Bossche Bollen

I wanted to create something similar to a cream puff, but just a little bit different. In my hunt, I came across a Dutch treat called bossche bollen. It consists of a pastry puff filled with whipped cream and then completely covered in chocolate. Sounds divine right? Also perhaps a little bit messy...

You start by making the pastry puff. When I made them the first time I took them out from the oven when they were just becoming golden brown. Turns out, they were undercooked.  I ended up tossing the batch (luckily it only makes about 4). The second time I made sure that they were nice and golden all over, like so:

That put their time in the oven to more like 25-27 minutes versus the 20-25 minutes the recipe initially calls for. I know each oven is different though, so I left the time the same in the actual recipe. 

They were delicious, and should really be eaten within the same day they were made (no trouble with that here...) otherwise the pastry part gets very soft, like when cream puffs are filled for too long. 

Next time, per hubby's request, I will try it with a custard filling versus whipped cream. Can't wait!

Bossche Bollen

{adapted from The Dutch Table}

Makes 4

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Heat the water and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and add flour. Combine until mixture forms a ball. Add the pinch of salt and egg. Stir until fully combined.
3. Divide the dough into 4 balls and place onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffy and golden. Cool on wire rack.
4. Beat the heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of the sugar until stiff peaks form. Taste the cream and add another tablespoon of sugar if desired. Poke a hole in the bottom of each puff and then use a piping bag to fill each with whipped cream.
5. Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler and add the tablespoon of oil. Stir until combined and then let chocolate cool for a few minutes. Then dip the puffs head first into the chocolate (or spoon chocolate over the puffs on a wire rack).
6. Cool in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until chocolate is hardened.