Are you planning a trip to Mauritius and are you a lover of the world’s best pastries? Then this article is made for you! Mauritius has excellent gastronomy and an abundance of typical ingredients of which the quality cannot be found anywhere else on the island. So take advantage of your stay to make a little marathon of taste by testing the different specialities. At Villanovo we guarantee that you will not be disappointed, especially if you are a fan of the coconut found in many (many) Mauritian recipes both sweet and savoury. Discover below our list of must-have pastries that will make you salivate behind your screen.
Discovered following the colonisation of the island by the Falklands, the love well bears its name well. Composed of a shortbread dough topped with a smooth cream more or less light depending on the recipe and a candied cherry on top of the cake, it is an emblematic pastry of the island. If you have the opportunity to visit the Port Louis market, you will find some delicious ones at the aloudas stand that we will present to you later.
Aloudas
Aloudas are a kind of Mauritian milkshake that are easily found in the streets because they come from street-food. Often flavoured with vanilla, rose or almond, they are prepared with milk, grated agar-agar jelly and Indian basil seeds. These Indian basil seeds called toukmaria in Mauritius are small black seeds that swell when they have contact with water, in the same way as chia seeds.
The coconut candy
This very sweet treat made from milk, coconut and sugar is often very popular with children for its sweetness. Coconut candies can also be flavoured with different flavours such as chocolate, strawberry, vanilla or pistachio.
Neapolitans
This pastry shop is a must in Mauritius and you will find it everywhere even in the supermarkets of the island. However, we strongly advise you to buy them in patisseries for a much greater quality. These cakes are an assembly of two shortbread biscuits glued together with jam, often guava and then covered with a pink icing mostly or sometimes white.
You will find a multitude of doughnuts both in the markets and in the shops as they are very common. This small doughnut, which can also be found at gatherings, has the peculiarity that it can be considered as a sweet and salty cake. Indeed, it is composed of grated arouille, a vegetable well known on the island whose root is used for the preparation of doughnuts.
Banana tarts
These small tarts decorated with latticework are often prepared when the bananas are at the end of their life because they are crushed for the recipe. Powdered chocolate, brown sugar, powdered coconut and muscovado are then added to the bananas. Muscovado is a brown sugar typical of the island used in many pastries. Banana cakes, which are actually doughnuts, are also made from very ripe bananas.
The Kulfi Malaï
Kulfi Malaï is a speciality that you will come across very frequently in the streets of the island. They are ice-cream sticks with different flavours and whose original flavour is the mixture of cardamom and pistachio. There are also vanilla and rose ice cream sticks with lots of grated coconut to try.
Cassava pancakes
Cassava is widely used in Mauritian cuisine because it is widely available on the island and inexpensive. Cassava flour is used in the preparation of pancake batter. Once the pancakes are made, they are filled with coconut (yes, coconut again).
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