Christmas Tree Meringues

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The perfect edible gift to offer to your Christmas host, family or friends. These cute meringues are super easy to make, they’re airy and sweet with a slight vanilla touch. Sprinkle some sugar decorations all over to be transported into the festive spirit of Christmas.

Are you already in the Christmas mood? Here I totally am! Except that I haven’t had a second yet to put up my tree. Three weeks ago, I kept thinking “let’s set up the tree earlier this year, so we’ll enjoy the flashing lights and the Christmas atmosphere for longer”. And today, all of my neighbors, friends and family are done with their trees and mine is still in the cellar…

YES, BUT I have made some super cute meringue Christmas trees for you all! : )These meringues truly look adorable when they’re baked lying one next to each other. Despite the long-looking recipe (any meringue-based recipe is long just because of the number of tips that it requires), they’re super easy to make!

Why use Swiss meringue?

To understand the difference between French, Italian and Swiss meringue, head to my macarons recipe. When I make simple macarons, I normally use French meringue because that’s the easiest and the fastest one.

However, if making some more complex macaron design or meringue, you’d rather want to go with Italian or Swiss meringue which is more stable.

I use SWISS meringue because it is basically the in-middle option between French and Italian. Swiss meringue is more stable than French meringue but much easier than Italian meringue.

What ingredients do I need to make Xmas tree meringues?

• egg whites – I used medium-sized eggs. Make sure they’re at ROOM TEMPERATURE and take them out of your refrigerator at least one hour in advance. Cold egg whites will result in a less stable meringue.
• caster sugar – caster sugar will dissolve much faster than regular sugar.
• vanilla extract – make sure to use vanilla EXTRACT. Do not use vanilla essence or aroma which can taste too much like a vanilla extract imitation. Since this is pretty much the only taste in this recipe, we don’t want any artificial flavor.
• dark green gel food coloring – with meringue I always use gel food coloring. Powder food coloring works perfectly too. Just make sure you avoid liquid food coloring that could liquefy the meringue too much.
• sugar sprinkle decoration – I used some colorful sprinkles to mimic Christmas balls and some stars that I added on top of some trees. You might wonder “they’re made of sugar, aren’t they going to melt in the oven”? Well no they won’t melt, meringue bakes at a very low temperature so don’t worry!

Can I increase the oven temperature and reduce the baking time?

No, meringue must be baked at a low temperature. The high temperature will crack the meringue, which is why they bake for quite a long time and at a low temperature.

Once baked, do NOT open the oven door and let them rest for at least 2 hours or until the oven has completely cooled down. Meringue is very sensitive to temperature change and could crack if taken out of the oven while still warm.

How to prepare Xmas tree meringues?

1. Place egg whites and caster sugar in a glass or metal bowl. Place the bowl over a bain-marie and beat the whites using a whisk until their temperature reaches 45°C / 113 °F.
2. Transfer the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or keep it in your bowl if you’re using a hand mixer. On low speed, start mixing the whites for 2-3 minutes or until big bubbles disappear.
3. Increase to medium-high speed and keep beating until peaks form. You know the meringue is sufficiently stiff when it agglomerates into the whisk. If peaks are visible but the meringue is still too runny, keep beating.
4. Once the meringue is stiff, add vanilla extract and green food coloring. The amount of food coloring depends on the brand and/or type of food coloring you’re using. Use gel food coloring only. Add as much food coloring as required to obtain the shade of green you wish.
5. Beat for a few seconds or until the green color is uniform.
6. Using a small kitchen brush, brush some green gel food coloring inside the piping bag. Make about 6 or 7 vertical lines of gel food coloring all along the inside of the piping bag, from the bottom up to the top. Transfer the meringue into the piping bag. The gel food coloring will add a darker shade of green.
7. Lay some baking paper over a macaron template, and secure the four sides with some weights (I use anything I have in hand). Using a macaron template is optional, I just like to use it so that all my trees are of similar size.
8. Pipe the meringue out holding your piping bag vertically. Pipe the base until the meringue reaches the sides of the macaron circle. If not using any template, just pipe the meringue until the base reaches about 3 cm / 1.2 inch. Stop piping and slightly lift your piping bag, pipe a smaller circle of meringue. Stop piping and slightly lift your piping bag again, pipe an even smaller circle of meringue. Stop piping and lift the nozzle up to create the top of the tree.
9. Sprinkle some sugar decoration.
10. Transfer the baking paper and meringue onto a baking tray.
11. Place your baking tray in an oven preheated at 80°C / 175°C. Bake for 1h30.
12. Once time is up, turn off the heat but leave the meringue inside the oven, door closed, for about two hours or until the oven has completely cooled down. This will prevent the meringue from breaking.

Looking for more Christmas desserts?

• Chocolate Chestnut Cream Yule Log
• Christmas Baileys Tiramisu with Pandoro