MasterChef

- Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef"... - The dreaded pressure test.

We're going to auction off all of these ingredients with time.

Sold! You are down to just 20 minutes to cook your dish.

- I trust you. - We are making shepherd's pie.

For Gordon Ramsay? Good luck, y'all.

I don't know Tonna, the sweet potatoes might be screwing us over.

- Timothy and Athena - Mine is still under.

What I will say is the orange glaze is a winner.

- Tonna and Cait, you said fish sauce in the mince? - Yes.

- Wow. - It's a very strange taste and potatoes are raw.

The duo leaving the MasterChef kitchen tonight is Tonna and Cait.

- Tonight... - Oh, wow.

...the top seven take on one of the toughest desserts in the world.

- It is the French macaron. - (gasping)

It's the most time-critical challenge yet...

- We got to get those in. - You go in the bottom.

...that will test even the most confident of duos

This challenge has taken down some of the most prominent chefs

- in this competition. - Our jam is so runny.

- All of these are under. - Get them on the (bleep) tower.

The sheen on them is beautiful.

More than anything what you did have was a great synergy.

- This is what we're looking for. - The flavors are spot-on.

This is the level you need to be at.

- This thing is rock hard. - This is pretty terrible.

This is a difficult one tonight.

- Yeah. - The "macaroons."

- Macaron or macaroon? Yeah? - It depends where you're from.

Many a contestant have been taken down by those beautiful sweet delights.

- Oh, wow. Aah! - Oh! Oh, my goodness.

- We got macaron towers. - Whoo-hoo!

- Welcome back, everybody. - Aah!

- Baking challenge. - Yes. Looking forward--

We've been waiting for this.

- The macaron tower of power. - Wow.

- Multiple colors. - Multiple flavors.

- Multiple towers. - Oh, my God.

The technique involved in a macaron is insane.

From the precise measurements of the ingredients

to when it is time to put it in the oven.

It's a very meticulous science.

- Yowza. That's a lot. - That's a lot.

- Ooh-hoo! - One wrong move and you have a complete disaster.

Welcome back, everybody.

So tonight, as you might have guessed,

you'll be facing another dessert challenge.

And it's not just any dessert tonight.

It is one of the toughest, most difficult sweet treats

to execute and make.

It is the French macaron.

Tiffany: They're highly technical, but when they're done right,

they are some of the prettiest, tastiest desserts you'll ever eat.

But tonight, guys, we're not just looking for a plate of macarons.

We're looking for macaron towers.

Gordon: But not like these towers in front of you.

- You only need to make one stunning tower just like this. - Oh, boy.

Now this may be a little bit smaller,

but make no mistake, the task is still gigantic.

There's 80 macarons here and just look at them.

The uniform, the precision, the consistency.

The level of filling, the flavor, the contrast.

And of course, that nice firm shell on the outside

and that beautiful creamy texture inside.

Okay, guys, for tonight's challenge,

we need to see at least two flavors in your tower.

- And, of course, identical in shape and color. - Yes, Chef.

You'll have everything you need in your stations to get started.

Plus, you have a limited pantry with more ingredients

to give your macarons that extra je ne sais quoi.

Tonight, guys, the duo who makes the best tower

- Will get the final advantage of this season. - Wow.

But unfortunately, the duo who makes the tower

that doesn't stand up to our scrutiny will be eliminated.

- Understood? - Yes, Chef.

Good. Right, your 90 minutes start now.

Off you go, guys.

Raspberry, maybe.

Macarons are about technique,

but I think that it's very important

to have the right mix of flavors.

- Good. - Because you can have a great macaron

but if the flavor, the filling is not there, it's gonna be bad.

Okay, got it. Let's vámonos.

Javier: So we're gonna make the cocoa macaron

filled with a chocolate amaretto ganache.

And the second one is gonna be a strawberry macaron filled with raspberry jam.

Let's go, guys. Get those meringues on, please.

Chocolate is in my DNA. It comes from Mexico. It comes from Oaxaca.

- They look identical? Yeah. - Yeah. Yep.

We eat it all the time, so I know this is something

that we can do well today.

Here we go. An exciting macaron tower challenge.

This is a challenge where the aesthetic, precision,

and the overall look of the tower is almost as important as what it tastes like.

- Sure. - Absolutely.

So we're really looking for beautiful, eye-popping macarons,

and they all need to be identical.

But, I mean, everyone's not pastry chefs.

Everyone, it's not what they do well.

- So there is a lot riding on this. - Absolutely.

- That stiff? Needs a little more. More. - A little more.

- Come on, come on. - So technically meringue is the basis.

