Brought to by Nuffnang and MasterChef Australia on Channel Ten
Let’s celebrate the return of Season 6 of MasterChef Australia with some fun cupcakes, shall we?
I dare say that these cupcakes are the prettiest ones I have ever made. To ensure the cupcakes are dairy free, I have adorned them with a soft, pillowy and slightly caramelised meringue frosting. This beautiful frosting was a symbol of me being on cloud nine. Okay, that’s totally cheesy ha! Adrenaline of excitement must be still running while I was typing out this post.
I was invited to attend an exclusive tasting with George Calombaris from Masterchef at his restaurant, The Press Club, in Melbourne. This was no ordinary tasting as we had a face-to-face sneak peek of his lemon lime and bitters dessert which will be featured on today’s episode of MasterChef Australia on Channel Ten, in the pressure test round.
It was surreal to be able to sample George’s dessert creation which will be featured on MasterChef ahead of time. I was filled with amazement and worry (for the contestants who have to recreate this) by just looking at it. It was a stunning piece of art!
Surprisingly, the thought process of coming up with this dessert was a simple one – childhood memories. When his parents indulged themselves with beers and wines, lemon, lime and bitters was the chosen non-alcoholic-but-still-makes-you-feel-like-an-adult drink of choice for George as a kid. I am sure many of you may find this a little familiar huh? Regardless of how much we have matured and aged, there’s an inner child in all of us. This explains the cheeky and playful elements in his lemon, lime and bitters dessert.
Whether it is a childhood memory, culture or lifestyle, it plays an important role in the way we cook. As you may have seen or heard this season’s tag line is “ordinary people, extraordinary food” and there is definitely a good mix of contestants including a dentist, electrician, model and law student etc. who have all come together to share their love for food, stories and family recipes with the nation.
{The good ol’ fashion say cheesee….}
“There’s nothing glamorous about working in the kitchen”, George said while directing us to view his kitchen staff through the glass panel from where we were seated.
It comes down to the passion for food and celebrating good food. As fluffy as my lemon, lime and bitters cupcakes may sound, passion is one of the most essential ingredients in cooking.
The above is simply a little taste of today’s episode. I was caught off guard when it was revealed how the dessert was supposed to be served. But don’t fret, I won’t spoil it for you by talking about it on my blog. I won’t even reveal it to my beloved ha! I guess we all have to find out together at 7.30pm today hey?
And my dear friends, since it’s all about fuss free cooking and baking over here, I shall leave you with my take on a lemon, lime and bitters dessert! *wink*
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 150g caster sugar (fine sugar)
- 100g Schweppes Lemon Lime & Bitters
- 180g self-raising cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- A couple of drops of bitters
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp bitters
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Whisk eggs and sugar until fluffy and light over high speed.
- Add cake flour and baking powder and whisk until just mix.
- Add the Schweppes Lemon Lime & Bitters and a few drops of bitters. Mix well.
- Pour the mixture into paper cups and baked for about 25 minutes. Alternatively, these cupcakes can be steamed for 25 minutes over medium heat.
- Make the frosting when the cupcakes are completely cooled. Adorn the cupcakes with the frosting and finish off the frosting by carramelising with a blowtorch.
- Combine eggwhites and sugar into a large heatproof bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Using an electric hand mixer, beat eggwhite mixture for 15 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
- Remove bowl from heat. Beat until cooled
Notes
Cupcakes recipe is tweaked from " Romancing with Cakes by Connie Leaw" & meringue frosting tweaked from www,taste.com.au. You will need a blow torch and 12 cupcakes cases.
To catch more sneak peeks and recipes featured on the Season 6 of MasterChef Australia, please visit the official website.
Is it necessary to use cake flour, or will “usual” SR flour suffice? Will any adjustment of amounts be necessary? Is there an advantage to cake flour over regular flour? (I used cake flour once in another recipe that called for it but the result was pretty average).
Hi Beebs,
I have never tried this recipe with cake flour. These cupcakes have the texture of a sponge cake so cake flour will provide the light and airy texture as compared with all purpose flour. I think if you substitute with all purpose flour, the cake is will be denser and it may not rise as well. Having said that, the kitchn has a good explanation on how to make a cake flour substitute. http://www.thekitchn.com/the-easy-way-to-make-cake-flour-substitute-baking-tips-from-the-kitchn-44521
I hope this helps!
x Emily