Lifting the lids on their Mystery Boxes to discover all the necessary ingredients to cook beautiful biscuits, MasterChef’s fourth week began in irresistibly moreish fashion.

With the right to choose the core Invention Test ingredient on the line, the stakes were high; thankfully so were the results. Amina, Ben and Julia were the cream of the crop, with Julia cementing her dessert queen status by taking the win with her Melting Moments.

Inexplicably choosing cactus as the core ingredient of the Mexican-themed Invention Test proved to be a case of poor judgement for Julia, who produced one of the worst dishes. Mindy, however, excelled, her Jalapeno Poppers winning her the right to battle for Immunity for the second week running. Julia, Andrew and Kath could only hope to enjoy better fortunes in a Pressure Test.

Setting their task was Australia’s culinary icon Maggie Beer, who lifted a cloche to reveal an Upside Down Grape, Verjuice and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Ice-Cream with Vino Cotto Raisin and Ginger Wafer. Cooking time proved to be the enemy of Andrew and Kath, both undercooking their cakes. Kath’s effort was deemed to be the worst offender, resulting in her Elimination.

The following day saw Mindy take her second shot at securing Immunity, this time against sushi guru Shaun Presland. Backed by Amina and Audra, Team Mindy gave a superb account of themselves; declared dish of the day, Audra’s Salmon Sashimi got Mindy over the line and claimed her a precious Immunity Pin.

The week’s Team Challenge saw Reds and Blues compete to raise money for OzHarvest. Racing around Sydney claiming leftovers from designated restaurants and hotels, each team then had to utilise their ingredients to create a menu to wow Sydney’s culinary elite at a black tie fundraiser. The Blue Team claimed a landslide victory, with their Fish Pie securing an incredible $20K donation.

A ‘Name the Bird’ Challenge followed by a poultry-themed cook-off had TK in a flap on Thursday, her turkey stir fry doing little to sway the judges into keeping her in the competition. The remaining contestants were then given the chance to breathe easy and enjoy some expert tutelage, with a beautiful Summer Roast Chicken, Tacos courtesy of guest Jason Jones, and a Champagne Savarin dessert the treats of the week-concluding MasterClass.