CANDY CANES

MAKES 15

PREP 1 hour

SET Overnight

LASTS 7+ days at room temperature

1 egg white

350-450g (12oz-1lb) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

1tsp peppermint extract

½tsp red food colouring

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Using a clean bowl and whisk (otherwise the egg white won’t stiffen), add the egg white to the bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.

Add 350g of icing sugar and the peppermint extract and mix until a dough forms. Knead with your hands in the bowl until the dough is smooth. If it’s still sticky, add the remaining icing sugar a little at a time until you reach a smooth dough.

Divide the dough into two, then colour one batch red with the food colouring. Divide each batch into 15 small balls, so you have 30 balls in total.

On a work surface dusted with icing sugar, roll out one red ball and one uncoloured ball into thin sausage shapes about ½cm thick. Twist the two colours together and then turn at one end to make the hooked end of a candy cane shape. Repeat with the remaining balls. Place onto the lined baking tray and leave to harden and set overnight at room temperature.

Adapted from Jane’s Patisserie Celebrate! by Jane Dunn, published by Ebury Press. Available now at Easons, €20, and bookstores nationwide. Recipes © Jane Dunn, 2022.