This meringue wreath recipe will become the decorative centre piece to any Christmas dinner table, and is packed full of festive flavour too! With clementines cooked in mulled wine, this will soon become a Christmas go to.
Don't forget to allow time for the meringue to cool in the oven, ideally overnight.
2 clementines, zest pared and then peeled and sliced into 8 rounds
100 g frozen cranberries
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
4 cloves
300 ml double cream
3 Tbsp. icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 140°C (120°C fan) mark 1. Using a pencil, draw a 25.5cm (10in) circle on a piece of baking parchment and place, pencil-side down, on a large baking sheet.
Step 2Using a handheld electric whisk, beat egg whites in a large bowl to stiff peaks. Gradually add sugar, whisking constantly, until meringue mixture becomes thick and glossy. Beat in cornflour.
Step 3Secure parchment on to sheet with a few small smears of the meringue. Using the circle as a guide, spoon 8 equal mounds of meringue around the circle, touching slightly to make a wreath shape. Flatten the middle of each mound slightly with the back of a spoon (this depression will hold the cream). Bake for 11/2hr. Leave to cool completely in the oven, ideally overnight.
Step 4Meanwhile make the syrup. Heat sugar, wine and 100ml (31/2fl oz) water in a large frying pan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add clementine zest, cranberries, cinnamon, star anise and cloves. Turn up heat and bubble for 15min, or until reduced and syrupy. Strain into a jug and set aside until needed.
Step 5To finish, carefully transfer meringue to a serving plate. Whip cream, icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks and spoon on to each meringue mound. Top with clementine slice and drizzle over the syrup. Serve.
Get ahead
Prepare to end of step 4 up to a day ahead. Once cool, store meringue loosely covered at room temperature. Cover and chill syrup. Complete recipe to serve, thinning syrup with a little water if needed.
Per serving
Calories: 377
Protein: 2g
Total fat: 20g
Saturates: 13g
Carbs: 44g
Total sugars: 43g
Fibre: 1g
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The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
