Anna, 36, says she’s devised an even tougher test than her legendary 40-step, 12 element carrot cake from 2015.
She calls this year’s challenge on the hit Ten series ‘Anna’s Mess’, her signature version of the classic Eton Mess.
Described as a “pink Death Star” by one gobsmacked contestant, the recipe has eight pages with 74 steps, including a graffiti-inspired final flourish.
MasterChef hopefuls have just three hours and 15 minutes to make and assemble the many different elements that include financier sponge, white chocolate mascarpone vanilla mousse, meringue kisses, raspberry curd and a space-age white chocolate sphere.
Just getting it to this point has taken Anna weeks of testing and rewriting with her 11-strong team at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel, where she is executive pastry chef.
“Condensing it down to three hours was hard,” Anna tells The Sun-Herald.
“We spent quite a while on it, adding flavours and checking.”
Anna believes the trickiest part for contestants will be tempering the white chocolate, moulding it into a sphere, then trying to cut out the holes, all under enormous time pressure.
Although nervous about her TV appearance last year, Anna says she had a lot more fun this time around.
“The first time I was super nervous. I couldn’t even quenelle my sorbet properly, my hand was shaking.”
For those wanting to try Anna’s Mess, without that kind of stress, the Shangri-La is hosting a pop-up from June 7, showcasing the exquisite dessert for the next five weeks.
MasterChef, Ten, Monday, June 6, 7.30pm.
