#bossche

But first before I get into what happened at the weekend, I just wanted to quickly remark that I now have 50 53 followers! I only started this blog last September, and the support is really appreciated! Dank u wel allemaal!

So, anyway. Get ready for my biggest post yet.

Bossche bol

At the weekend, my boyfriend and I travelled to 's-Hertogenbosch (also known as Den Bosch, if the pronunciation of the full name is a bit of a mouthful) on a mission to try the infamous Bossche bol. 's-Hertogenbosch is the capital city of the province North Brabant, and its name translates into English as The Duke’s Forest (or The Forest if you’re using the name Den Bosch). Lovely city, with interesting buildings and museums to visit.

The Bossche bol is a sweet treat that I would liken to a large tennis-ball-sized profiterole (and somewhat different to the other similar Dutch pastry, moorkop, which I will discuss in a later post). It’s a pastry sphere (with a thicker flat bottom), filled with whipped cream and covered entirely in melted chocolate (usually dark).

Bossche bollen are normally enjoyed as a treat alongside a cup of coffee, rather than a full dessert following a meal. They are traditionally eaten using your fingers, but seeing as they are incredibly messy, you can also use a knife and fork (which I took as the safe option!). For the record, it was ridiculously tasty.

Historically, an early representation of the Bossche bol was being sold in Den Bosch by a baker called Lambermont in the early 20th century. It was a pastry sphere filled with custard rather than whipped cream. In 1920, a baker from The Hague called Henri van der Zijde set up shop near Lambermont’s bakery and created a sphere filled with whipped cream and coated with real chocolate rather than a cocoa glaze. Lambermont quickly followed suit, and when this recipe became more known outside of Den Bosch, it was soon dubbed the name “Bossche bol”! Wat leuk.

Nowadays, there is only one bakery that remains in Den Bosch that is acknowledged as offering the original recipe, and that is Jan de Groot. Look at the queue outside!

Luckily we wanted to eat in the actual cafe, so we managed to skip this queue (these are all people wanting to buy baked goods to go!). This queue was the only reason that we didn’t buy any Bossche bollen to take home with us... Het was heel druk!

Jan de Groot banketbakkerij

Just to be clear, Jan de Groot doesn’t only sell Bossche bollen, as renowned for it as it is. Take a look at part of the selection below!

Are you all salivating? Ik ook.

This was only one small cabinet that happened to be next to our table when we visited. You can see the Bossche bollen but there were also loads and loads of different pastries and cakes on offer. One of which will get a special mention as it was delicious, and my boyfriend is a bit obsessed with it.

Hazelnoot bol

This bad boy right here is a hazelnoot bol. So, a hazelnut ball. I am unsure of the history of this, but this is a little bundle of joy. Basically, the outside is a hazelnut icing, with bubbles of actual hazelnuts in the protrusions that you can see. Unfortunately I did not photograph the innards but it’s a mixture of both meringue and whipped cream, with meringue having the higher ratio. Honestly, a delight to eat. Mijn vriendje moeten blij ik noemde zijn favoriete snack!

So! If any of you decide to pay Den Bosche a visit, I highly recommend trying this famous Bossche bol (and possibly fighting through the queue to buy some to take home with you!) and the large range of other baked goods offered by Jan de Groot.