Description
These Mini Pavlova Christmas Trees are a festive and delightful dessert perfect for holiday celebrations. Light and crispy meringue bases are shaped into charming mini Christmas trees, topped with whipped cream, silver cachous, fresh raspberries, pistachio crumbs, and a dusting of freeze-dried raspberry powder for a visually stunning and delicious treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Meringue
- 6 free-range egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 3 tsp cornflour
Decoration
- 1/4 cup Sunbeam Australian Pistachios
- 300ml thickened cream
- 1 tsp pure icing sugar
- 1 tsp rosewater
- Silver cachous
- Raspberries
- Freeze-dried raspberry powder
- Strawberries, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare trays: Preheat your oven to 100°C fan-forced (120°C conventional). Grease two large oven trays and place two sheets of baking paper on them. On each baking paper, mark four 4.5cm circles, spacing them evenly. Place the sheets on the trays with the marked side facing down.
- Beat egg whites and add sugar: Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time, ensuring each addition dissolves completely before adding the next. Then add the white vinegar and cornflour, beating until the mixture is combined and glossy.
- Pipe meringue shapes: Transfer a quarter of the meringue mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle. Pipe small mounds onto the circles on the prepared trays as bases for the trees. Place the remaining meringue into a separate piping bag fitted with a 0.5cm fluted nozzle.
- Create tree layers: Starting at the base of each small mound, pipe three rows of small vertical layers around each to build up a Christmas tree shape. Make sure the layers are even to resemble tree branches.
- Bake and cool meringues: Bake the meringue trees in the preheated oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the edges are crisp but not browned. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool inside with the oven door slightly ajar.
- Prepare pistachio crumbs: Pulse the pistachios in a small food processor until finely crumbled. Set aside for decoration.
- Whip cream: Beat the thickened cream with icing sugar and rosewater using an electric mixer until just-firm peaks form. Transfer a quarter of the cream into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle.
- Assemble and decorate: Pipe little rounds of cream onto the meringue trees to act as glue for the decorations. Decorate with silver cachous, fresh raspberries, and a sprinkle of freeze-dried raspberry powder. Finally, sprinkle with pistachio crumbs and serve alongside fresh strawberries and the remaining whipped cream.
Notes
- Ensure egg whites are at room temperature for better volume and stability.
- Pipe the meringue carefully to create even layers for an attractive tree shape.
- Cooling meringues slowly in the turned-off oven helps prevent cracks and ensures crisp texture.
- This recipe serves 8 and can be prepared a day ahead; store in an airtight container.
- Use fresh and good-quality ingredients, especially for the cream and pistachios, for best flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mini pavlova tree
- Calories: 210 kcal
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 30 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
