Small, Cute, Sweet and Edible? Green Tea Meringue Stars

Twinkle twinkle little star...

It’s small; it’s cute; it’s sweet (literally and non-literally); and it’s edible. Guess what it is?

It’s a star! And not just an ordinary star, a meringue star! And not just an ordinary meringue star… a green tea meringue star!

Since school has started, I’m trying hard to not lag behind in work and to get a head start in work as best as I can. So far, so good. I had a long weekend (3 instead of the usual 2) because my tutor cancelled her lesson on Monday, so I decided to make something nice over the weekend.

Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside

I bought some bake-able green tea powder (or matcha powder) from the bakeware shop a few weeks back and had not tried it before. So, I decided to experiment it a little. I chose to make a green tea cupcake recipe (which will be the next thing I blog about!) and whipped up some simple green tea buttercream to go with it. However my buttercream is not those stiff type because I don’t like to add too much icing sugar in it, so the overall cupcake is not very good looking.

What to do?

I used the leftover egg white to make some meringue stars, and added in some green tea powder to suit the “occasion”, then place the stars on top of the cupcake. Added instant cuteness to the cupcake! (Haha)

The meringue stars are really crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They make the perfect on-the-go snack because they are petite and sweet. And they look so cute, you just want to keep eating them.

So what are you waiting for, go make them now!

Do you like stars?

Green Tea Meringue Stars (makes >60 small stars)

I used ⅛ teaspoon of green tea powder and the resulting flavour is very subtle. You can add more if you like a stronger green tea taste. As my oven is not big enough, I have to bake the stars in batches. I keep the unpiped mixture in the refrigerator and only pipe them when I'm about to bake them. After the baking and cooling, I like to coat my meringue lightly in icing sugar so they will not stick to each other and I do not have to keep them in single layer in the container with parchment paper in between I can just throw all of them in - but that's just me! (:

1 egg white
70 grams caster sugar
⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of green tea powder / matcha powder

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the egg white in a clean, dry and grease-free bowl. Using a electric mixer, whip the egg white on low speed until foamy (small bubbles are formed on the surface). Turn the speed up to medium-high and add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly until the egg white mixture is white and glossy. The egg whites need to be stiff and not dry. The test to verify this is when you hold the bowl of egg white mixture over your head, the egg white mixture will not fall off. Fold in the green tea powder gently.

Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tube and pipe small stars on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the meringue stars are dry and lightly browned. Do not open the oven door in the middle of baking! Turn off the oven and leave the meringue stars to cool completely in the oven, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Once the meringue stars are cooled, use/consume immediately or store in an air-tight container with parchment paper in between the layers for a few days. You must use an air-tight container! Else they will not stay crispy. (: