The decadent Masterchef dessert recipes in this season’s Masterchef Australia made dieting near impossible.
Now that our favourite foodie show has come to an end, we show you how to recreate the top dessert trends Australia brought to our screens, at home.
Don’t skip a beet
Beetroot was everywhere in this season’s show, and the Masterchef desserts weren’t left out of this trend. Contestant Mimi Baines wowed the judges with her Beetroot Parfait with Rosemary and Rhubarb and even used charred beet leaves with her eye fillet. And who could forget the Beet Wellington pressure test, beetroot jelly, beetroot curd or Chloe’s beetroot caramel?
Try this Spiced Beetroot Cake With Mascarpone
Spiced beetroot cake with mascarpone recipe
Brush up on curds
This season’s show featured curds of every type from Nigella’s traditional lemon curd to yuzu, lime, orange and raspberry curd. Don’t forget to try Matt’s shortcut of microwaving the curd for 30 seconds at a time, whisking it in between, and repeating the process until it thickens.
Try Hillary’s Fruit Tart With Lemon Curd Mascarpone Crème
Hillary’s Fruit Tart With Lemon Curd Mascarpone Crème Recipe
Beautiful Bavarois
Contestant Harry Foster was in hot contention in the semi-finals thanks to his Espresso Bavarois with Marsala Ice Cream, and Chloe impressed the judges with her rosewater bavarois.
Bavarois is an old-school dessert containing gelatin and whipped cream. Harry used it earlier in the show too with his Black Sesame Bavarois Dacquoise with Fennel and Strawberries.
Here, our sister magazine, Food & Home Entertaining, channels three Masterchef trends with their Mushroom Panna Cotta with Beetroot Bavarois and Truffle Ice Cream:
Mushroom panna cotta with beetroot bavarois and truffle ice cream
Oh crumbs!
Also called “soil” on the show, the humble crumb was the go to for the dessert queens of the competition Elise, Mimi and Karmen, and was often the element that pulled the whole dish together.
From toasted coconut crumb to star anise, lemon, walnut and coffee crumb, they all added the essential textural crunch to any dessert.
Best of all it’s super quick to make and uses the same base (flour, caster sugar and butter) that you can switch up with the zest or juice of any citrus fruit, chocolate or coffee a la Matt.
Simply pop it into the oven on a baking tray lined with baking paper and take out when golden (10-12 minutes).
Burn baby burn
While burnt butter has long been a mainstay of Masterchef contestants, the 2016 crew started burning everything from lemons (Harry’s burnt lemon sauce was a real hit) and bunt apricot parfait.
Trendy Joburg restaurant Marble, that cooks everything on an open fire, offers a range of burnt options like this Crème Pistache with Ash Meringue, Burnt Strawberries, Turkish Delight and Kataifi Pastry Strands. Get the recipe from Food & Home here:
Crème pistache with ash meringue, burnt strawberries, Turkish delight and kataifi pastry strands
On the theme of burning, smoking was also hot on the show this year with contestants smoking everything from chocolate mousse to dates, nougat and smoked eggplant yoghurt.
Capetonians can try smoked ice cream at Cold Gold, an artisan ice cream store in Stellenbosch who’s known for their smoked vanilla cappuccino ice cream.
To try this trend at home, buy your own smoker from The Smoking Gun.
Smoking Gun, R2,199, www.thesmokinggun.co.za
A parfait recipe Masterchef style
Even though a parfait was Elise Franciskovic’s eventual undoing in the competition due to a gelatin malfunction, it was the cornerstone of many of her and other contestants mouth-watering desserts.
Parfait, a rich cold dessert traditionally made with whipped cream, eggs and fruit, was given a twist by contestants who came up with various sweet and savoury versions.
Highlights included vanilla yoghurt, maple crumbed lemon myrtle, chocolate beetroot and tea-infused parfaits.
Try this Cherry Vanilla Parfait With Rosewater Syrup
Or this delicious Mocha Parfait With Salted Caramel Praline
If you want to make spherical parfaits, make sure you have a silicon mould to set it in.
Moul’flex Hemispherical Mould Pan, 6 Cups, R319, www.yuppiechef.co.za
Sweet ‘n savoury
From coriander ice cream to basil panna cotta and cumin tuiles, desserts took on a trendy savoury flavour this season.
Even Heston Blumenthal set contestants a savoury ice cream team challenge which resulted in crazy combinations like mustard ice cream with bacon and french fries and prawn cocktail ice cream.
Give this Avocado and Pink Peppercorn Sorbet from Food & Home a try.
Wibble wobble
Jelly is back in a big way with contestants opting for alcoholic twists like champagne and cherry port, or interesting flavours like beetroot and ginger jellies.
Try this boozy Limoncello and Prosecco Jelly recipe for your next dinner party:
