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.
Ingredient notes
- Puff Pastry: There are many brands of puff pastry available on the market. Plan to use an all-butter puff pastry for optimal flavor (meaning it's made with butter and not shortening or other fats). My usual go-to brand is Trader Joe's. Their puff pastry sheets are about 9 ½ inches by 12 ½ inches each, but will shrink by about ½ to 1 inch in both directions after baking. The dimensions of different brands will vary, but this tompouce recipe will work regardless.
- 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.
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
Other recipes you may like
- Cremeschnitte (Austrian Cream Slices)
- Donauwelle Kuchen (Danube Wave Cake / Snow White Cake)
- Karpatka (Polish Carpathian Mountain Cake)
- Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
- Mango Tarte Tatin (French-Style Mango Tart)
- Pastelitos de Queso y Guayaba (Guava and Cheese Pastries)
- Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Breakfast Cake)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Tompouce / Tompoes (Dutch Mille Feuille Pastry)
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) milk
- ⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (40 grams) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 8 to 9 ounces (1 sheet) puff pastry
Glaze:
- 100 grams (about 1 cup) confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons water
- 1 drop (or as needed) red, pink, or orange food coloring (or a combination of red and yellow to make orange)
Instructions
- 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.
- Heat the pan over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture is very thick and easily coats the back of a spoon and/or reaches a temperature of 180°F/80°C with an instant read thermometer, about 10 to 12 minutes total.
- Remove from the heat, whisk in the vanilla until smooth, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into a medium mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic against the surface of the custard so it doesn’t form a skin. Let it cool completely in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Place the puff pastry sheet on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (roll out to adjust dimensions if needed) and prick the top with the tines of a fork. Bake for about 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. If it puffs up too much at the start of baking, use a fork to deflate it, and 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!). 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.
Notes
- This 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 glazing 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.
Nutrition
*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.*
Lana says
The recipe is great! Very tasty and easy to prepare. I was looking for this recipe after visiting the Netherlands. This dessert is now our favorite.
Thank you!