Like many, Yeelin Li baked her way through the pandemic. What started as a therapeutic escape in 2020, turned into a fierce passion and a way for her to support her young family. Li’s enthusiasm to preserve and share Mauritian culture in her adopted hometown of Perth led her to set up Pardon My French Treats, a home bakery that sees her turning out Mauritian and French favourites from pastel coloured napolitaines to caramel-brown canelés. Li has become a lowkey suburban fixture from community bake sales to corporate fundraisers.
French origins to national staple
The napolitaine is a comfort food for many Mauritians that has its origins in the nation’s century long French era, that began in 1715. Also known as a napolitain, they are constructed of two round shortbread biscuits, sandwiching sweet jam and covered with pink icing. Not to be confused with the three-layered French cake, or the much-loved neapolitan ice-cream tub of many a backyard gathering. Baker and proud Mauritian Yeelin Li, describes napolitaines as the “national pastry”, and a beloved tradition that shines on Mauritius’ Independence Day, when these sweet rounds are handed out to school students.
A family recipe brought up to date
Napolitaines from Pardon My French Treats are inspired by a family recipe, passed down from Li’s mother-in-law. Her memory of them is a buttery biscuit which gave a melt-in-the-mouth moment that she wanted to recreate for her customers. Li has however added her own touch, modernising the family recipe, icing the napolitaines with a thinner glaze and using a variety of flavoured jams, from the traditional strawberry to guava.
Don’t forget the canelés
Li describes these small, cork-shaped pastries as “misunderstood”, saying their dark brown and petite shape mean they’re often mistaken for chocolate pastries. She says that breaking through the dark exterior of a canelé is a “revelatory” experience, the crunch of the exterior giving way to a custardy centre, the insides soft like honeycomb. Li honours tradition by using traditional copper moulds and beeswax to bake her canelés. While rum is a traditional ingredient, Li has created a non-alcoholic version. She also loves adding a seasonal twist, including a truffle flavoured canelé to celebrate Western Australia’s truffle season.
Where can you buy them?
You can order napolitaines and canelés from the Pardon My French Treats website with delivery starting at $15. Weekly cut-off is Wednesday at midnight, with orders dispatched in 3 business days.
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