Tompouce
 | |
| Alternative names | Tompoes |
|---|---|
| Type | Pastry |
| Place of origin | Netherlands, Belgium |
| Main ingredients | Puff pastry, icing, pastry cream |
A tompouce or tompoes is a pastry often eaten in the Netherlands or Belgium. It is named after Admiraal Tom Pouce, the stage name of a Frisian actor with dwarfism called Jan Hannema.[1] The tompoes is a different form of a mille-feuille, otherwise known as a Napoleon.
History[change | change source]
Name[change | change source]
The first tompouce was made by a baker in Amsterdam in 1858. The actor it was named after had gotten his name from another actor, Charles Sherwood Stratton. Stratton called himself Tom Thumb, the literal translation of Tom Pouce.[1] Tom Thumb is a fairy tale about a small man.
What it's known for[change | change source]
Colour[change | change source]
The tompouce is often associated with the day the people of the Netherlands celebrate the birthday of their monarch (In Dutch: Koningsdag; King's Day). The colour of the icing on top of the pastry is changed for this event.[2] The icing is normally pink, but it is changed to orange. Orange is the national colour of the Netherlands. The orange tompouce is also eaten during large events the Netherlands takes part in, such as the FIFA World Cup.
Eating[change | change source]
The tompouce is known for being difficult to eat.[3] When you try to put a fork in it, the cream on the inside tends to spill out. Because of this, the Dutch have come up with many different ways to eat the pastry.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "geschiedenis van de tompouce - HEMA". www.hema.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ↑ "Waarom eten we op Koningsdag een tompouce?". npo3.nl. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ↑ Schravesande, Freek (30 August 2007). "Hoe eet je een tompoes?" [How do you eat a tompouce?]. NRC (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.