Honey Set Custard with Poached Apricots
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Sunflower-Shaped Honey Set Custard with Almond Sable, Poached Apricots in Elderflower, Elderflower Gel, Vanilla Creme Fraiche, and Honey Tuile
{Caroline}: "So I am doing a dessert. It's going to be a set honey custard with poached apricots in elderflower cordial. Elderflower gel, vanilla creme fraiche, and a honey tuile to go on top."
{Speaker 3}: "So it's a classic set cooked custard. In the oven."
{Monica}: "Any hints of Brazil in this at all?" {Caroline}: "Not just yet. Just a memory. So while thinking about the plating of my dessert, it's going to resemble a little bit the sunflower, which was my dad's favourite flower. I lost my dad a few years ago. So it's a way to remember him."
{Caroline}: "My dish has got a lot of components that need to be very precise."
{Speaker 3}: "She's going for a custard, but it's a set custard with cream, sugar, milk added into it, and obviously eggs as well. The moulds are very small. She's cooking them inside a bain-marie, and the oven temperature has to be spot on. Too hot and it'll curdle. Too low in temperature and they're just not going to set."
{Monica}: "She's got to get the cooking perfect because it needs a slight wobble in it."
{Speaker 3}: "Also got some elderflower cordial, which is also going into the poaching liquid. For the apricots, they don't need a lot of poaching. They're already a soft fruit. Got a lovely texture, so just a real gentle poaching. You don't want to boil them because then they'll just break down."
{Marcus}: "Caroline's making an elderflower gel. Brings some floral sweet notes to this. There's an almond sable, which should be the base of her dessert. The sable is going to be a beautiful golden."
{Speaker 3}: "She's just made the tuile mix, and she's just spread that mix over the top. So it's going to be very, very delicate."
{Marcus}: "Caroline, they've just come out the oven. We've still got a little wobble inside. Is that what you want?"
{Caroline}: "Yes, but I still want them to be set."
{Caroline}: "Very, very happy. I was a bit worried."
{Caroline}: "Today was the day to take a risk. I think to have feedback like this, it really means a lot."
{Speaker 3}: "I think magnificent is a word I'd use. Your honey custard is beautiful. It's a lovely sweetness. It's a honey sweetness. The apricots that sit underneath that tuile are just amazing."
{Monica}: "Honestly, hands down, this is one of the nicest desserts I've ever eaten. The elderflower has got that sharpness, and it gives you a little sort of kick of flavour. It's incredible."
{Marcus}: "Caroline, from the sable with the hints of salt in it, with the beautiful design, every little dot on there, this clearly means a lot to you. It was an ode to your dad. I think your dad would be very proud of you standing here and giving us this."
JUDGES DELIBERATION: {Marcus}: "I think Caroline delivered an almost perfect skills test. Came back with a beautiful dessert."
{Speaker 3}: "I can't remember a chef having such a strong start to this competition."
{Marcus}: "So she's through to the next round."
{Speaker 3}: "Without a doubt."
OVERALL VERDICT: An outstanding dessert that received universal and emphatic praise. The honey set custard was beautifully executed with a perfect wobble. The elderflower provided sharpness and floral lift. The poached apricots were handled perfectly. Monica called it one of the nicest desserts she has ever eaten. The sunflower-inspired presentation, an ode to Caroline's late father, moved the judges. Caroline sailed through to the quarterfinals.
