Meringue Christmas Trees

3 egg whites (weighing approx 120g)
 
240g caster sugar
 
Green food colouring, around 8 -12 tiny drops gives a good colour or alternatively use edible green spray
 
Red and white sprinkles to decorate or some freeze dried raspberries, some whole and some crushed to make a powder to sprinkle

Makes 40
1. In a very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until lightly fluffy then add the sugar one teaspoon at a time until you have a thick bouncy meringue. You will be able to turn the bowl upside down without the meringue moving once it is ready.

2. Add a little green food colouring and mix gently until evenly distributed. Add further colouring until it looks Christmas tree coloured. Alternatively, the green colour can be added once cooked with edible green spray.

3. Fit a plain nozzle (approx 4mm at the tip) to a piping bag and fill with the coloured meringue mixture.

4. Pipe 40 little Christmas trees on a Hard Anodised Baking Tray lined with Bake-O-Glide™, in 8 rows of 5 trees. Create each tree by working in a spiral, from the centre outwards to create a base then on top of the first layer and round and round a few times to create the height of a little tree. Finish in a point by lifting the piping bag directly upwards. (Don’t worry if the first few don’t look so great, you can always scrape them back into the piping back and do them again).

5. Bake in the simmering oven for an hour or in the warming oven for several hours or even overnight. To test if the meringues are cooked, gently lift one - if it peels away easily and cleanly from the lined tray then they are ready.

6. Cool in a warm draught-free place then store for up to several months in an airtight container.