The Tarte Tropezienne was created in the beautiful town of Saint Tropez, on the French Riviera. As the story goes, famous French actress Brigitte Bardot fell in love with the dessert while filming a movie there, and suggested the name “tarte tropezienne.” The cake was thereafter named “tarte tropezienne.” It is composed of a brioche (sweet bread), sprinkled with pearl sugar, and filled with a mixture of vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream.
Ingredients
Most ingredients are easy to find, with the exception of two of them, that might require a little bit of research: orange blossom water and pearl sugar.
Orange blossom water can be difficult to find, depending on where you live. I found it at an international grocery store in my area (Fresh Farms). If you can’t find it in your area, you can order it online.
The French pearl sugar needed cannot be found in the US, but belgian pearl sugar or swedish pearl sugar are both close equivalents. You can find them at Sur La Table or Ikea or online. I personally used this Belgian pearl sugar:
Utensils
You will need a 9‑inch round cake pan, and an electric hand mixer to whip the cream.
It is also helpful to have a food processor with a dough blade or other kneading machine. If you don’t have one, don’t worry, you can knead by hand.
Recipe
The recipe I chose is for a tarte tropezienne of about 9 inches. I took a French recipe and simplified it to make it as easy as possible to make in the US. As a result, I did modify a few ingredients and measurements. The brioche is easy to make, but does require some time. The dough needs to rest to rise. First, for 2 hours, and then for 1 additional hour, so plan your time accordingly.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Passive Time | 3 hours |
| Servings |
people
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- 1 envelope dry yeast (1/4 oz.)
- 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg (for dough)
- 5 tablespoons softened butter
- 2 teaspoons Orange Blossom Water
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 pinch salt
- Belgian or Swedish Pearl Sugar (to sprinkle over brioche)
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- 2 eggs
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 half pint Heavy Whipping Cream
Ingredients
For the brioche
For the filling
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- Start with making the brioche dough. Dissolve the dry yeast in the lukewarm milk. This should take about 10 minutes or so.
- In a mixing bowl, pour the yeast-milk mix, the granulated sugar, the egg, the water and the orange blossom water. Add the flour and the pinch of salt and knead (in a food processor or with your hands). Add the softened butter, and continue kneading until you have a uniform dough.
- Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside for 2 hours. During this time, the dough will rise. See picture.
- In the meantime, prepare the pastry cream. In a pot over the stove, warm the milk with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Bring it to a boil, and then continue on low heat for 20 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix the eggs and egg yolk, the sugar and the corn starch.
- Add the mixture to the warm milk on the stove. Mix with a whisker or wooden spoon on low heat until the mixture turns into cream. Please note, this requires mixing the entire time, and you need to be patient as it might take some time for the mixture to turn into cream.
- Remove the pot from the stove. Off the stove, add the butter and mix until the butter is fully incorporated. Place the cream in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for about one hour.
- Your brioche dough has now risen during the 2 hours that it was set aside. Apply your fist to the dough multiple times, so as to remove any gas that might be in the dough.
- In a 9 inch cake pan covered with parchment paper, place the brioche dough. Flatten it and give it the shape of a disk so it covers the whole surface of the round cake pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside for 1 hour. During that time, the dough will rise again.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush an egg on the surface of the brioche with a pastry brush (egg wash), and sprinkle with pearl sugar.
- Bake the brioche in the oven for 25 minutes. Take it out of the oven, and let it cool down.
- Now is the time to add the whipped cream to the pastry cream. First, whip the heavy whipping cream. To do so, first put a bowl and the beaters of the electric mixer in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This will make it easier to whip the cream. Then, pour the heavy whipping cream in the cold bowl and whip it with the electric hand mixer, first on low speed, and then gradually increasing speed. Please be patient, this might take some time.
- Once you have whipped cream, add the pastry cream. Mix gently. This is your filling.
- Using a big enough knife, cut the brioche horizontally in half.
- Spread the filling on top of the brioche’s bottom half.
- Cover with the top half of the brioche. Eat immediately or refrigerate to enjoy later.
Bon Appétit!
French Mom
