RECAP | THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF S04E06

Week six! We have passed the halfway point of the season and things are getting serious. There was a break from sending someone home last week, but now we’re back on track! Let’s check in with Mel and Claire!

Yep, that checks out. Also it turns out Mel does a live update to Matt and Maggie every morning on Claire’s mental state. Or at least that’s what she says. I think Mel does have a second job. We already know that Matt’s fallen on hard time and taken on some extra gardening work.

Anyway, it’s patisserie week, which is why Mel and Claire are dressed like Frenchmen. I feel like they should get together with Dan and Julia from Canadian Bake Off (yes, I know they’re no longer hosting) and put together an act. I’d pay to see it.

Dan says that “hopefully this is going to be my week” and that he’s wearing a shirt for Star Baker. Get your ironic statement awards ready! Unless they’re trying to #reversethecurse.

Signature: Cream Horns

I’m going to make an educated guess and say that if you look at the tweets from tonight’s episode, there’ll be a lot of innuendo flying around the #BakeOffAU hashtag. Anyway, the baking stuff: cream horns are made from puff pastry and filled with cream. The judges want to see the bakers put their own twist on them. 

This week Don tells us that he has a hat to match his excellent apron, which depicts French men with curly mustaches. Don’t tell us that and then not wear the hat, Don! Also what kind of hat is it? A cap? A chef’s hat? Inquiring minds want to know. Don made mandarin and cardamom curd, which he put in his cream horns along with fresh cream. They were decorated with candied kumquats. Don says that the last person in his family to make cream horns was his sister and that was probably 20 years ago. Matt says taht the cream horns are beautifully presented but too blond. When he tastes, he says that the pastry is really good, it just needed some more time. Maggie said that Don had really good flavours and the curd was lovely.

We first see Sunny asking David to taste her creme patissiere and tell him what he tastes. He can’t put his finger on it, but it’s kaffir lime, which is what Sunny is using to fill her cream horns along with fresh blueberries. The cream horns were decorated with white chocolate and coconut flakes. Sunny said she was inspired by a time that she had kaffir lime French toast and I’m curious to figure out where in Sydney that was. Probably somewhere near Newtown. When the judges get to Sunny’s bench, they say that the pastry is lovely and golden, but Sunny said she thinks the pastry needed more time. However Matt and Maggie said that the timing of the pastry was perfect. Matt said the flavours were different, but he likes the kaffir lime and the blueberries set it off. Maggie says that the white chocolate and coconut add to the flavours.

Angela made peanut butter and strawberry jam cream horns. We didn’t see a lot of Angela in this challenge, but she did okay. Matt described the pastry as ‘shortcrusty,’ as the butter got too warm during the pastry lamination. Maggie however said that the flavour was really good.

Dan made macadamia cream horns, filled with a macadamia and vanilla mousse and decorated with macadamia praline. When Claire comes around to visit, Dan gives her his mixing bowl full with leftover vanilla mousse, which confirms my suspicions that hosting this show is a great gig. Matt said that the pastry looked well-cooked and that Dan’s vanilla mousse is the best filling he’s had all day.

David opens up his appearance today with the evergreen question “Has anyone ever complained about too much butter?” Definitely not these judges, they’re probably still recovering from vegan week. Dan added a chocolate layer to his pastry to help reinforce the flavours and also for decoration. His cream horns were filled with a date and orange creme patissiere. Matt told David that the dough shouldn’t be raw inside, which Maggie then added was worse than a soggy bottom on a pie (we’ll get there). Maggie loves how the horns were presented and the glaze on the pastry. Matt says that he can see the layers in the puff pastry, which is how he knows it’s well done. The judges commented that the flavours were fantastic and that they liked the different textures from the crispiness of the chocolate pastry and the flakiness of the white pastry.

Wynn met his wife when he was working on a cruise ship, and he’s making a New York cheesecake style cream horn for her. I’m extrapolating that the cruise ship went to New York, they left out that part of the story. The cream horns have a cheesecake filling with strawberry jam and a spiced biscuit crumb for decoration. Wynn says that he’s going to focus on having fun after last week. When it’s time for judging, Matt comments that the horns are definitely undercooked and somehow the horns have ended up bent. He also commented that the pastry would have been excellent if it had been cooked properly, and Maggie loved the cheesecake flavour.

Anston’s tropical cream horns drew on his Sri Lankan heritage. They were filled with coconut mousse, mango and longan (a fruit related to lychee) and dipped in pistachios. There was a fun moment towards the end of the challenge when Claire calls the bakers “horn stars” and Anston misheard her. The judges said that the horns had a good golden colour, but the flavours were unusual. The mango was a good counterpoint to the coconut cream, but the longan wasn’t doing much. Matt said there needed to be more fruit in there.

Technical: Canelés

As Claire tells the bakers, the technical challenge is sometimes confusing, but always exciting. Matt’s clues are: mind your beeswax, I prefer brunettes over blondes.

The judges then go to the potting shed and Claire tells the bakers they’ll be making canelés. They’re French pastries, fluted and cylindrical in shape. They have a custard and rum interior and a caramelised crust.

