Tested: this is the tastiest supermarket tompouce (and the worst!)
You either love them or hate them: tompouces. True fans swoon over that pink icing, the creamy filling and, of course, that puff pastry. Which supermarket tompouce is worth buying? And which one is best left on the shelf? We picked up tompouces from the refrigerated section at five major supermarkets to put them to the test.
2023 was the year of the crompouce. The combination of a tompouce and a croissant; very few people could resist it. It got completely out of hand. The crompouces were flying off the shelves and, in their wake, we made a crompouce martini, hung a crompouce in the tree, and from there things went completely downhill. Suddenly, everything could be covered in pink icing—even the tompouce frikandel was born. Time to put an end to that crompouce madness and get our teeth into a regular tompouce again. Which supermarket sells the tastiest one?
Supermarket tompouce test
After a round of visits to various supermarkets, they end up on our testing table. Five different tompouces. From Albert Heijn, Plus, Vomar, Jumbo and Dirk, respectively. At first glance, the differences are striking: the icing on the AH tompouce shines seductively, Vomar’s looks a little dried out and the Dirk tompouce is more purple than pink. That the test team consists of experts becomes clear immediately when we have to cut the tompouces. Have you ever put your fork or knife into the top of a tompouce? It crushes and splatters, but clever Bo places the tompouce on its side and cuts off a piece for each taster.
Cheapest tompouce
And now: tasting. Albert Heijn’s tompouce is an instant favorite. The filling is light and airy, the icing is deliciously sticky and, of course, ear-splittingly sweet, as it should be. And the puff pastry is crisp, not too thick. A winner! We bought the prettiest tompouce at Dirk, with—as the only one in the test—a dollop of whipped cream on the icing. But the taste is a little disappointing: the icing is sour and too firm; you can simply peel it off like a sheet. And the cream between the two layers of puff pastry is disappointing too: grainy, with a fake vanilla flavor and greasy. The worst of the test, unfortunately.
Poor-man’s tompouce
Jumbo doesn’t make bad tompouces at all; the filling is nicely light and airy. Bo: ‘Crisp puff pastry too, delicious.’ Plus has puff pastry that’s too thick, and Rick says of the flavor: ‘Poor-man’s tompouce, this. It tastes like a tompouce from one of those make-it-yourself kits we used to make. I’d eat it out of nostalgia, but it isn’t tasty.’ Vomar doesn’t win any prizes either: the icing looks dried out, the puff pastry is very dark but not crisp, and the layer in between is not only sweet but also very greasy. Where did it go wrong?
Favorite supermarket tompouce
The undisputed winner: Albert Heijn. It looks the best, the flavor is perfect, and the icing is deliciously sticky and far too sweet. Hooray! A box of 4 costs €3.75.
