Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and did plenty of baking! As the baker of the family, I often end up baking a fair amount over Christmas, especially edible presents to take along to share at family gatherings. I'm always on the lookout for something new, not just the usual gingerbread cookies and so on. Meringues are definitely having a moment, thanks to the likes of the Meringue Girls, and their crisp, crumbly yet light sweetness was always a childhood favourite of mine. So when I came across this lovely recipe for meringue Christmas trees, I knew I wanted to give it a go.
Even better, the recipe was simple to do, but looks great. The impressive looking part of this recipe comes simply from painting the inside of the piping bag with streaks of food colouring longitudinally along half of the bag. It can also be flavoured with the addition of a small amount of flavourings (but not oil based ones). I used peppermint extract. To make really crispy hard meringues, it's best to use a stand mixer, as the egg whites have to be whipped for quite a long time. Also, in this recipe I give two different methods of baking, depending on whether you prefer crispy meringues or ones with a chewy centre.
Ingredients:
1 or 2 egg whites (depending upon the quantity of meringues you want to make, I used 2) measure their weight
Unrefined caster sugar - double the weight of what your egg whites weigh
1/2 tsp peppermint extract (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mint or light green gel food colouring
Dark green gel food colouring
Edible silver stars, or any other decoration of your choice
Edible silver balls
Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Lay out the sugar onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone or paper baking sheet. Spread it out thinly and place in the oven to heat up. This will help the sugar to dissolve in the egg whites later. Leave in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to melt.
2. While the sugar is heating, start to whip the egg whites. Make sure that the bowl is spotlessly clean and wipe it and the whisk with half a lemon or some vinegar. Whisk slowly at first but then turn up the speed until the egg whites are medium stiff peaks.
3. When the sugar is heated enough, turn the mixer down to medium, and add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until dissolved. Continue to whisk until very stiff peaks are formed, and no sugar is felt between your fingertips when you rub some of meringue. Add the mint or light green food colouring until the desired shade is reached, and also add the vanilla or mint flavouring if desired.
4. In the meantime, insert a large star-shaped tip into a large piping bag, and turn the piping bag inside out. Using a paintbrush, brush long lines of the dark green food colouring from the tip to half way down the bag.
5. Turn the bag the right way round again, and spoon all the meringue into the bag. Pipe three levels of meringue onto a baking sheet to make a Christmas Tree shape. Add a silver ball on the top of each one and sprinkle with some of the silver stars.
6. Preheat the oven to 80 degrees and bake for 4 - 6 hours if you prefer to have crunchy meringues. If you prefer to have meringues that are chewy on the inside, bake them at 100 degrees for 1 - 2 hours. If you have the temperature much above this, then the meringues are likely to brown (including your decorations), so it's not advisable.
7. Leave them to cool, and then put in boxes for a great Christmas present!
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| Meringue Christmas Trees |
Ingredients:
1 or 2 egg whites (depending upon the quantity of meringues you want to make, I used 2) measure their weight
Unrefined caster sugar - double the weight of what your egg whites weigh
1/2 tsp peppermint extract (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mint or light green gel food colouring
Dark green gel food colouring
Edible silver stars, or any other decoration of your choice
Edible silver balls
Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Lay out the sugar onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone or paper baking sheet. Spread it out thinly and place in the oven to heat up. This will help the sugar to dissolve in the egg whites later. Leave in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to melt.
2. While the sugar is heating, start to whip the egg whites. Make sure that the bowl is spotlessly clean and wipe it and the whisk with half a lemon or some vinegar. Whisk slowly at first but then turn up the speed until the egg whites are medium stiff peaks.
3. When the sugar is heated enough, turn the mixer down to medium, and add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until dissolved. Continue to whisk until very stiff peaks are formed, and no sugar is felt between your fingertips when you rub some of meringue. Add the mint or light green food colouring until the desired shade is reached, and also add the vanilla or mint flavouring if desired.
4. In the meantime, insert a large star-shaped tip into a large piping bag, and turn the piping bag inside out. Using a paintbrush, brush long lines of the dark green food colouring from the tip to half way down the bag.
5. Turn the bag the right way round again, and spoon all the meringue into the bag. Pipe three levels of meringue onto a baking sheet to make a Christmas Tree shape. Add a silver ball on the top of each one and sprinkle with some of the silver stars.
6. Preheat the oven to 80 degrees and bake for 4 - 6 hours if you prefer to have crunchy meringues. If you prefer to have meringues that are chewy on the inside, bake them at 100 degrees for 1 - 2 hours. If you have the temperature much above this, then the meringues are likely to brown (including your decorations), so it's not advisable.
7. Leave them to cool, and then put in boxes for a great Christmas present!
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