Delicious UK - (10)October 2020

RECIPES: JOHN WHAITE. FOOD PHOTOGRAPHS: CLARE

WINFIELD.

FOOD

STYLING:

JEN

BEDLOE

AND

SOPHIE

AUSTEN-SMITH.

STYLING:

VICTORIA

ELDRIDGE

THE RECIPES

Rhubarbandginger

napolitaines(Mauritian

sandwichbiscuits)

MAKESABOUT16.HANDS-ONTIME 30 MIN,

OVENTIME8-12MIN,PLUSCHILLING,

COOLINGANDSETTING

MAKE

AHEAD

Makethedoughuptoa day

ahead.Thebiscuitswill

keepforupto2 days.

FOOD

TEAM’S

TIPS

Flatten the dough into a

disc about 2cm thick before

chilling – you won’t need

to roll it for as long. Make sure the

dough stays cool – using short, sharp

rolls will help prevent it breaking up.

Lightly whisk the unused egg white

with a pinch of salt, then freeze.

FOR THE DOUGH

• 175g plain flour, plus extra to dust


• 40g light brown muscovado sugar,
  sifted


• ½ tsp fine salt


• 130g unsalted butter, cubed and
  at room temperature


• 1 large free-range egg yolk
  (see tips)

TO FINISH

• 16 tsp (about 68g)
  rhubarb and ginger jam
  (we used Rosebud
  Preserves)


• 250g icing sugar


• Pink food colouring
  (optional)

YOU’LL ALSO NEED...

• 5.5cm round cookie
  cutter; 2 baking
  sheets lined with
  compostable
  baking paper

USEFUL TO HAVE...

• Dough scraper

1 To make the dough, put the flour,

sugar and salt in a mixing bowl

and toss. Rub in the butter until the

mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the egg yolk and cut in with a

dough scraper or butter knife until

the mixture starts to clump

together, then use the heel of your

hand and fingers to bring it together

into a smooth dough. Wrap, flatten

into a disc, then chill in the fridge

for at least 30 minutes (see tips).

2 Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/

gas 6. On a well floured worktop,

roll out the dough to about 5mm

thick. Cut out with the cookie

cutter, then re-roll any scraps

and repeat. Put the discs on the

baking sheets, spaced well apart.

Bake for 8-12 minutes until lightly

golden around the edges. Leave

to cool on the sheets.

3 Take half the biscuits and turn

them over. Add 1 tsp jam to each,

then top with the remaining

biscuits. Set on a wire rack.

4 For the icing, mix the icing sugar

with water, 1 tbsp at a time, until

you have a thick but pourable icing.

If using food colouring, add just

enough for it to blush. Pour the icing

over the biscuits, letting it drip

down the sides so it covers the

biscuits (apart from the base, of

course). Allow the icing to set

before devouring.

PER BISCUIT (FOR 16) 188kcals,

7.2g fat (4.4g saturated), 1.3g

protein, 29.3g carbs (20.8g sugars),

0.3g salt, 0.5g fibre

John’s trip inspired him to create these sweet

and savoury treats, exclusively for delicious.

These little sandwich cookies are the Mauritian version of the much-adored

jammy dodger. Crumbly-short biscuit encloses a sweet jam and is topped with an

even sweeter duvet of icing. Traditionally, the biscuit dough is made using just

butter and flour, but it’s a little difficult to work with – I’ve opted for an enriched

version using sugar and egg yolk to help bind everything together.

HOT ON THE SHELVES – AGAIN!

John used Billington’s caster sugar as

well as its (fairly traded) molasses sugar

and light brown muscovado sugar. The

‘special sugars’ haven’t been in the shops

for a while, as the production plants had

to close to ensure safe distancing

measures could be implemented, but you

can find them again now in all major supermarkets

including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose.