At least that is what most Dutch people say. As also this King’s Day will mainly be a digital one, most people will sit at home and enjoy a tompouce I guess. Personally I could do without it. I love nearly all cakes, but tompouce or choux pastry (profiteroles or big versions with lots and lots of cream) are not really my thing. Each year I therefore either buy some orange cookies in the supermarket or go to the bakery to get myself something good.
Usually a tompouce has pink icing on top (sweet!), but on King’s Day they’re often made with orange icing to fit the day. Supposedly the first orange tompouce were made on the occasion of the birth of King Willem-Alexander on 27 April 1967. It is a challenge to eat the pastry, as it is going to fall to pieces the moment one bites into it, which is probably one of the reasons I don’t like to eat them. I can only remember one occasion, 30 April 2013, I ate them, and then only because there was nothing else left in the press centre to eat when I finally remember that I needed food and I was really hungry.
What do you need to make a tompouce?
Either you simply buy puff pastry in the shop (which is the easiest way), or you make it yourself. You also need icing and custard for the filling. For the orange icing you can use Orange flower water to colour it. Some English recipes:
- Tompouce – a real Dutch treat
- The Dutch table – Tompoes
- Dutch King’s Day tompouce
- Tompouce (Dutch Napoleon)
- Oranje tompouce
- A recipe in Dutch from the Great Dutch Bake off
Good luck!