Crompouce craze spiraling out of control on social media
Following the viral success of the crompouce, several variations have emerged on social media, some with questionable taste combinations. The trend has spread like wildfire across the country.
Crompouce hype began a few weeks ago. As the name suggests, it is a fusion of a tompouce and a croissant. Traditionally, a tompouce is a typical Dutch pastry comprising two sheets of puff pastry with a filling of custard cream, topped with a thin layer of pink icing. The crompouce introduces a modern twist: a croissant cut lengthwise, filled with custard, and finished with the signature pink icing.
Recently, this pastry's popularity has soared in the Netherlands, propelled largely by its viral fame on TikTok. Major retailers like Albert Heijn, Jumbo, and Vomar have announced plans to sell it.
Dozens of tompouce variations have quickly followed on social media. Frikanpouce, kibbelpouce, oliepouce, chocoladebol, the recipe remains the same: an iconic Dutch snack filled with baker's cream and topped with a layer of sweet icing.
The latest creation is the “Bosschant,” a hybrid of a croissant and the Bossche Bol, a pastry from 's‑Hertogenbosch. “We’re going to make a Bosschant. That’s a cross between a croissant and a Bossche Bol. It comes out of the oven with a nice crisp feel, then we fill it with whipped cream, and dip it in the pure chocolate. They’re super-lekker,” said the owner of an oliebollen kraan in Haarlem, according to Hart van Nederland.
How funny as this might sound, the trend might well be spiraling out of control, with new variations like pizzapouce, hamburgerpouce, sushipouce, and chickenpouce appearing daily on social media. Some videos have garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
Retail expert Paul Moers is amused by the phenomenon: "It's hilarious how this has been embraced," he commented to Hart van Nederland. "We know the tompouce as an iconic HEMA product, but it's funny that people have now been so creative to come up with variants on this. You can come up with an endless number of options, so this hype isn’t likely to fade soon,” he added.
However, many agree that there should be some limits. Culinary expert Onno Kleyn suggested drawing the line at savory items, especially kibbeling, a Dutch fish snack. "The fish flavor in combination with the intense sweet taste of the tompouce is simply unacceptable," he told Hart van Nederland. "I wonder if they’ll keep seeling it after a few weeks. This can't be a success.”
Only time will reveal which tompouce variation will endure beyond the current craze. "If an exciting new product comes along, we will eat it again en masse. But the original tompouce, croissant and oliebol will always remain,” Kleyn concluded.
