Recipe for Tompouce
Make tompouce, a Dutch dessert that's similar to napoleons, for your next special occasion meal or even just for the fun of it. The pastry means "Tom Thumb" in French and is also commonly called "Tompoes" in Dutch, which also means Tom Thumb. The Dutch version is topped with a bright pink frosting and whipped cream.
If you use pre-made, frozen puff pastry, tompouce is relatively simple to make. You'll need a cup of milk, vanilla extract, egg yolks, salt, flour and sugar for the pastry cream as well as powdered sugar and milk for the icing. If you want to make the icing pink, you'll also need red food coloring. Prepare the custard the day before serving so that it has time to set. The recipe should take less than an hour once the custard is made.
Heat one cup of milk over the stove and add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract to it. While the milk is heating, beat together two egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar, a tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of salt. Once the milk is warm but not boiling, add a small amount, no more than 2 tablespoons, of milk to the egg mixture, to prevent curdling. Mix well, then add 3 more tablespoons of flour and stir. Add the egg mixture to the rest of the milk. Heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens. Set the custard in the refrigerator overnight to cool.
Bake the puff pastry the next day in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, then cut into four sections. Divide each section in half.
Top one half of each section with the pastry cream, then place the second half on top to make a small sandwich. Whisk together a few tablespoons of powdered sugar with a splash of milk and a drop of food coloring to make the icing, then spread on top.
