Masterchef UK Professionals

Philli Armitage-Mattin demonstrated the skills test dish: Japanese soufflé pancakes with sake poached plums. The dish began with a classic French meringue - egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar whisked to stiff peaks. A separate pancake batter was made from egg yolks, milk and flour, with the flour lightly dusted in to aerate. The meringue was carefully folded into the batter using a metal spoon to preserve the air, creating a light, firm batter. Small amounts were spooned into a pan on low heat with a lid, cooking for about four minutes before a second spoonful of batter was added on top for height, then another four minutes with a few drops of water to help the pancakes cook through gently. The sake poached plums were made with sugar, sakura-flavoured sake and lemon zest, poached until tender with the liquid reduced to a syrupy glaze. 

{Philli}: "You make a meringue like in a soufflé, make a pancake batter base and literally whip and fold the two together." 

{Philli}: "I'm going to be doing a classic French meringue, which is egg white, sugar, and just whip that up lightly until stiff peaks. And I'm going to be using cream of tartar - it's just going to stabilise it a bit." 

{Philli}: "I'm lightly dusting the flour in so it aerates the flour and gets a really nice light, fluffy batter." 

{Philli}: "You want to be super careful at this stage. I'm using a metal spoon just to try and not knock the air out as much. If you're making small ones, you don't want to put too much in at once, otherwise the heaviness can actually deflate the pancakes." 

{Philli}: "These pancakes take about four minutes and then I'm going to add another spoonful of batter and that's going to take another four minutes." 

{Matt}: "Sake can be quite neutral in flavour. It's a rice-based alcohol. Is the one you're using flavoured?" 

{Philli}: "This sake is flavoured with sakura, which is the flower of the cherry tree. It's going to be quite a sweet sake, so it's adding that extra sweetness." 

{Philli}: "I'm going to add a few drops of water. That's going to help steam the pancakes. Too much water in at once can actually deflate the pancakes." 

{Philli}: "You poke it and it literally wobbles like a jellyfish. This is the magic that I want the chefs to create." 

Key techniques: Stiff-peaked meringue with cream of tartar for stability; gentle folding to preserve air; low heat with a lid; water added in drops only; building height by adding a second layer of batter; reducing poaching liquid to a glaze.