Book Review + Featured Recipe, MasterChef Australia At Home

100+ Recipes from Your Favourite Contestants

If you’ve ever wanted to recreate the magic of MasterChef Australia in your own kitchen, MasterChef Australia At Home is the perfect cookbook to have on your shelf. Bursting with over 100 recipes from some of the most memorable contestants over the years, this book feels like a warm celebration of creativity, culture, and comfort food.

You’ll find dishes from Brendan Pang (Season 12), Gina Ottaway (Season 10), Julie Goodwin (Season 1 – Australia’s first ever MasterChef), and the wonderfully talented Kath Collins (Season 15) — whose dessert featured below is truly a showstopper.

This book balances everyday home-cooking with restaurant-level ideas, inspiring both beginners and passionate cooks alike.

🍫 Featured Recipe: Kath Collins’ Flourless Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream & Raspberry Coulis

This dessert is one of the highlights of the entire cookbook. It’s elegant, rich, gluten-free, and surprisingly achievable at home — a perfect reflection of Kath Collins' style on the show.

📋 Ingredients

Chocolate Almond Cake

• 100g 54.5% dark chocolate, chopped

• 60g unsalted butter

• 90g egg, whisked

• 75g caster sugar

• 80g almond meal

• pinch of salt

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

• 1 cup full cream milk

• 1 cup pure cream

• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds scraped

• 4 tbsp caster sugar

• 2 egg yolks

Raspberry Coulis

• 125g fresh raspberries

• 2 tbsp water

• 2 tsp caster sugar

• 3 strips lemon peel

• 1 vanilla bean, to serve

👩‍🍳 Steps

1. Chocolate Almond Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Grease and line two 12cm round springform tins.

2. Combine chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until ⅔ melted, then remove from heat and mix until smooth.

3. Pour mixture into a bowl. Add egg and sugar, whisk well.

4. Add almond meal and a pinch of salt; mix until combined.

5. Divide mixture between the tins and place on an oven tray.

6. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the tops form a thin crust and a skewer comes out clean.

7. Cool in tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

2. Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

1. Combine milk, cream, vanilla bean + seeds in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high until just boiling.

2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale.

3. Slowly add the hot milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly.

4. Return to saucepan and cook over low-medium heat, stirring, until mixture thickens and reaches 84°C (about 4–5 minutes).

5. Strain into a bowl over ice to cool for 5 minutes.

6. Churn in an ice-cream machine until soft-serve consistency.

   • Or use liquid nitrogen for full MasterChef flair.

7. Freeze until ready to serve.

3. Raspberry Coulis

1. Add raspberries, water, sugar, and lemon peel to a small saucepan.

2. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

3. Simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Strain through a fine sieve and let cool.

4. Garnish (Optional But Stunning)

1. Freeze a vanilla bean in liquid nitrogen until hardened.

2. Crush into powder using a large mortar and pestle.

5. To Serve

• Place each cake on a serving plate.

• Add a quenelle of vanilla bean ice cream.

• Sprinkle with vanilla bean powder.

• Drizzle with raspberry coulis.

Restaurant-quality. MasterChef-worthy. And unforgettable.

⭐ Final Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

MasterChef Australia At Home is a must-have for fans of the show and home cooks who want inspiration from Australia’s favourite contestants. With dishes that range from effortless weekday meals to impressive showpieces like this flourless chocolate cake, the book is creative, comforting, and packed with heart.