Christmas meringue macarons

Preheat the oven to 100°C and line 2 baking trays with foil.

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, add a pinch of salt and whisk to medium peaks. Add the castor sugar 15ml (1 tbsp) at a time, whisking continuously until all the sugar has been incorporated. You should have a thick, glossy meringue.

Place the meringue mixture in a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe small rounds, about the size of a R5 coin. Make sure you space them out as you pipe them, as they do spread a little. Place the meringues in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Switch off the oven and let them cool completely in the oven.

For the cherry filling, beat the butter until soft and fluffy. Add half of the icing sugar and half of the cherries, and beat well. Add the remaining icing sugar and cherries.

Place the icing in a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe the icing on half of the meringues. Sandwich them together with the remaining meringues.

Decorate your Christmas wreath with the meringue macaroons and tie a ribbon around the wreath to make it look even more festive.