Here’s a fun activity (and not just for children :P): meringue Christmas trees. I saw them on the blog Amuses Bouche and I simply loved the idea. They’re made with a Swiss meringue (cooked over a bain-marie), which makes them even crunchier. And with a simple toothpick or wooden stick, these little trees turn into crunchy lollipops! My little nieces loved them, and so did I!
They can also be used to decorate a Yule log (as on the praline, caramel and speculoos Yule log). A lovely idea to make, and not only for the festive season 🙂
Ingredients & preparation
1 component · Full recipe
Swiss Meringue
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) egg whites
- 200 g (7.1 oz) sugar
- sugar pearls
Preparation
1
Preheat the oven to 100°C / 210°F.
2
Weigh the egg whites. You will need double that weight in sugar.
3
Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan.
4
Pour the egg whites into a bowl and begin whisking with an electric mixer.
5
Add the sugar gradually, then place the bowl over the bain-marie on the saucepan. Continue whisking — the mixture will increase in volume, and the meringue will become white and glossy. Remove the bowl from the water once the mixture feels warm to the touch.
6
Continue whisking until the mixture has cooled completely. The meringue will become firmer.
7
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Using a piping bag fitted with a Saint-Honoré, petal or yule log tip (as I used here), pipe the trees by making sweeping back-and-forth motions, starting from the top and gradually widening as you move down, finishing with a small point at the centre for the trunk. If you’d like to make lollipops, simply push a toothpick into the base of the tree (I’ve tried this too — it’s great fun!).
8
Decorate with a few sugar pearls of your choice.
9
Bake for approximately 2 hours. To test, gently lift a meringue — if it comes away easily and nothing sticks to the tray, it’s done.
10
The meringues keep for several days in an airtight tin.
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