It’s episode 12 of MasterChef Australia and after last night’s Mystery Box, Theo, Declan and Larissa are heading into the biggest Pressure Test the kitchen has ever seen!

Tonight, the three cooks have been tasked with recreating Eddie Stewart’s Tokyo Lamington Tower and it was not only the tallest bake ever, but there were FIVE hours on the clock! The most time the MC kitchen has ever seen!

Being an elimination, the maker of the dish which least resembles Eddie’s creation would be eliminated from the competition.

The Lamington Tower consisted of the following flavours: Tres Leche, Snickers, Strawberry Matcha, Yuzu Meringue and Charcoal Pumpkin — and the competitors had to create ALL of them, four times over!

“You’ve seen the tower, you’ve tasted the tower and now you have to make the tower!” Judge Andy told them.

The Cook

There were 26 elements to get through and eleven pages in the recipe; and with five hours on the clock, it was time to motor!

“Jeezus, what am I doing?” Declan asked himself.

The contestants began baking the sponge, the “biggest” element of the cook. Straight off the bat, Theo makes a mistake, forgetting to sift the flour.

Meanwhile, Larissa and Declan had put their sponges in the oven, and it was time for Declan to create the “Tres Lecky” filling.

35 minutes down and Theo’s sponge was finally in the oven.

While Declan’s “nan” told him to never touch sugar while caramelising, Larissa stirred hers, causing it to crystalise and had to start again. But, disaster struck once more when her sugar crystalised and she had to start over.

Theo was also struggling to make up time but managed to complete his custard while Declan was surging forward. The third time lucky, Larissa finally perfected her sugar; however, it started clumping once she poured it into the cream.

Eddie then told her that she had to pour the cream into sugar and so, for the fourth time, she had to start again.

“Do I want to toast my nuts a bit more?” Declan asked while moving onto his Snicker’s mousse and then subsequently onto his Strawberry mousse.

Theo — who had picked up the pace — had now “somehow” caught up to Declan, while Larissa finally perfected her caramel! But because she was so far behind, Larissa had to do multiple things at once as Declan turned over a delectable sponge.

Larissa then cut her cake before Declan made a “detrimental” mistake, cutting his sponge the wrong way.

Eddie and Judge Jock told him to put it together like a jigsaw puzzle while Theo began to feel “weirdly energised” and was ready to fill his Lamingtons.

With four hours down, Declan was ready to make his “Tres Lecky” and add the “Dul-che de Loo-chy” (Gosh, we just love him!) and Larissa couldn’t remember how many nuts to use on top of her Snickers component.

While her meringue was praised by Judge Mel, once again, Larissa became flustered, forgetting to torch the bottom, so rushed to complete the step.

“Feeling super spent and super emotional,” Larissa said through tears when it was finally all over.

The Judging

Theo was up first, and said he thought he “went pretty well.”

“Colours look good, size is pretty consistent,” Eddie said while the Judges concurred his sponges and layers were “great”.

“I couldn’t fault much, to be honest,” Eddie remarked and Mel said that he’d “done a superlative job”.

Declan was up next but was still concerned about the measurements of his Lamingtons.

The Judges commented on the size, with Andy saying the sponge “was very good but not as good as Theo’s.”

“All in all, I think he’s done a great job,” he added, before nitpicking the double coating of the Snickers.

Eddie said you can tell he was “meticulous” and had a perfect Italian Meringue and Jock said it “wasn’t far away” from Eddie’s.

Finally, Larissa was up. She knew she had the “biggest advantage in the MasterChef kitchen” and was concerned she had blown her second chance.

Jock called her Tower “a bit rough and ready”, while Mel said she had trouble with the coating and Eddie called them “big lamingtons”.

“Big challenge, big pressure test, big problems,” Jock said. “Structure? They feel pretty clumsy. It’s a shame.”

“There’s big problems on this,” Andy added.

The Verdict

Andy praised Theo’s sponge, telling him he had beat the pressure test. Declan was told that his Lamingtons were perfect and flavour-wise? Fantastic.

Once again, Larissa was sent home and this time, for real.

MasterChef Australia continues at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, May 24 on 10 and 10Play.

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