Although there are many varieties of mille feuille pastries from different cultures, this Tompouce is the Dutch version. It features two layers of flaky pastry sandwiched around thick pastry cream filling. Its pink (or sometimes orange) glaze provides a unique aesthetic and a sweet finish.
Tompouce or tompoes is a Dutch variety of a mille feuille or Napoleon pastry. The story goes that an Amsterdam pastry chef created the tompouce in 1858 and named it after Admiraal Tom Pouce, which was the stage name of the Frisian dwarf Jan Hannema. The cleverness of naming this pastry after a dwarf while the Napoleon pastry is named after a small of stature Napoleon Bonaparte is not lost.
Tompouce features thin puff pastry layers sandwiched around a cream filling. It’s usually finished with a sweet, distinctly pink (but occasionally white) glaze and sometimes with an additional stripe of whipped cream piped down the middle.
In a celebratory twist, in honor of King’s Day (Koningsdag) in the Netherlands (usually April 27th), the pink icing is swapped out for orange, the color of the Dutch Royal Family. These cream-filled pastries are often served with afternoon tea or coffee, and are very popular for other occasions such as birthdays and, of course, King’s Day.
Puff Pastry – Cheese Twist is definitely a rocking appetizer.Hmmmmmmmmmm Cheese and jalapeno is layered between the flaky, crunchy, and buttery puff pastry. This beautifully baked golden finger-food is so aromatic, that I was enchanted with the fresh baked scent which spread all over my house. Just imagine the flavors that will hit your palette and the sound of the crunch you will experience on the first bite.
This is a very versatile recipe, make it sweet or savory – the choices are endless. There is the puff pastry in which the mix of chopped jalapeno and grated cheese with dried thyme is folded and twisted then baked.
There is ready to use puff pastry available –
Vicenzi Ciambelline Burro Fresco Puff Pastry with Fresh Butter, 85g
You can go ahead and use that one or come with me to learn how to make your own beautifully layered puff pastry in your kitchen. It’s not rocket science, You can very well achieve all those layers. All you need is a few good quality ingredients and patience. Let me not forget- Space in the fridge. 🙂
The dough for preparing Puff Pastry – Cheese Twist
Grated the frozen butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough.
Folding the butter in between the dough layers
All butter is packed inside, it goes straight in the fridge
The first fold starts, you will be rolling and folding the same way 3 time
Making of Puff Pastry – Cheese Twist after chilling of puff pastry
Folded into half, in between is the cheese and jalapeno mix
Twisted with gentle hands and placed on the prepared baking sheet
All baked and ready 🙂 Are you hungry
Few very important points to read before you start :
1. For the puff pastry every thing has to be cold, I mean, the ingredients as well as your head. You require patience and be very precise about all the steps.
2. If the pastry gets soft while rolling or cutting return it back to the fridge to firm up.
3. Dust your kitchen surface and your rolling pin with little flour before you start to work with your dough. But at the same time don’t incorporate extra flour to your rolled out dough sheet, dust out all the excess flour using a pastry brush.
4. Don’t over handle your dough,once the butter is added. Hand are warm so touch it to the least with your hands. At any stage of the making we don’t want the butter to melt.
5. Puff pastry is all about rolling and folding. After every fold the pastry has to go back to the fridge so we can maintain the layers and flakiness. Please don’t hurry the process – at least an hour in the fridge is required.
6. Use a pizza cutter to cut the stripes, Its easier and much neater then using a knife.
7. Brush your pastry with egg wash (one egg lightly beaten with about 1 tsp of water) or with little cold milk before baking for that attractive sheen.
8. Roll evenly without forcing.If you press too hard the pastry will lose the layers so be gentle.
9. Keep it even, keep it simple don’t over think or over do.
10.Don’t try to increase the amount of butter or layers to achieve the extra. Less is more while making of the puff pastry.
You can make a batch of the layered pastry dough and keep in the freezer for later use. Its a great way to handle quick and sudden guest situations.
INGREDIENTS
1. 300g plain flour
2. A pinch salt
3. 1 Tablespoon of sugar
4. 50 gm of butter chilled and cut into cubes
5. 120gm of butter frozen
6. Some cold water to knead the dough
7. 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8. 1 jalapeno chopped
9. 1 tablespoon of dried thyme
10. Egg wash or 1/4th cup of cold milk
Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Rub in the cubed butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water to form a dough (about 4-6 tablespoons of water). Wrap the dough in a cling wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out into a rectangle on a lightly floured work surface. Grate the frozen butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third as if folding a letter. cover it and keep it in the fridge.( Now that the butter is in, it has to be in the fridge for atleast 1 hour after every fold )
Merry Folds !
