I like finding food items with ‘cousins’ and ‘close relatives’ among global food communities.  I don’t know why, but I find this type of stuff fascinating.  Take, the Danish, Flødebolle, for instance….

In its most basic form, a Flødebolle is a cookie, wafer or marzipan disk, topped with a velvety, foamy meringue with a marshmallow like quality (but a bit runnier than a full marshmallow), which is delicately painted or covered with chocolate.  This is something you can find year round and freshly made by bakeries and chocolate shops.  They have a fun shape and are even more entertaining to eat (a solid two bite sweet).

Outside of Denmark, there are many close cousins to the Flødebolle.  For example, it goes by a snowball, a krembo, a mallomar, a chocolate head, or a Mohrenköpfe. In Canada, I would say it is similar to a cookie called a Viva Puff, or I guess, if you could make the mental stretch, you could think of it as an open faced s’more.

I’m sure we could play the name game forever, and I know I missed out on several countries who produce a similar sweet- feel free to add to the list in the comment section below or on our Facebook page as I would love to learn more about this item, but let me share with you why I decided to blog about them.

Why am I writing about this “cream bun” (the literal translation from Danish to English)?  Last weekend I attended Chocolate Festival in Copenhagen, where every major and boutique chocolate shop was showcasing a variation of the Flødebolle.  I can take a hint when something is popular! I saw the signs on each table. These things were everywhere and are everywhere around Copenhagen.

There were those topped with crushed nuts, those rolled in coconut shavings and those sprinkled with rose petals or dried raspberries or something luxurious like that.  The ones in the picture below are from Summerbird– which are taste like a combination of raspberry and lemon with white chocolate.

I think these would be a fun dessert to serve at the end of the meal.  Their height is impressive and would stand out on a really great cake stand or platter!  I can picture it now.

I have not attempted to make one of these at home.  They look intense, and I am a bit intimidated, I have to admit.  That being said, it’s always good to push your culinary skills and try something new. Especially if you do not live close to a Danish bakery/chocolate maker, and your country of residence is not known for producing a Flødeboller cousin!

If you know of another version, please do share the name!  If you have tried making your own, how did it turn out?