Tompouce facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Tompoes |
|---|---|
| Type | Pastry |
| Place of origin | Netherlands, Belgium |
| Main ingredients | Puff pastry, icing, pastry cream |
A tompoes (also spelled tompouce) is a yummy pastry from the Netherlands. It's like the Dutch version of a mille-feuille or Napoleon pastry. This sweet treat was first made by a baker in Amsterdam. It got its name from Admiraal Tom Pouce, who was a famous Frisian dwarf named Jan Hannema.
Contents
Tompoes Traditions in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the tompouce is a very special and well-known pastry. It always looks almost the same. It must be a rectangle with two layers of light, flaky puff pastry.
The top layer of the tompouce usually has smooth, pink icing. Sometimes, the icing is white. But there's a fun tradition! On Koningsdag (King's Day), which is a national holiday, the icing turns bright orange. This orange color also appears when the Dutch national football team plays in big games. This tradition started around 1990.
The inside of a tompouce is always filled with sweet, yellow pastry cream. Sometimes, people add whipped cream on top for extra deliciousness. You won't often find tompouces with different fillings like jelly. If they have different fillings, they usually aren't called tompouce.
Belgian Tompouce Variations
In Belgium, there are a few different kinds of tompouce. The most common kind has white icing on top. Sometimes, it even has a chocolate pattern, just like a mille-feuille.
Belgians might call this pastry a boekske, which means 'booklet'. This type can be square and might have a sugar finish. Belgians also use the spelling tompouce or call them glacé, which refers to the shiny icing.
How to Eat a Tompoes
Tompoes pastries are often served with tea or coffee. In fancy places, people try to eat them with pastry forks. But this can be a bit messy! The pastry layers are quite firm. When you try to cut a piece, they can squash the soft pastry cream inside. This makes it hard to eat neatly. There's even a funny article called "Hoe eet je een tompoes?" (How do you eat a tompouce?).
Easier Ways to Enjoy Your Tompoes
There are some easier ways to eat a tompouce, even if they are not super formal. One way is to carefully lift off the top layer of icing. Hold it in one hand and the bottom half in your other hand. Then, you can take bites from the top and bottom parts separately. Even with this method, the cream might still squeeze out a little!
Another trick is to turn the tompouce on its side. Then, you can slice it into smaller, bite-sized pieces. This makes it much easier to eat without making a big mess.
See also
In Spanish: Tompoes para niños
