Tarte Tropézienne

Tarte Tropézienne is a classic French dessert. You're going to love this brioche filled with cream (pastry cream folded into whipped cream) !

This week I'm sharing one of my favorite dessert : Tarte Tropézienne ! What the heck is that, you're asking ? Well, "Tropezian Tart" is a dessert that's originally from St Tropez. It's a brioche that's filled with a mix of pastry cream and whipped cream, and it was apparently named by none other that Brigitte Bardot !

I first made one a couple months ago, and gave a couple slices to my grandparents, who spent a lot of holiday time around St Tropez. My grandma assured me there was nothing missing, not even orange blossom water, which I'd seen added to some recipes. So if you give this recipe a try, you'll most definitely feel like you're seating in the sun in the South of France ;)

I feel I should warn you, though : this is a long process. There's a lot of rising time and cooling time involved. I recommend making the pastry cream first thing (maybe even the day before), so it can cool down completely. Then you can go ahead and make the whipped cream, fold in the pastry cream, and keep everything covered in the fridge so the cream can hold itself better. The brioche can be made ahead too. Just know that this isn't the kind of recipe you can decide to make last minute. I started my Tarte Tropézienne at around 11am, and it was done by 5pm (it didn't help that it was super hot outside that day, which means that the brioche wasn't cooling down, and then the cream started to melt as I was taking pictures - which is why there aren't a lot, ha !)
So, Tarte Tropézienne is a long process, BUT it is pretty easy and I assure you it is SO worth it ! Just try it once ;)

OK, now that you're warned, here's the recipe for Tarte Tropézienne :

TARTE TROPEZIENNE
by A Cup of Sprinkles
Brioche recipe adapted from here.

A classic French dessert, Tarte Tropézienne is a brioche filled with cream (pastry cream folded into whipped cream).

FOR THE BRIOCHE :
Ingredients :
400g of flour
15g of compressed baker's yeast (or 2 tsp of active dry yeast)
2 tsp of salt
30g of sugar
2 eggs
100g of softened butter
1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk
Pearl sugar + icing sugar

Instructions :

Start with a leaven : in a bowl, mix 100g of flour with the yeast and a tablespoon or two of tepid water. Set aside in a warm spot and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, sugar and salt. Add in the eggs and start kneading.

Add in the leaven, and the softened butter, and knead into a ball.

Put the dough in an oil + flour covered bowl, and set aside to rise for an hour.

After an hour, gently knead the dough again. Shape the dough into a flat round shape (about 23cm/9 inches in diameter), and set it on a baking paper covered baking sheet. Let rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven.

Mix the egg yolk with the tablespoon of milk, and use it to brush the surface of the brioche.

Sprinkle some pearl sugar on top, and bake the brioche for about 30 minutes.

Once baked, remove from the oven to let cool.

FOR THE CREAM FILLING :
Ingredients :
80g of sugar
500mL of milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
50g of flour
1 egg
10g of butter
15cL of heavy whipping cream

Instructions:

First, make the pastry cream : In a saucepan, whisk together the milk, sugar and vanilla extract.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, eggs, and melted butter.

Set the saucepan on low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil.

Once the milk is boiling, remove from the heat. While stiring, slowly add it to the flour mixture.

Transfer back to the saucepan, and set it on low heat, stirring constantly, until the pastry cream has thickened.

Once it has thickened, remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and cover the surface of the cream with cling wrap (so it won't crust over). Set aside to cool completely.

Once the pastry cream has cooled completely, make the whipping cream : Put your bowl, hand or stand mixer whisk attachement(s) and the heavy whipping cream in the freezer for 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes, whisk the heavy cream until it forms firm peaks.

Once it does, gently fold in the cold pastry cream.

Keep in the fridge until assembly.

ASSEMBLY :

Cut the brioche in half horizontally.

Spread or pipe the cream on the bottom half, and put back the other half on top.

Sprinkle some icing sugar on top.

Keep in a cool place until ready to eat.