Kirstie's Handmade Britain

Angel Adoree's recipe for festive candy striped meringues featured on Kirstie's Handmade Britain

• 4 free range egg whites
• 225g icing sugar, sifted
• 3 drops of vanilla extract
• A few drops each of black and red food colouring

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C/gas mark 1 and line a couple of baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.

2. Whisk the egg whites for 1 minute then begin adding the icing sugar until the mixture is thick and will form peaks. Add the vanilla extract and whisk for a further 2 minutes.

3. Using a small paintbrush, straw or handle of a spoon, paint 2 or 3 stripes of black food colouring on the inside of a piping bag. Fit the piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and spoon half the meringue mixture into the bag. Pipe small 2cm high star shapes onto the prepared baking sheets. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with red food colouring and the remaining meringue mixture.

4. Bake the meringues for 40 minutes, until they are crisp but not brown. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues to cool inside overnight, with the oven door slightly ajar, to ensure that the outsides are crispy and the insides are soft and chewy.

Recipe by Angel Adoree of The Vintage Patisserie