Take the dough out of the fridge and put it on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a rectangle, keeping the edges as even as possible. Fold the top quarter down and the bottom quarter up so they meet neatly in the center. Then fold the dough in half along the center line. Chill again for 1 hour.
Repeat the process of folding at least 3 time then Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour before using.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl mix together cheese, jalapeno and dried thyme and set aside.
Lay out your puff pastry on your kitchen surface and roll out with the thickness of about 1/8th of an inch. Brush the sheet with egg wash or milk and top with cheese and jalapeno mix. Carefully fold the puff in half and press down gently using your rolling pin to get the even surface. Cut into even strips. Twist with gentle hands and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
Now at this point if you feel that the butter is again melting, keep the prepared tray back in the fridge all covered.
Tip : you can use a big plastic bag rather then using so much of cling wrap. Put the tray inside the plastic bag and pop in the fridge
Bake the twists until golden brown about 35-45 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before enjoying.
MILK TART WITH A BAKED CRUST
Subject to personal taste, this is in my opinion the original South African Milk tart. (Melktert) Baked crust and a filling that does not require baking.
Number Of Ingredients 14
Classic pastry cream, or creme patissiere, is a vanilla custard thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch. You can fill fluffy doughnuts, eclairs or other baked goods with this sweet cream or simply enjoy it on its own. This recipe does take some finesse, but the final product is completely worth the effort.
Food Network Kitchen
about 2 1/2 cups
Milk tart with creamy filling and a homemade crust is a South African classic. Perfect as dessert or served for tea time.
- Make the pastry according to recipe instructions then blind bake until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- To make the filling, heat the milk, cream, vanilla, almond extract and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, sugar, flours and salt.
- Once the milk is hot, whisk two ladles full of the milk into the egg mixture to temper the eggs.
- Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook until thickened, whisking continuously. Cook the custard for 2-3 minutes until thick and smooth.
- Pass the custard through a fine-mesh sieve. Beat in the butter.
- Pour the custard into the prepared crust. Spray a piece of parchment paper with cooking spray then press onto the surface of the custard to avoid a skin from forming.
- Place the milk tart in the fridge and allow to set for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.
- Before serving, dust the cinnamon over the milk tart. Slice and serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 278 kcal, Carbohydrate 36 g, Protein 6 g, Fat 12 g, SaturatedFat 6 g, Cholesterol 151 mg, Sodium 63 mg, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 22 g, ServingSize 1 serving
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A mille feuille, which takes its name from the French phrase meaning “thousand sheets,” is a lovely, delicate French pastry that is often mistaken for the very similar Napoleon. Although the two pastries appear identical, Preppy Kitchen points out that Napoleons are typically prepared with almond-flavored pastry cream, while mille feuilles are flavored with vanilla cream.
While mille feuilles may look like they’d be almost impossible for anyone but a professional pastry chef to make, recipe developer Laura Sampson of the Little House Big Alaska blog lets us in on a little secret: These are actually quite doable if you start with frozen puff pastry. Yes, you’re allowed to do this! Even if you’re a real do-it-yourselfer, making your own puff pastry just sets the bar a bit too high if you’re in a time crunch.
Once you take the pastry-making out of the equation, the rest of the recipe, Sampson says, is “not hard work,” although she does admit “it’s a lot of fussy work,” so it will take some time. The most difficult part may actually be figuring out how to pronounce mille feuille properly without sounding like you slept through your high school French class. According to YouTuber Julien Miquel, it should sound something like “MEEL-foya,” but you might need to practice it a few times in order to introduce your pastries with the proper French flair.
Gather the ingredients to prepare mille feuille
Unless you’re an old hand at making flaky pastry-based things, you may not have puff pastry sheets in the freezer, and you may not even be entirely sure where to find them. Frozen puff pastry can usually be found in the supermarket frozen dessert section, perhaps in the general neighborhood of the Cool Whip. Sampson says she used the Pepperidge Farm brand to prepare her mille feuilles, and this recipe calls for just one sheet, or half of a 17.3-ounce package.
The rest of the ingredients are pretty basic pantry items you may already have on hand: eggs (you’re only using one whole one, plus three yolks), cornstarch or all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, salt, milk, vanilla extract, softened unsalted butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder.
Prepare the vanilla pastry cream
The pastry cream, as opposed to the frosting, is the custardy filling that goes between those (not quite) thousand sheets of pastry. You’ll start off by putting the eggs (whole and yolks) into a bowl, then sifting the dry ingredients over them. Sampson says you can either use cornstarch or all-purpose flour, but be sure to note the different amounts of each. This is due to cornstarch having superior thickening abilities, but if you don’t have any on hand, the larger amount of flour will work just fine. Whisk the ingredients together, and then set them aside.