David looks at the recipe and says it “seems relatively okay” which is the least commital comment you can make. Smart move, we saw what happened when Ange said last week’s looked easy. Wynn doesn’t think canelé is a word, but someone spelled canapé wrong. Angela says she rarely does fancy schmancy French, while Don and Sunny know exactly what they’re making.

Back in the potting shed, Matt reveals the canelés. He said they’re baked in a copper mould lined with beeswax, which is how you get the caramelised crust, while the inside custard is really soft. He also left out the baking time, but told Maggie that the canelés will need to be in the oven for at least an hour and 15 minutes.

In the shed, David says that the smell of rum reminds him of a night out that “probably didn’t end so well.” He doesn’t even remember it! There’s not a lot to this technical, as the bakers make a custard and then bake it. Most of the judging is based on how long the canelés were cooked for.

From last to first we have: Dan, Anston, David, Wynn, Don, Angela, Sunny.

Showstopper: Crafty Fruit Tarts

It’s Judges’ tea time! Maggie says it’s been a mixed bag. Matt says that the girls are doing well and Don is up there with them, while Wynn and Anston are in trouble.

What is a crafty fruit tart? Well it’s a fruit tart with a pastry base, fruit filling and decoration on the top. Matt and Maggie want to see the bakers’ pastry skills and finesse.

Don made a classic French apple tart with a cranberry glaze and decorations representing Paris in winter. He also made a creme anglaise on the side. When he pulled it out of the oven, Don said it was a bit too brown. Unfortunately, Matt and Maggie didn’t like Don’s decoration. I did! They said that the creme anglaise, flavour and pastry were all good, but they wanted better decorations.

Sunny made some sort of French pastry using buttermilk that I didn’t catch the name of either time I watched the episode. I tried to look it up, but there are just buttermilk crepe recipes. Anyway, Sunny made a frangipane tart with blackberry compote and pears. It was decorated with pastry braids and a daisy chain border. Matt and Maggie said that there was too much lattice on top of the tart and that it would have been better if some of the pear had been glazed. The pear, berry and frangipane flavours were all good, but Sunny’s pastry was raw on the bottom. The judges commented that it was good on the side where it had been cooked.

Angela made a bumbleberry fruit tart with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, topped with a steampunk design. When she pulled her tart out of the oven, she wasn’t able to get it off the bottom of the pie tin, which indicated that the pastry may have been raw. Maggie doesn’t have ‘steampunk’ in her vocabulary, which is delightful and unsurprising at the same time. The pastry was cooked on the side, but the filling was too wet and the pastry didn’t cook on the bottom. Maggie liked that the berries were tart, but Matt suggested it would go well with some cream on the side.

Dan is using puns in his titles, which is excellent. It’s called “Don’t Go Breaking my Tart,” an apple and date fruit tart. The decoration is a large pastry heart filled with dulce de leche, and it was served with ice cream on the side. When they saw the tart, Maggie said it belonged on a magazine cover. The pastry was beautifully cooked, and Maggie liked it so much she just listed everything that went well together: apples, dates, spices and pastry. She also said that the dulce de leche was a good counterpoint to the apple. Matt commented on the quality of the pastry.

David went against the trend and made a straight-edged tart with a pear and walnut filling and cinnamon pastry. It was decorated with puff pastry shaped into a walnut tree. He used spirulina powder for the leaves. Maggie loved the straight sides on the tart as well as the decorations. Matt agreed on the straight edge, which was different to everyone else and demonstrated a new level of skill, while the decorations demonstrated finesse that David hadn’t shown previously. Matt said the pastry was perfect as it was crumbly and melted in the mouth. The pear and date flavours were also great and went well with the cinnamon pastry.

When Mel went up to have a look at Wynn‘s strawberry and coconut tart, she asked if it’s something he normally makes at home. Wynn said no, because at home he has eight hands grabbing at him. Before he pointed at the photo of his children, Mel’s guesses were a pet octopus (this would be great) and Wynn’s handsy wife. Anyway, the filling was strawberries in a prosecco and mint setting liquid, covered with a coconut meringue. When Wynn was getting the tart ready for presentation, some of the crust fell off. When Matt cut the pastry, he said it was like cutting through cardboard. No one knew if this was good or bad, and Matt said it’s a good thing because the pastry is cooked properly. The judges also said the strawberry was fantastic. The word “excellent” was also used.

Anston‘s tart was completely vegan. He made a coconut pastry, spiced apple filling and rhubarb jam on the side. Matt and Maggie told Anston he needed to have a really good showstopper. When Anston says that Matt will think his tart is underbaked, but he thinks it’s fine, it’s one of those “how bad can it be?” moments. Matt said that the tart looked unfinished and needed a glaze to pop out. The pastry was raw on the bottom, but Maggie said she loved the apple and the spices were well done.

The hosts and judges go back to the potting shed and discuss the showstopper. David and Dan have put themselves in contention for Star Baker, even though Dan came last in the technical. Wynn and Anston are still in contention to go home.

In the end, Dan won Star Baker, proving that the technical is irrelevant, while Anston goes home. We’ll see you next week for spices!