Meringue Christmas Trees
A fun way to make these super-festive Meringue Christmas Trees, using my easy French meringue recipe. With or without the sticks, they're a delicious addition to your Christmas dessert table. They also make great gifts for kids of all ages!
Servings: 8 meringues
Equipment
- 8 Lolly pop sticks not essential, as you can make the trees without them
Ingredients
- 75 g Egg whites, room temperature approx 2 eggs
- ¼ tsp Cream of tartar see notes
- 150 g Caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract or paste optional
- 2-3 drops Green gel food colouring
- Christmas sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 100℃ (212℉) -use convention setting, not fan-forced (see notes)
- Line 1-2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or baking paper (I use 2 large baking sheets)
- In the mixer bowl of a stand mixer, place the egg whites and cream of tartar
- Using a hand mixer on low to medium speed, whisk the egg whites until foamy and beginning to form soft peaks (I use the hand mixer first, as it's a small amount of egg whites and it's harder to whisk with the stand mixer at the start)
- Place your mixing bowl onto your stand mixer and using a whisk attachment, whisk on low to medium, while slowly adding the caster sugar to the whipped whites, 1 tablespoon at a time (leave 30 seconds between each spoonful)
- Once all of the sugar has been added, stop the mixer and scrape the side of the bowl with a silicone spatula
- Now mix the meringue on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until it forms stiff peaks and is nice and glossy. Check that there are no large granules left, by rubbing a little of the meringue between your thumb and finger. You want a stiff, glossy meringue
- Add the vanilla extract and food colour (if using) and whisk again until it’s combined. You will need to scrape the side of the mixing bowl with a silicone spatula, to ensure all of the colour mixes in
- Transfer mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip, then pipe out your Meringue Christmas Trees -I pipe a little of the meringue onto the baking sheet, then pop my lollypop stick on top of it. This stops the stick from rolling around. Once in place, you can then pipe your Christmas Trees, starting at the top (just above the top of the stick) and working your way down, piping the meringue into a Christmas tree shape.
- Use a spoon to add sprinkles to your meringue
- Bake in the oven for 2.5 hours
- Turn off the oven and leave the meringues to cool, with the oven door slightly ajar
Notes
- Make sure you are whisking your egg whites in a clean bowl. Any trace of oil will prevent the whites from whipping, so give the bowl a quick wipe out before you start.
- Don’t over whip your egg whites, as it will dry them out. You just want soft peaks before adding the sugar
- Adding the caster sugar one spoonful at a time means your sugar dissolves into the egg whites, creating a gorgeous glossy meringue
- Mix only on low-medium and medium speed. You don’t want too many air bubbles whipped into the meringue, or it can collapse
- Avoid opening the oven door while the meringue is cooking, as it can lead to cracks in the meringue
- Baking without the fan will give you lovely clean meringues, without darkening them
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To keep your meringues crisp, you need to store them where they can’t absorb any moisture. Here’s my suggestion:
- Room temperature: in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks
- Heat sealed: if giving your meringues as gifts, you can also place them in food safe bags (used for sugar cookies) and seal them using a heat sealer -they should last 4-5 weeks