Recipe: Raspberry Meringue Croquenbouche

Gold shimmer spray gives this festive dessert a luxurious look

So it's the 27th December, and we're into that weird part of the festive season where some people are back at work, others are still partying and others still are sitting with their Christmas presents/mounds of cooked turkey wondering what to do next.

We had this as our dessert on Christmas Day itself, but it would work just as well if you're seeing family or friends in between Christmas and New Year, or if you're being super grown up and having a sit down dinner on New Year's Eve (instead of just ordering pizza to go with your champagne as I usually do).

You might think it's mad to attempt a dessert with 5 separate constituent parts. And you'd probably be right. The choux pastry took three attempts after some rather pancake like affairs. Many thanks to my Mum Rachel for her calming of me when I went full Bake Off meltdown, sitting crestfallen in front of the oven after batch two, and to my brother Chris and his girlfriend Sarah for their expertise in choux pastry. The recipe below for the pastry part is hers.

For the raspberry meringues:

6 egg whites
2 tbsp freeze dried raspberries
1 tsp sherry vinegar
300g caster sugar
2 drops pink food colouring

For the creme anglaise filling:

6 egg yolks
600ml whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
4 sheets gelatin

For the choux buns:

50g butter

100ml water

65g plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 small punnet of raspberries

For the raspberry coulis:

1 small punnet of raspberries

2 tbsp water

4 tbsp caster sugar

For the chocolate ganache:

200g dark chocolate

50ml whole milk

gold shimmer spray

To make the raspberry meringues, whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until at the stiff peak stage. Slowly add the caster sugar one spoonful at a time and continue whisking until you have stiff glossy paste and all the sugar has been incorporated into it. Slowly fold in the pink food colouring, sherry vinegar and dried raspberries. If you want to go full on camp Barbie pink then do so, but you may want to use a pink food gel instead as too much liquid will destabilise the meringue.

Line a deep round 8-10" springform cake tin with greaseproof paper. Draw around the tin three times onto three other sheets of greaseproof paper and pipe or spoon the meringue mixture onto the circles. Leave a gap of 1-2cm between the edge of the circle and the meringue to allow for it to rise in the oven. Bake in the oven on 180C for 1 hour or until the meringue is lightly caramelised on top. Allow to cool.

Heat 300ml of the cream in a saucepan. Using the electric whisk again, mix the sugar, egg yolks, cornflour and vanilla extract until pale and light. Soak the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes then add to the cream and stir until melted. Pour the cream into the egg mixture, stir until combined, then return to the pan and heat gently until thickened. Allow to cool slightly then refrigerate until solid. Whip the remaining cream until thick, then whisk the custard mixture to break it down. Slowly fold in the cream.

To make the choux buns, heat the butter and water until the butter is melted. Allow to boil slightly. then take off the heat and quickly shoot the flour into the saucepan. Beat with a wooden spoon until it forms a glossy roux that comes away from the sides of the pan. The roux will be slightly spongy. Beat in the eggs a little at a time until it forms a glossy stiff paste. Pipe or spoon small 2cm balls on to greaseproof paper and bake for 10 mins on 220C, then lower the temperature to 190C for 20 mins until golden brown.

Add the sugar, raspberries and water to a small pan and boil until the raspberries have disintegrated. Push through a nylon sieve and set aside. Heat the chocolate and the milk in a double boiler until combined and glossy.

Put the first layer of meringue into the lined cake tin. Don't worry if it cracks slightly. Spoon a little chocolate ganache over the top. Spoon or pipe the custard cream into the choux buns then arrange the first layer over the top of the meringue. Sprinkle some raspberries over the top and some of the raspberry coulis. Repeat until you have all 3 meringues, coulis, raspberries, ganache and choux pastry used up. The last meringue layer should be the top. Put the whole tin into the fridge for at least an hour to allow it to set further. 

When ready to serve, place the tin onto a glass and use it to push the cake out of the tin. Arrange on a plate and spray with the gold spray. Add chocolate decorations if you would like. 

3 Hot Drinks for Christmas

So we're coming up to the big day itself and no doubt most of you have had a LOT of mulled wine already in the lead up. Try my recipe for a fruitier, sweeter mulled wine below as well as two other Christmassy drinks to get you in the festive mood.

Mulled Wine

2 bottles red wine
500ml orange juice
300ml ruby port
2 cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
6 cloves
1 orange
50g caster sugar
Muslin bags (you can buy these on Amazon)

Pour the wine, orange juice, sugar and port into a large pan and heat gently. Don't allow to boil or you'll lose the alcohol content (and nobody wants that!)

Cut the cinnamon sticks with a sharp knife into small parts and pack into the muslin bags along with the cloves and star anise. Add into the liquid. Slice the oranges thickly and add to the pan. Serve in wine glasses with a napkin to hold if too hot.

Winter Punch

This makes a nice change to mulled wine.

1 litre cranberry juice

1 litre apple juice

100ml plum brandy (I use Croatian slivovitz)

100ml port

100ml bourbon

2 cinnamon sticks

Heat all the ingredients gently in a large saucepan until hot to taste. Don't allow to boil or you'll lose the alcohol.

Boozy Hot Chocolate

4 pints whole milk
2 tbsp cornflour
400g dark chocolate
200ml Baileys
100ml Tia Maria

To serve, grated chocolate, ground nutmeg, whipped cream, marshmallows

In a small mug mix the cornflour with a little of the milk until smooth. Pour the rest of the milk into a large pan then whisk in the cornflour mix. Break up the chocolate into squares and add to the milk mixture. Heat gently on the hob, whisking continually until all the chocolate has melted into the milk. Add the Baileys and the Tia Maria just before serving.