank you.

Thanks, guys.

Honestly, to be competing against you guys is...

It's crazy. It's...

You guys are different level. Different level.

I just make ice-cream.

You make more than ice-cream.

You make magic.

(LAUGHS)

Donato, the King of Gelato,

Mel and I are so excited that you decided

to join this competition.

Thank you. Thank you.

It's no mistake that you are one of the biggest names

in the industry, and we loved having you here.

Loved being here.

I'm going to take home nine new friends, which is great,

and a wealth of experience,

so I think...I think I won.

You have been an absolute highlight of my experience so far.

I've loved getting to know you

and I've loved learning from you.

It has been beyond an honour. Thank you.

Thank you. Thanks, Donato.

Thank you. Thank you.

DARREN: You're a legend, mate.

With that, Donato, it's time to say goodbye.

I've had a heap of fun in this kitchen.

I got to work with nine amazing pastry chefs

and take in so many levels of knowledge.

Thank you.

Always wonderful working with you. Chef.

And that's only going to make what I do better.

Give it up for Donato, everybody.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING)

MELISSA: Whoo-hoo!

Next time on Dessert Masters...

Roll up, roll up.

What happens

when amazing pastry chefs

run away with the circus?

MELISSA: I have never seen anything like this ever before.

It's phenomenal.

The impossible made possible

is what makes this place magic.

Captions by Red Bee Media