In the capital of the province of Brabant (in this province in the Netherlands I live) they have a famous traditional pastry. It’s called the ”Bossche bol”. These are Dutch Chocolate cream puffs (Bossche Bollen). Large balls of choux pastry, filled with firm, sweetened, whipped cream, and covered in a thick layer of chocolate fondant. Pastry bakery ”Jan de Groot” sells the one and only original Dutch Chocolate cream puffs (Bossche Bollen) with their still remained secret recipe.
In this recipe, I tried to recreate the famous Dutch Chocolate cream puffs (Bossche Bollen) so you can now make them too! It took me 4 attempts to master the Choux pastry, so I included all the tips and tricks to nail them.
Ingredients for 14 cream puffs
For the Choux pastry
- 100g butter (cubed)
- 100g milk
- 100g water
- 100g flour sifted
- 180g egg (3-4 room temp.)
- Pinch of salt
For the chocolate fondant
- 250g 70% dark chocolate (chopped)
- 200g sugar
- 150g water
For the Cream filling
- 1 L Cream*
- 100g sugar
- 34g whip-it/klop-fix
Whipping cream stabilizer
* Preferably use a cream with 40-45% fat content. Then you do not need the whipping cream stabilizer. If you use a cream with a fat content of 30-35% the whipping cream stabilizer will firm up the whipping cream and gives a more aesthetic look when you cut through the cream puffs.
Materials
- Baking sheet
- Baking paper or baking mat
- Spatula
- Saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Piping bag with a round tip
How it’s done!
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Add the butter, milk, water, and salt in a saucepan. Let the butter melt on low heat before you let the mixture come to a boil.
3. Take the pan off the heat, add the flour all in once, and stir it with a spatula until no lumps are left.
4. Put the pan back on medium heat and cook the mixture for around 2 minutes while continuously stirring with the spatula. (In this step it is important to not cook the mixture too long or on too high heat.) The mixture will be sizzling a little and leave a layer on the bottom of the pan.
5. Transfer the batter to a bowl, stir it with the spatula to cool it down a little.
6. Stir in the egg in 3 or 4 stages. So add a bit of egg and stir until the egg is incorporated before you add more egg and repeat this. The batter should look shiny and firm enough to pipe. If you draw a figure in the batter with the spatula, the batter should not run out and keep its shape.
7. Transfer the batter into a piping bag with a round tip (preferably 2 cm/0,8 inches wide). Try to press out any excess air and tighten the bag.
8. Pipe little dots of batter onto the prepared baking sheet, at least 5 cm/2 inches apart. Keep your piping bag straight up and keep constant pressure. Bake the choux in 2 or 3 batches (or else there will be too much steam in the oven and the choux will not bake properly.)
9. Slide the baking tray into the oven and bake the choux for 20-25 minutes at 200°C/400°F fan oven. The choux will be browned and doubled in size. (Maybe needless to say but don’t open the oven during baking, or else your Choux pastry will collapse!)
10. Meanwhile you can start beating the cream in a bowl. Add the sugar while beating the cream. If you are using a cream with a fat content less than 40%, add the whipping cream stabilizer too. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge to firm up.
11. Transfer the Choux directly from the oven onto a wire rack and poke a hole in the bottom of each puff with a knife. This way the excess steam can get out, which forms a nice crust (or else the Choux can get soft and damp and collapse.) Let the Choux completely cool down.
12. Put the whipped cream in a piping bag and fill the puffs with the whipped cream through the holes in the bottom. Make sure to put the tip into the choux pastry and fill it richly until the choux pastry pushes back.
13. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan. Boil it for around 2 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved. A clear syrup will form. Take the pan off the heat, add the chocolate and stir with a spatula until the chocolate has melted completely.
13. Dip each cream puff into the chocolate fondant. I like to use a meat fork to prick the bottom side of the cream puff and then turn it around into the chocolate fondant. This way you are able to almost cover the cream puffs completely with the chocolate fondant and not get chocolate all over your hands. Then transfer the dipped cream puffs onto a wire rack or baking tray and let them set for 15-30 minutes.
Serving tip: Serve the chocolate cream puffs right away or store them in the fridge until serving. A nice firm cooled whipped cream filling is the best!
If you like to try more real Dutch classics, then check out the recipe for Appelbollen – Dutch Apple Dumplings and Worstenbroodjes – Dutch Sausage rolls.
Tried this Dutch Delicacy? Let me know in the comments down below if you enjoyed these Dutch Chocolate cream puffs (Bossche Bollen) and if there is a traditional pastry specialty where you live! It always makes me happy to see photos of your creations. So share them with me @Talesofpastry (Insta + FB) or Tales-Of-Pastry (Reddit).
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