While many have put their travel plans on hold, it doesn’t mean that one can’t experience the magic of the Netherlands through food. Dessert is a popular course in the Netherlands and in a bid to bring the Netherlands into your own home, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines shares some mouth-watering recipes you should try to make from the safety of your own home.
The tompouce is the Dutch version of the mille-feuille. It’s an incredibly popular dish that is served at bakeries around the country all year round. However, there are some times when it’s become a custom to enjoy this tasty dish. On King’s Day, a national holiday celebrating the birthday of the country’s monarch, the top layer is dyed orange instead of the customary pink glaze.
Ingredients:
For the pastry cream:
2 cups of (soy) milk
1 vanilla bean
3/4 cup of sugar
4 egg yolks (save the egg whites for the icing!)
2 Tbsp flour
1 envelope gelatine
For the crispy layers:
2 square sheets of puff pastry
For the royal icing:
1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of powdered sugar
if desired, use some colourful sprinkles
Directions:
1. Get a sauce pan and add the milk. Slice the vanilla bean open lengthwise with a knife and scrape the seeds and add the seeds to the milk and stir well. Add half of the sugar to the milk and bring to a boil.
2. Whisk the other half of the sugar with the egg yolks in a bowl. Stir in the flour and pour a dash of warm milk to the egg yolk mixture, mix well and put it all in the (soft) boiling milk. Bring back to a boil and let it softly boil for 3 minutes.
3. Turn off the stove and stir the gelatine in and pour the creamy mixture in a square dish, cover with plastic and let it cool off in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
4. In the meantime, start with the puff pastry: first let them thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes. Unfold them and prick them all over with a fork.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake the pastry for 20 minutes while you press down the dough every 5 minutes with a clean towel. This stops the dough from puffing up too much.
6. After 20 minutes bring down the temperature to 150°C and bake another 10 minutes. Take the pasty out the oven, cut each sheet in 16 equal squares (so 32 in total) while they’re still hot and let them cool on a rack. Once cooled, you can start making the royal icing.
7. In a large bowl combine the egg white with the vanilla extract until frothy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is shiny. Turn the speed up to high and beat until the mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This takes approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
8. Pair the puff pastry squares in top and bottom layers and decorate the top squares with the icing. Decorate them with the sprinkles immediately.
9. Now take the pastry cream out of the fridge, it should be a firm mixture, and transfer to a pastry bag or -again- use a storage bag with one of the corners cut out.
10. Squirt the pastry cream on the bottom layer of the puff pastry. The cream layer should be around 2,5cm high.
11. Finally, transfer the top icing layer onto the cream layer and you’re done.
