MasterChef: Dessert Masters (2023)

Ten of the best dessert chefs in Australia gathered at the MasterChef kitchen for the inaugural season of Dessert Masters, where they will be competing for the title of Australia's Dessert Master and take home $100.000. Their first challenge is to create a dessert masterpiece that describes who they are in three hours. With the season's only immunity pin at stake, the contestants create exceptional desserts. Kirsten took a risk by producing an entremet during the challenge, despite Amaury saying that he would not do that in that particular challenge. Her risk paid off and she was placed the top three. Joining Kirsten in the top three were Andy's roasted fennel cake and Reynold's monochrome dessert. But, it was Reynold's dish that was deemed 'flawless' by Melissa and secured him the first and only immunity pin of the season. Like Masterchef Australia, the pin can save him from being eliminated in an elimination challenge.

Amaury showed the contestants some items that looked real but were actually made with chocolate. The challenge was to make a deceptive dessert in three hours. The winner of the challenge will receive immunity from the first elimination challenge. During the final seconds of plating, Gareth's cup for the coffee cup falls apart, forcing him to present the dish as it is. After tasting, the judges decided that Anna's hotdog-inspired dessert and Andy's 'Bound For The Bin' creation were the two best, giving them immunity from the first elimination challenge.

After Amaury showed a video of him making a pinata out of chocolate, the contestants (except Anna and Andy) had two hours to create a smashed dessert. One contestant will be sent home after this challenge. After tasting, Reynold's Snow White-inspired apple dessert, Adriano's interactive egg dessert and Gareth's chocolate and magicha cake with sugar dome were deemed the top three and were safe. Rhiann's piggy bank dessert did not smash that well and some of her elements were missing while Jess's smash was deemed underwhelming. The judges agreed that Jess's flavor combinations were enough to save her and Rhiann was the first contestant to be eliminated.

The contestants were split into three teams of three for a team relay challenge. The teams had to compose a dessert featuring maple syrup in two-and-a-quarter hours, plus an additional thirty seconds to relay the information to the next teammate. Gareth, Anna and Adriano, as the captains and the first to cook for each team, had the power to conceptualize the creation. Upon tasting, the Orange team, while their dessert was beautifully crafted, had too many elements and was lacking in cohesiveness and while there were good elements in the Blue team's entremets creation, it was no match for the Green team and their intricate but unified and cohesive dessert that gave Andy, Anna and Reynold immunity from the next elimination challenge.

The contestants were welcomed with a frozen Mystery Box (the only one this season), which included rosella, chili, beetroot and berry liquor. The contestants (except Anna, Andy and Reynold) were given two-and-a-half hours to create a frozen masterpiece using at least one of the ingredients. Somebody will be sent home today. After tasting, Kay-Lene's dessert, which was inspired by her mentor, Andres Lara, was deemed the best dessert that Amaury tasted so far in the competition and she was declared safe. Kirsten, Gareth and Jess were also impressed with their creations, despite Jess burning her first batch of beetroot tuile. The lack of frozen elements in Adriano's dish left the judges unsure whether his dessert met the brief, but it was Morgan's overuse of the liquor that affected the freezing of the sorbet in his Peach Melba dish. The sorbet, which was the frozen element, melted in front of the judges, sealing his elimination.

Continuing from the previous episode, Amaury said that he will work all night to make one of his creations, that will be unveiled in this episode. The result is a sculpture of a koala made entirely with chocolate. The challenge is to make a sensational creation out of chocolate. With immunity from the next elimination at stake, the contestants produced exemplary desserts, despite minor criticism of some dishes. After tasting, the top two are Gareth and Kirsten. Gareth's elevated version of the Black Forest tart with Kirsch and vanilla ice cream impressed the judges, but Kirsten and her incredible creation of chocolate and coffee caviar had the edge. She won immunity from the next elimination.

The contestants had two-and-a-half hours to create a dessert based on the movie they selected. Adriano and Gareth selected Grease, Andy selected The Godfather, Reynold chose Star Trek, Jess opted for Transformers, Anna selected Breakfast at Tiffany's and Kay-Lene selected Pretty In Pink. Jess's Humblebee dessert was declared the best and she was safe. Gareth and Andy impressed the judges with their creations and, while Reynold struggled during the cook and his dessert lacked his usual finesse, his textures and flavours were deemed flawless and he was also declared safe. The bottom three were Kay-Lene, Anna, and Adriano. The structural problem in Adriano's cup outweighed the mistake that Anna and Kay-Lene made and he was eliminated.

In a double elimination contestants are cooking a Christmas dish that means something to them. Curtis Stone brings presents fruit for each contestant that they need to hero in their dish.

It's the semi-final of Dessert Masters and the five remaining pastry chefs are one cook away from a place in the grand finale. To get there, they'll need to cook a delicious dish inspired by nature.

The Dessert Masters Grand Final is here. The finalists will battle it out in a two-course service challenge. Whoever is the top scorer will be crowned champion of Dessert Masters.