The Bossche bol comes from 's Hertogenbosch, the old cathedral city in North Brabant that everyone in the Netherlands calls Den Bosch. It is a profiterole that has been given ambitions: a hollow choux bun about 5 inches (12 cm) across, packed with whipped cream and dressed entirely in dark chocolate. In its home town it is simply a chocoladebol, a chocolate ball; the rest of the country named it after the place, which is how you know a pastry has made it.

Bakers in the city have argued over its origins for a century. The heirs of Henri van der Zijde, who opened a shop in Den Bosch in 1920, say he was the first to fill the bun with whipped cream and cover it in real chocolate, while an older bakery on the same street had sold a custard filled ancestor before that. What nobody disputes is the etiquette: you eat it with your hands, ideally with a cup of coffee, and the locals advise turning it upside down so the chocolate cap becomes a sturdy base. It looks like a lot of pastry, and it is, but it is mostly air and cream, which is the sort of reasoning that makes a second one seem sensible on a Zandvoort race weekend.

The choux shells

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/4 cups (155 g) all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs

Method

1. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 400°F (200°C). Line the baking sheet with parchment. With a pencil, draw six circles about 3 inches (7.5 cm) across, spaced well apart, then turn the paper over so the pencil is underneath.
2. Put the water, butter, sugar and salt in the saucepan over medium heat. Let the butter melt completely, stirring now and then, and only then bring the pan to a full rolling boil.
3. Take the pan off the heat and tip in all the flour in one go. Stir hard with the wooden spoon until there is no dry flour left and a rough, lumpy dough forms.
4. Put the pan back over medium low heat and keep stirring, pressing the dough against the bottom and sides of the pan, for 2 to 3 minutes. This cooks the flour and drives off water so the dough can take the eggs.
5. Put the dough into the stand mixer bowl or a large bowl. Mix it on low speed, or stir it with the spoon, for about 2 minutes to let some of the steam escape, so it does not cook the eggs.
6. Add the beaten egg about a quarter at a time, mixing well after each addition until the dough is smooth again before adding more. At first it will look split and slippery; keep mixing and it will come together. Hold back the last 2 tablespoons of egg and check the texture before adding them.
7. Spoon the dough into the large piping bag. Hold the bag upright in the center of a circle, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) above the paper, and squeeze steadily without moving the tip, letting the dough spread to fill the circle and rise into a dome about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) high. Stop squeezing, then flick the tip sideways to break off. Without a bag, use two large spoons to drop six even mounds. Wet a fingertip and gently press down any points on top.
8. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 25 minutes without opening the door. Then turn the oven down to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Take the sheet out and turn off the oven. Turn each shell over and poke a hole in the center of the base with the skewer, wiggling it to make a hole about 1/4 inch (6 mm) wide. Put the shells back in the switched off oven with the door propped slightly open for 10 minutes, then cool them completely on the rack.

The chocolate glaze

Ingredients

• 7 oz (200 g) dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup or golden syrup
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) unsalted butter

Method

1. Put the chopped chocolate in the heatproof bowl. Heat the cream and syrup in the small saucepan until small bubbles appear around the edge, then pour it over the chocolate. Leave it alone for 2 minutes, then stir slowly from the center outwards until smooth. Stir in the butter.
2. Leave the glaze to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, so it is thick enough to cling to the shells.
3. Hold a cooled shell by its base and dip the top and sides into the glaze, going down about two thirds of the way. Lift it out, let the excess drip off for a few seconds, then turn it upright and set it on the rack, hole side down. Repeat with the rest. If the glaze is thin in places, spoon a little more over the top.
4. Leave the glazed shells at cool room temperature for about 30 minutes, or 15 minutes in the fridge, until the chocolate has set.

The whipped cream filling

Ingredients

• 2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons (25 g) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Pour the cold cream into the large bowl, add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and whisk by hand or with the mixer on medium speed until it thickens. Watch closely towards the end and stop as soon as it holds its shape.
2. Spoon the cream into the small piping bag. Turn a glazed shell upside down in your hand, push the tip into the hole in the base and squeeze gently. Keep going until the shell feels heavy and a little cream pushes back out of the hole. Wipe the base clean and set it chocolate side up. Repeat with the rest.

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