Orange Tom Pouce
This classic Dutch pastry is turned orange in celebration of King's Day
Equipment
- Oven
- Tin foil
- Cardboard box (old, but clean)
Ingredients
Pastry
- 4 sheets puff pastry
Pudding
- 500 ml plant milk
- 100 ml plant cream e.g. Alpro Cuisine
- 60 grams sugar
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 grams corn starch (maïzena)
Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp coconut oil odorless
- OPTIONAL: plant-based whipped cream from a can
Instructions
Pastry
- Defrost 4 sheets of puff pastry
- Cut these in half to create 8 long strips
- With a fork, poke small holes into the sheets to limit the amount they rise (but don't overdo it)
- Bake the sheets according to the instruction on the package (it's better to bake it a little too short than too long)
- Put a sheet of tin foil on a piece of cardboard; put four baked sheets on top of that next to each other; fold the tin foil up so it creates edges to create an 'inner box'; use remaining cardboard to create a 'outer box' that narrowly fits the tin foil
Pudding
- Mix the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a pan and put it on medium heat
- Take four tablespoons of this mixture and mix it in a separate bowl with the cornstarch; mix well to avoid lumps
- Once the pan starts to boil, add the cornstarch, while continuously whisking
- When the mixture becomes thick (ca. 5 minutes), pour it on top of the puff pastry sheets in the 'box'
- Put the remaining four puff pastry sheets on top of the pudding and put the whole in the fridge
Icing
- Melt the coconut oil
- In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, orange juice, and coconut oil; the mixture should be a very thick liquid, if it's too runny, add more powdered sugar (or even just flour); if the mixture is too grainy, add liquid (be careful not to add to much liquid)
- Pour the icing into the 'box' on top of the puff pastry sheets and put it back into the fridge
Eating
- Once both the pudding and the icing have hardened, take the pastries out of the fridge and 'unbox' them; proceed to cut the pudding and frosting into four pieces along the existing cuts in the puff pastry sheets
- Optional: to really finish it off, spray on some whipped cream from a can lengthwise in a straight line
- Not even the Dutch themselves agree on what the best way to actually eat a tom pouce is, so just enjoy eating it however you like it!
Notes
Orange Tom Pouces are traditionally eaten on King’s Day. You can still eat a Tom Pouce any other day of the year, but then the traditional color is pink. You can turn it pink by replacing the orange juice with beet juice or juice of another red fruit.
If you want more intense colors (orange or pink), you can also replace the juice with the same amount of water and a few drops of food coloring.