27 August, 2015

26th August 2015

Comments : 2 Posted in : My Blog on 27th August 2015 by : Ugne

Episode 4, Dessert Week

I trust you all enjoyed Dessert week as much as I did – wait, I love desserts full stop!    Last night you saw us making Crème Brulees as signature, Spanische Windetorte (don’t ask as I’m still going WHAT WAS THAT? And judging by PH’s reaction to Mary B he is still trying to figure that one out too, ha!) as the Technical challenge, and this week’s show stopper was a trio of cheesecake.

I felt that this was more than likely my best week to date, I’m not one to flinch at a challenge but I love making desserts anyhow so one can say I felt right at home.  So without further a-do…for the signature I made Marula Fruit and Coffee Liqueur Crème Brulees – the judges seemed intrigued by the idea of me using Marula Fruit which is an indigenous fruit to  the woodlands of Southern Africa, bu can be also found in some parts of West Africa and was introduced to Madagascar.  The fruit has been speculated, by the Bushmen of the Kalahari, to have aphrodisiac-like properties and when the fruit drops to the floor and ferments it can cause havoc – the fermented fruit are loved by the Animals, but if eaten too much can leave them ..well lets  just say Merry (not Berry) …or in queens English…drunk (as a skunk).  Obviously my reason for using Marula was for its distinct exotic flavour it brought to the Brulee which was perfectly contrasted  by the Coffee falvoured Liqueur.  My Brulees turned out really well and I was pleased with Paul & Mary’s comments and feedback.

Funny moments to remember

The technical challenge this week was …well…TECHNICAL to the max!  I give you the … ‘Spanische Windetorte’…to which the bakers gasped, and I’ll put it politely, “what the …? Now the, Spanische Windtorte ( pronounced Spanish wind torte) is a famous (is it???…never heard of it before!)  Austrian (yes sir…it has nothing to do with Spain!!) dessert and is one of the most complex to create and serve as it is composed mostly of meringue (3 in fact) and whipped cream.  It is also often called in its country of origin  “the fanciest cake in Vienna”.  It became popular during the Baroque period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (don’t even ask me, but I am not going to argue with historians on this one – just nod and say ok I agree!) and the Spanish reference is due to the Austrian House of Habsburg and their fascination with Spain (AHAAA…finally the Spanish connec-zion) which was very similar to the Russian nobility‘s fascination with French culture.  Once again baking instructions we were given were almost non-existent, non-descriptive or should I say cryptic?  I placed second to Paul in the challenge…in saying that I love making Meringue but don’t you go let that one out of the bag!

For the finale our Trio of cheesecake. I opted as, the bottom tier for  ‘Chocolate and hazelnut’ (Ferrero Rocher inspired) cheesecake, the middle tier was a  ‘condensed milk coconut’ (bounty candy bar inspired) cheesecake and the top tier was a  ‘Lime and chilli ‘  (totally Carte Blanche /experimental as I love to be) cheesecake.  I decided for Ombre-styled frosting around my cheesecake to give it a tidier aesthetic.  Once again the judges feedback was good with the caveat that Mr Hollywood felt the frosting part was a slight overkill to what was already a great bake!  Less is more at times…or is it? The thing is, as the cheesecakes were inspired by a candy bar(which you know are covered in chocolate) I wanted to replicate that but in a different form… not everybody understood my attempts, but then again.. I have such unpredictable mind 😛

Sadly Sandy’s cookie crumbled this week – she was the life and soul of ‘The Tent’ and it will leave a void for sure. But, alas, my personal journey continues into week 5 next week and I feel very humbled to still be around and will give it my all as I always do.  Thank you for all the love and support I continue to get and ‘see you all next Wednesday at 8Pm same place…

xUgne