Amager Rhumballs

The tale of rhumballs, the pastry, not the beer, is a lengthy and peculiar one. In a bygone era, a Danish baker pondered the financial imprudence of discarding unsold cakes and pastries. Rather than waste them, he repurposed the remnants by incorporating them into his expansive dough mixer, along with cocoa powder and fruit jam, to achieve the ideal moist, adhesive consistency. This dough was subsequently molded into golf ball-sized spheres, embellished with sprinkles, either uniformly brown or multicolored. Thus, a singular confection dubbed a ‘truffle’ was conceived, as if it were an exclusive and refined delicacy. In reality, it was a repurposed pastry composed of aged, stale cakes. Regardless, these truffles garnered immense popularity among children and students, owing to their affordability and satiety. Eventually, another ingenious baker introduced the notion of infusing the crumbled pastry amalgamation with a splash or two of Caribbean rhum, birthing the rhumball. Be it with or without rhum, this creation enjoyed a cult following for decades, straddling the line between confectionery and pastry. The advent of the National Danish Rhumball Championship precipitated a surge in interest. Bakeries from across the nation submitted their rhumballs, now artfully styled and iced to perfection.

Brewed in Denmark