East Africa · Dessert
Napolitaine (Jam-Filled Glazed Shortbreads)
Meltaway shortcrust biscuit sandwiches filled with guava jam and draped in an iconic pastel-pink sugar fondant glaze.
The story
Napolitaine is a prized Franco-Mauritian pastry found in every local salon de thé and bakery from Curepipe to Port Louis, served during high tea and celebratory birthday gatherings. Despite its Italian-sounding name, the confection was uniquely developed on the island as an adaptation of European sablé techniques to tropical pantry staples. Unlike standard shortbreads, classic Mauritian Napolitaine dough contains no sugar and relies on blind-baking dry flour to neutralise gluten development, yielding an extraordinarily fragile, melt-in-the-mouth crumb.
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