Jam and cream is sandwiched between puff pastry sheets and topped with sweet icing to create a delicious bakery treat. First featured in our Sweet Old-Fashioned Desserts cookbook – this recipe has stood the test of time.
Ingredients
Lemon icing
Chocolate icing
Method
Matchsticks
1.Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Grease two oven trays; line with baking paper.
2.Cut each pastry sheet in half. Place two pastry halves on each tray; top with another piece of baking paper and another baking tray (this stops the pastry from rising too much). Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
3.Meanwhile, beat cream in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold through mascarpone and sifted icing sugar until firm peaks form, without overmixing. Refrigerate until required.
4.Make lemon icing. Make chocolate icing.
5.Working quickly, spread lemon icing over two pastry halves. Pipe lines of chocolate icing, crossways, 2cm (3⁄4in) apart over icing. To create a feathering effect, run a skewer lengthways across the lines of icing in opposite directions, 2cm (3⁄4in) apart. Stand for 30 minutes or until set.
6.Spread jam and cream evenly over remaining pastry halves. Top with iced pastry halves. Using a serrated knife, carefully cut each half into four, without applying pressure. You should have eight matchsticks in total.
Lemon icing
7.Sift icing sugar into a small bowl, stir in juice and enough milk until icing is spreadable. Cover surface with plastic wrap.
Chocolate icing
8.Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a small bowl; stir in enough milk until icing is spreadable. Spoon into a small resealable plastic bag; just before using, snip the tip of one corner.
