Finally, it was a dessert challenge. After a million savory challenges it was good to see them having a dessert challenge wholly & solely.
The challenge was interesting but it could’ve been a bit more complex, given the stage at which the show has reached. At first I thought they spoke about 3 tier cake but they wanted 3 different layers rolled into 1 cake. The time limit was pretty generous where the contestants got 4 hours. I feel in the last challenge they got 2 hours & this time the time limit was doubled, I hope in the grand finale, the contestants aren’t gifted with 6 hours to cook.
I must say I was impressed by the presentation once again; everyone put in a great effort in the cakes they baked & made sure they made their cakes look beautiful. I think everyone remained on a pretty typical side of the flavours but only Madiha & Rayyan experimented with the flavours & tried to go for something different to make their cakes stand out the most. I think Gulnaz made the right choice by using the immunity pin as she didn’t want to risk her spot at this point in the competition but I think where she has given some amazing savoury dishes, she should’ve shown us how well she performs in the sweet challenge too.
The cakes that the contestants presented & the comments they got, are:
Rayyan named his cake ‘Berry Bomb’. Chef Mehboob really liked the overall effort that was put into this cake. He appreciated the fact that Rayyan tried to put in different textures in this cake & tried to make them work. He felt that Rayyan stood out in this challenge too & he showed that he can bake good cakes as well. Chef Zakir felt that the top layer wasn’t moist enough but other than that he liked the cake. Chef Khurram commended him for keeping the crunch of the pastry intact, he felt that the usage of cream however did make top 2 layers taste a bit similar but other than that there wasn’t any heaviness to it which made the cake amazing.
Amna created ‘Triple Layered Mousse Cake’. Chef Mehboob felt that the second take she did on the brownie left it undercooked. He felt that the filling wasn’t right & he didn’t appreciate the fact that the cake collapsed however he did like the cream cheese filling & felt that the addition of raspberries added a very nice & unique touch to it. Chef Khurram felt that the top layer of cherry mousse was quite thin in consistency which got mixed with the bottom layer making it look like a two layered cake instead of three. Chef Zakir felt that she couldn’t master the usage of gelatine therefore it affected her overall performance.
Ammarah created ‘Chocolate, Strawberry & Mango Mousse Vanilla Sponge Cake’. Chef Mehboob liked the chocolate mousse because of the light bitterness to it. He appreciated the usage of dark chocolate because he felt that if the mousse would’ve been made with a regular chocolate, it wouldn’t have such a nice & unusual flavour. He also liked the mango & strawberry mousses & appreciated the fact that the layering of cake had a balance & consistency. Chef Khurram felt that the layering was done to perfection. He also liked the different textures this cake offered.
Khurram made ‘Mango Layered Cake’. Chef Mehboob felt that the base layer of the cake was hard & lacked moist. He also didn’t appreciate the fact that there were no significantly different layers in the cake & it was all sponge layers with some different flavours that too induced by the usage of essences. Chef Zakir felt that the cake was too dense with no prominent & different flavours. Chef Khurram felt that the cake wasn’t up to the mark & at this stage, the quality wasn’t good enough. He also felt that the cake had no layers as only one component was used.
Madiha came up with ‘Mango Mousse Cheese Cake’. Chef Mehboob felt that even though the cake collapsed & the mousse wasn’t set properly, it was the best mango mousse he tasted so far. He also liked the cheese layer of the cake. Chef Khurram felt that the base was hard & there weren’t many colours in the cake but the cheese filling was smooth & the flavours of the overall cake were balanced. Chef Zakir didn’t like the garnishing as he felt that kiwis & strawberries weren’t the right choice for such a cake.
So, this was it from the challenge & I am glad it was second time this week that Rayyan was the first person to be saved from the elimination. Ammarah got some great comments too because no doubt her cake looked perfect therefore she was safe as well. Even though Madiha’s mousse started dripping because it wasn’t set but the flavours she induced in that cake made her safe.
It came down to Amna & Khurram. In the beginning of the episode I heard Amna saying that she focused more on the savoury books as she felt they had attempted a lot of sweet challenges for which she now thought that they’re only going to get savoury challenges. I was kind of taken aback by that statement of hers because I feel Amna wasn’t mentally present in there because she felt that they were done with the dessert challenges!?!?! She mustn’t be paying attention as she must be busy focusing on what the other contestants were saying or doing. Obviously Khurram couldn’t dodge the bullet because it was his first attempt at the baking as it wasn’t his forte & therefore he was eliminated. I actually feel sad at his elimination & probably this is the first such elimination which I didn’t want to see. I wanted to see Khurram in the top 3 may be but didn’t want to see him go. He brought in such high & positive energy in this show & that is really going to be missed.
So, it now comes down to Amna, Ammarah, Rayyan, Madiha & Gulnaz. I hope to see Rayyan & Ammarah in the top 2 & whoever wins among those two would be a well-deserving winner because they both have been consistent & good in their performances. I hope the challenges get more exciting & difficult from now on as we’re heading towards the finale. Share your thoughts on this episode.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