Warm 2 cups of milk with 2 teaspoons vanilla over medium until just bubbling but not boiling. Remove from the heat, and pour half the milk over the eggs, whisking constantly. Pour the egg/milk mix into the rest of the milk, return it to the stove and cook, whisking, over medium heat until it’s just beginning to boil. Turn down the heat to low, and cook for another minute or two until there’s no more flour/cornstarch flavor. Then, remove the mixture from the stovetop, and stir in the butter. Strain the custard into a sieve placed over a bowl, pressing it down through the sieve in order to get the lumps out. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the pastry cream for two hours.
Cut out the puff pastry pieces
Once the pastry cream is in the fridge, you can get to work on the pastry itself. It will help if you first make a template measuring 2×4 inches out of cardboard or paper. The sheet of puff pastry will need to thaw for some time before you can work on it — Sampson says that 45 minutes on the kitchen counter should do it. Once it’s thawed, unfold the sheet and gently press any tears back together. Roll the dough out to a rectangle that’s roughly 12×14 inches and 1/16-inch thick. Sampson says you’ll need to cut out, at minimum, 24 2×4-inch pastry rectangles, but says rolling the sheet out to these dimensions should make “a few extra in case you burn some.”
When you cut out the rectangles using the template, don’t worry if they’re a bit raggedy. Sampson reassures, “They don’t need to be precise, because puff pastry has a way of getting out of shape in the oven.” You can always trim the cooked pastry, if needed.
Bake the puff pastry
While you’re cutting out the rectangles, or even before you start, you can preheat the oven to 400 F so you’ll be ready to bake the pastry as soon as it goes “ding,” “buzz,” or whatever sound your oven makes. Get out your biggest baking sheet, and line it with parchment paper. Then, lay as many rectangles on the sheet as you can without crowding them too much. Cover the pastry with another sheet of parchment paper, then place another baking sheet on top. Sampson explains this extra baking sheet will weight the pastry down and prevent it from getting too puffy.
Bake the first batch of pastry rectangles for 11 to 14 minutes until they are crispy and cooked all the way through. Remove them to a cooling rack while you prepare another pan for the remaining dough rectangles, and repeat the whole process. Let the pastry cool thoroughly before you assemble the mille feuilles.
Make the icing for the tops of the mille feuilles
Don’t start making the icing until you’re just about ready to put the mille feuilles together. Once the pastry cream is sufficiently chilled and set, and all of the puff pastry pieces are cool, put the powdered sugar into a bowl. Mix in the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla along with just as much milk as you need to make a thick frosting. To prepare the chocolate icing, first remove ½ cup of the vanilla icing to a separate bowl. Then, add in the cocoa powder along with enough milk to return it to the same consistency as the vanilla icing. Thick, but spreadable, is what you’re going for here.
Put the mille feuilles together
Put the pastry cream and the chocolate icing into piping bags or Ziploc bags with one corner snipped off, using a large one for the cream and a small one for the icing. Stack the pastry rectangles in sets of three, trying to match the sizes as best you can. Line the stacks up on the cooling racks, then remove the top rectangle from each stack and frost each of the top pieces with the vanilla icing. Next, place three to four dots of the chocolate icing on each frosted pastry piece, and drag a toothpick through the dots to make swirls or heart shapes in the frosting.
Once you have frosted all eight top pieces, let them dry while you spread the cream over the bottom pastry piece of each stack. Lay another pastry piece on top, then cover this piece with pastry cream as well. The frosted rectangles will go on top, giving you a pastry with two layers of cream filling and one frosted layer.
Shortcut Mille Feuille Recipe
While mille feuilles may look impossible for anyone but a professional pastry chef to make, this recipe proves that wrong by using frozen puff pastry.
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch or 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 2 ¼ cups milk, divided
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ package (1 sheet) frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Appetizer – Pizza Muffins
Expert tips
Tompouce is best served the day it is made or at the most within 1 day of assembly. On subsequent days the pastry will begin to soften. Store leftover slices covered with foil in the refrigerator. Putting it in a plastic container will soften the pastry more rapidly.
I like to pre-cut the top layer of baked puff pastry. This makes it easier to cut the tompouce into rectangles with minimal mess and potential squishing. I use the same technique with my Cremeschnitten.
That being said, because these Dutch pastries are topped with glaze at the end, inevitably, some of the glaze will seep into those pre-made cuts. I don’t mind a little pink glaze getting in there, but here are a few alternative options:
- Glaze the entire top half of the pastry before cutting it into rectangles. Let it dry thoroughly, then cut it as directed. Finally, top the cream-covered bottom pastry layer with the glazed and cut tops, and finish cutting into rectangles.
