Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Napolitaine
Two crumbly shortbread biscuits sandwiched with jam and coated in bright pink icing, a Mauritian bakery icon.
Mauritian · medium · serves 12
prep 30 min · cook 15 min
~390 cal · 3g protein · 59g carbs · 16g fat · 1g fiber · 35g sugars · 10g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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The napolitaine is Mauritius's most iconic sweet, a soft, crumbly shortbread treat sold in every bakery across the island. Despite the name's Italian ring, it is thoroughly Mauritian, a fixture of afternoon tea and celebrations.
It is made from two rounds of tender, melt-in-the-mouth shortbread sandwiched together with a layer of jam, usually a bright red one, then coated all over in a vivid pink glacé icing. The contrast of the delicate, buttery biscuit, the sweet jam, and the sugary pink shell is instantly recognisable. Cheap, cheerful, and utterly nostalgic, it is a taste of Mauritian childhood.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 12
3 cups flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup strawberry jam
2 cups icing sugar
a few drops pink food colouring
Instructions
1
Rub the softened butter into the flour and salt and bring together into a soft shortbread dough; chill it for 30 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
There is no sugar in the biscuit itself. All the sweetness comes from the jam and the icing, which is what makes a napolitaine taste the way it does.
2
Roll out and cut into rounds, then bake at 325F (160C) until just set but still pale, about 12 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the biscuits pale and do not overbake; napolitaines are meant to be soft and crumbly, not crisp and browned.
3
Sandwich pairs of cooled biscuits with strawberry jam.
4
Make a pink glacé icing with the icing sugar, a little water, and colouring, and coat each sandwich.
Mauritian bakery tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Port Louis. Dholl puri came ashore with the people who made it. Indian indentured labourers were landed from 1834 at the Aapravasi Ghat here in Port Louis, now a World Heritage site, and the flatbread they brought is stuffed with ground split peas, cooked dry without oil, and served in pairs with butter bean curry and rougaille.
🗺️
Mauritius. Dholl puri comes in pairs, thin flatbreads stuffed with ground yellow split peas and served folded around bean curry, rougaille and chilli paste, and it arrived with Indian indentured labourers in the nineteenth century, the same history that gave Trinidad its doubles and Fiji its curries. Gateaux piments, the split-pea chilli fritters, are the other thing sold at every corner.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Mauritius
Dholl PuriFeather-soft flatbreads with ground split peas hidden in the dough, folded around bean curry and chutney.
RougailleA Creole tomato stew of Mauritius, simmered with thyme, ginger, and curry leaf around fish or sausage.
Farata with Butter Bean CurryFlaky griddled flatbread (farata) served with a light butter-bean curry, a popular Mauritian breakfast.
Browse all Mauritius recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Rolling pin.
Storing it: Best made to order. Prep the fillings ahead and assemble just before eating so nothing turns soggy.
Make it a Mauritius meal
RougailleDinner
AloudaDrink
Similar dishes from around the world
VaniliceSerbia
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Napolitaine?
Two crumbly shortbread biscuits sandwiched with jam and coated in bright pink icing, a Mauritian bakery icon.
Where does Napolitaine come from?
Napolitaine is a Mauritian dish from Port Louis, Mauritius.
Can Napolitaine be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Napolitaine recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Napolitaine safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Napolitaine take to make?
About 45 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 12.
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