- How do you make a meringue? - You've got to get that momentum in those egg whites.

And then as that starts to whip,

then you've got to add that sugar slowly.

And then you fold in very carefully powdered sugar and that almond flour.

We're looking for a smooth, thick texture almost like wet cement.

- Here, watch this. Okay. - Yeah, it looks great.

But it's gonna be light. It's got to be fluffy and seamless.

- No grains. - Perfect. Put it in the bag.

And then the piping process starts, and you've got to be meticulous.

There's got to be at least 160 circles.

And you bang the tray to get rid of the air bubbles.

And then you've got to leave them to dry so it can form that shell,

so it stops the egg white from spreading.

But they can't carry a tiny mistake.

Ugh, my arms are gonna fall off.

This is a technical task like no other, this one, honestly.

Adam: Working the guns right now.

We're making a strawberry cheesecake macaron

and a chocolate peanut butter cup macaron.

Chocolate peanut butter cup,

- his favorite candy in the world. - Absolutely.

And my daughter loves strawberries.

We love picking them when they come in season for the early spring.

So this is kind of a little nod to her.

But we are all about consistency and precision,

so this challenge plays to our strengths of being consistent.

75 minutes. We're on track.

15 minutes gone. 75 minutes remaining.

They're doing strawberry cheesecake, too.

I think you're there almost.

Tonight, we're making a strawberry cheesecake and a pistachio macaron.

We were actually inspired by these giant macaron ice cream sandwiches

that we used to get during our travels in Spain together years ago.

The biggest thing is gonna get those shells perfect.

If you don't get the shells perfect and they're crumbly or they're undercooked,

then it doesn't matter how good your filling is.

So we'll see what happens when we pipe the macarons out.

Athena: There you go, baby.

All right, I'm about to get this one in and start piping.

- Remember, you're folding, not mixing. - Timothy: All right.

- We have to make 80 macarons. - In 90 minutes?

No one in their right mind would put their marriage into so much pressure.

But I think to be in the MasterChef kitchen,

you have to be a little bit out of your mind.

- Just a little bit off your rocker. - You're doing great.

I think as newlyweds, it's brought us closer.

I'd definitely recommend this to everyone who's just getting married.

We are going to be doing peach cobbler and banana pudding.

Those are the first desserts that Timothy actually taught me how to make.

He grew up with these desserts, but instead of making it

like a traditional banana pudding though,

we're gonna do some thinly sliced bananas

and put it right on top of our vanilla banana buttercream.

Gonna take these two rustic desserts and add them to this very technical dish.

It's definitely an interesting combination.

But if you take your time, do the steps slowly, and do them right,

it's gonna turn out correctly for us.

- Does it look good? - Needs to be a bit more liquefied.

Javier: Yeah.

Baby, less of a pull-up with them, all right?

- They're getting a little nipply. - Okay.

- If it's mixed, add more. - Right, Tina and Aivan.

- Hello. - Tell me the flavors. What we doing?

We're doing a yuzu whipped ganache, and then the other,

- a matcha buttercream with raspberry jam in the center. - Gotcha.

We chose those flavors because they kind of represents our heritage,

and has a little bit of Asian flair.

And we've got yellow and green, and I think they go well together.

Why has that gone grainy? It doesn't look as smooth, does it, as it should?

- So we added some matcha powder in to color. - Mm-hmm.

- You gonna start piping it or not? - I'm just gonna pipe it.

- If you need to start over, now's the time. - Yes, Chef.

- Yeah? Good luck. - Thank you.

I don't know why this one's different.

So far in the competition, we've been in the top each time,

but this is our first time baking in the MasterChef kitchen.

Oh, man.

As a duo, desserts aren't our strong suit.

Too thick. Cannot. No.

I'm just-- I have to pipe some.

Macaron is supposed to look very smooth.

So I want to remake the second batch because it's a little grainy.

Aivan: However, with time running down and fillings to also make,

we may run out of time and not have any macarons to fill our tower with.

So we're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

- Looks like Aivan's in trouble. - I'm worried.

- Yeah. - Joe and I witnessed multiple times this challenge

taking down some of the most prominent chefs in this competition.

- Let me tell you. - Yeah, you have some real savory gunslingers

and you put them up against a macaron and they take them out.

- Tina: Okay, come on, Aivan. - Aivan: This is the least

confident that we've felt this entire competition.

I'm scared. This doesn't look good at all.

Oh, my God.

30 minutes gone, 60 minutes remaining.

- One hour to go. - Wow, it's a tough one, this one. 80 macarons.

It's two different flavors. And in 90 minutes, that's a total--

- Whoo! - Athena: How you doing, babe?