Billie serves up the finished product.
Billie wrangling the sugar ball.
With 120 ingredients and 66 steps, Heston Blumenthal’s ‘Botrytis Cinerea’ isn’t just a dessert – it’s a scientific experiment.
Judge Gary Mehigan called Blumenthal’s masterpiece “the toughest dish ever”, with even Blumenthal himself admitting it had broken seasoned chefs before.
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“To get it right, it normally takes about two months,” the chef admitted.
MasterChef winner Billie McKay managed to complete the mammoth task in just five hours, with only a couple of missteps along the way.
In particular, the 24-year-old struggled to craft a perfect “sugar ball”, breaking down in tears as she pumped air into a fragile golden clump under a heat lamp.
“That sugar ball was just about as frustrating to watch as it was to make!” McKay told The New Daily of re-watching the tense moment on Monday night.
“Especially as I’m heading over to the UK to join’s Heston’s team I’d love to give it another go. Maybe it won’t take me five hours second time around?!”
The restaurant manager from Bowraville said she’s preparing to make the move to Bray with her boyfriend Hadyn in a couple of months to take up Blumenthal’s coveted job offer.
In the meantime, you can put your own culinary skills to the test by recreating the Botrytis Cinerea in your own kitchen.
Here’s the 2800-word recipe. You’re going to need trehalose. Yeah – we’re not sure what that is either.
Soaked Sultana
Fenugreek syrup
Saffron vanilla syrup
Infused pear balls
Aerated saffron grape juice
Citrus reduction
Citrus sorbet
Frozen grapes
Peach wine gum
Grape fluid gel
The evil genius himself unveils the complicated dish.
Churros stalks
Pear caramel filling
Crystallised chocolate
Roquefort powder
Vanilla salt
Soil
Citrus cream
Chocolate balls
Leaf – green grape paste
Leaf – purple grape paste
Grape sugar bubble and spiral
Heston watches Billie assemble the dish.
Soaked Sultana
Fenugreek Syrup
Saffron Vanilla Syrup
Infused Pear Balls
Aerated Saffron Grape Juice
Citrus Reduction
Citrus Sorbet
Frozen Grapes
Peach Wine Gum
Grape Fluid Gel
Billie serves up the finished product.
Grapeseed Oil Crumble
Churros Stalks
Pear Caramel Filling
Crystallised Chocolate
Roquefort Powder
Vanilla Salt
Soil
Citrus Cream
Chocolate Balls
Apricot Filled Grape
Leaf – Green Grape Paste
Leaf – Purple Grape Paste
Leaf
Grape Sugar Bubble and Spiral
To Serve
Recipe courtesy of Network Ten.