Tarte Tropézienne
Ingredients
- Brioche: flour, milk, eggs, butter, yeast, sugar, salt, orange blossom water
- Coarse sugar (pearl sugar), for topping
- Crème diplomate: milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch (or potato starch), vanilla, butter, whipped cream folded in
Created by a Polish pastry chef who opened a bakery in Saint-Tropez, this dessert is a soft, sugar-topped brioche split horizontally and filled with a rich cream — traditionally crème diplomate, a mix of pastry cream and whipped cream, often perfumed with orange blossom water.
Method
Make the brioche dough by combining flour and yeast, then adding eggs, milk, orange blossom water, salt and sugar; knead until smooth, elastic and glossy, about 10 minutes.
Proof until doubled, then shape into a disc and proof again on the baking tray.
Brush with egg white, scatter generously with coarse sugar, and bake at around 160°C (320°F) for 45-50 minutes until deep golden.
Make a pastry cream base with milk, egg yolks, sugar and starch, cook until thick, then cool completely.
Whip cream to soft peaks and fold into the cooled pastry cream to make the diplomate.
Once the brioche is completely cool, slice it in half horizontally, pipe the cream generously over the base, and replace the top.
Chill for at least an hour before slicing to let the cream set.