- Cut your assembled pastries into rectangles and then, one-by-one, top each rectangle with glaze. This could get messy unless you were to pipe the glaze onto the tops (in which case make extra glaze to ensure you have enough!).
- Cut your assembled pastries, then carefully remove the tops, glaze them and then return them to their bottoms.
There’s really no right or wrong way to glaze your tompouce. Do as you wish!
There is a running joke about the right way to eat a tompouce because they are notoriously messy. Here are a few options you could try!
- Dig in with a fork and just accept that you’ll make a mess of it
- Hold it between your thumb and index finger and just bite right into it (also messy!)
- Lift the top layer off the bottom and eat them separately, or take sequential bites
- Flip it on its side and then cut into smaller pieces
- Use the tines of your fork to perforate the top pastry layer and then carefully pierce the pastry with the side of your fork
Chouquette – Choux Pastry Puffs
Ingredient notes
- Milk: Over the years I have made pastry cream with all different types of milk, from low-fat to whole. Although whole milk is always your best bet, you can make this with whatever kind of milk you have on hand.
- Cornstarch: This tompouce recipe uses a lot of cornstarch (corn flour). It does a fantastic job of setting the pastry cream to optimal thickness.
- Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to flavor the custard. I love vanilla bean paste because it’s easy, convenient, lasts longer in the pantry than fresh vanilla beans, and you still get the gorgeous specks of real vanilla bean throughout your custard!
How to make it
Begin by making the pastry cream. In a large saucepan, beat the egg yolks together, then slowly whisk in the milk. Add sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
Heat the pan over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture is very thick and easily coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, then whisk in vanilla paste or vanilla extract.
Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl (PHOTO 1). Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic against the surface of the custard so it doesn’t form a skin. Cool completely in the refrigerator (PHOTO 2).
Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Place the puff pastry sheet on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and prick the top with the tines of a fork (PHOTO 3). Bake for about 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown and crisp (PHOTO 4).
If it puffs up too much at the start of baking, use a fork to deflate it, then lightly press it back down to flatten. Set aside to cool.
Cut the baked puff pastry sheet in half using a serrated knife. It should be roughly 9 by 6 inches after halving (the exact dimensions will vary by puff pastry brand!).
Place one cooled puff pastry sheet half on a large cutting board. Invert the other baked puff pastry half (so the flatter side is facing up). Use a serrated knife to cut the inverted half into 8 rectangles, roughly 1 ½ by 4 ½ inches.
Leave the cut rectangles in the same arrangement and set aside. Pre-cutting them now will make it easier to portion your tompouce later.
Vigorously whisk the cooled custard to loosen it up, then pipe or spread it over the intact baked puff pastry half and smooth out the top.
Arrange the cut pieces of baked puff pastry over the top. Lightly press so they are all flat and even.
To make the glaze for your tompouce, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, water, and food coloring. Then pour the glaze over the top of the assembled pastry and spread it out in an even layer using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Using the pre-cut top layer of pastry as a guide, use a sharp knife to cut through the layers to slice the entire pastry into pieces.
Carefully wipe off the blade between cuts for super clean slices. Allow the glaze set a bit before serving or serve immediately.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
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- () milk
- () granulated sugar
- () cornstarch
- vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 8 to 9 () puff pastry
Glaze
- In a large saucepan or small pot, beat the egg yolks together, then slowly add the milk beating until smooth. Add the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
- Cut the baked puff pastry sheet in half using a serrated knife. It should be roughly 9 by 6 inches after halving (the exact dimensions will vary by puff pastry brand!). One half will be the bottom and one will be the top.
- Place one cooled puff pastry sheet half on a large cutting board. Invert the other baked puff pastry half (so the flatter side is facing up). Use a serrated knife to cut the inverted half into 8 rectangles, roughly 1 ½ by 4 ½ inches. Leave the cut rectangles in the same arrangement and set aside. Pre-cutting them now will make it easier to portion your tompouce later.
- Vigorously whisk the cooled custard to loosen it up, then pipe or spread it over the intact baked puff pastry half and smooth out the top. Arrange the cut pieces of baked puff pastry over the top (the flat side should be facing up and the edges should be touching). Lightly press so they are all flat and even. If any custard squeezes out of the sides, use an offset spatula to smooth it out.
- Make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners’ sugar, water, and food coloring. Pour the glaze over the top of the assembled pastry and spread it out in an even layer using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Using the pre-cut top layer of pastry as a guide, use a sharp knife to cut through the layers until the entire pastry has been sliced into pieces. Carefully wipe off the blade between cuts for super clean slices. Allow the glaze set a bit before serving or serve immediately.
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*