Pavlova Christmas tree

Ingredients:

Meringue: 

(You’ll need to make two batches of this for a tree with 7 layers) 

• 6 egg whites, at room temperature 
• Pinch fine salt 
• Pinch cream of tartar 
• 1½ cups (330g) castor sugar  
• 1 tsp (5ml) cornflour 
• 1 tsp (5ml) white or apple cider vinegar 

Topping: 

• 2 cans (385g each) Caramel Treat 
• PnP edible gold or bronze dust and icing sugar, for decorating 
• Raspberries and pomegranate rubies, for decorating (fresh stone fruit works well too) 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140°C. 
2. Line 3 baking trays with baking paper. 
3. Whisk egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until medium-stiff peaks. 
4. Add sugar 1 heaped tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously until glossy and stiff peaks form – this can take about 12-15 minutes with an electrical whisk.  
5. Combine cornflour and vinegar and mix to create a paste, then whisk into meringue mixture when adding the last bit of sugar. 
6. Test if it is ready by rubbing a little mixture between your fingers to ensure all sugar is dissolved. The mixture should be quite stiff with a shiny almost velvet-like appearance. 
7. Spoon a few dollops onto prepared baking trays and spread out into various sized discs – we used 5cm to 22cm discs. (Meringue does puff up in oven slightly, so don’t place too close to each other.) 
8. Decrease oven to 100°C and place meringue in oven.  
9. Bake for 1½ hours until crisp outside and light, checking that bottom of meringue is also set. 
10. Switch off the oven and cool pavlovas for 20-30 minutes.  
11. Repeat process with second batch of meringues and then dry out all baked pavlovas in the oven for at least 2 hours, or overnight.  
12. Whisk caramel until smooth. 
13. Stack meringues from big to small to resemble a Christmas tree, spreading each layer with caramel. 
14. Finish off by studding with raspberries and pomegranate rubies, and dust with gold dust and icing sugar. 

For more pro tips, click here to get to know your meringue.