Tarte Tropézienne
An Icon of the French Riviera named by an Icon of the French Riviera
St. Tropez was known for being a quiet coastal town in the French Riviera. Many French artists, like Matisse and Pierre Bonnard, visited to be inspired by the small sleepy fishing village, natural light, and beautiful blue waters. But it wasn’t until the up and coming French actress, Brigitte Bardot, starred in the successful and (at the time) scandalous movie And God Created Woman that St. Tropez became a glamorous destination for celebrities, stars, and socialites. Brigitte Bardot not only put St. Tropez on the map by becoming an international sex symbol and an icon for the French Riviera, she also brought recognition to a simple yet magical dessert, the Tarte Tropézienne.
Alexandre Micka, a Polish baker, moved to St. Tropez at the end of the war in 1945 and opened his pâtisserie in 1952. Inspired by both French brioche and his grandmother’s recipe for lemon and cream, he created a custard-filled brioche bun that was studded with pearl sugar.
Three years later, Micka did the on-set catering (or crafty) for the cast and crew of And God Created Woman. Soon enough, Brigitte Bardot fell in love with the custard-filled cake and suggested he give it a proper name. She proposed ‘la tarte de Saint-Tropez’ but Micka went with a more condensed name: ‘Tarte Tropézienne’.
In the 1970s, Micka trademarked the name and renamed his bakery after it. In 1985, Albert Dufrêne joined Micka and became the owner of the company, expanding to twenty additional locations throughout France. The recipe is still closely secreted, and the traditional methods are still used, including making the sugar crystals in copper cauldrons on site.
While the name flows well with alliteration, the dessert is not a tart at all but more like a yeasted layered cake. The brioche bun is slightly less enriched than the classic dough, making it more robust to hold the custard. The rich filling is crème pâtissière gently folded with softly whipped cream, making it light in texture, known as Crème Diplomate. The brioche is split open - hamburger style - and filled with the custard, and is sliced like a cake.
All in all, the Tarte Tropézienne is seemingly simple but does take a little time and a little skill, but don’t be intimidated by the amount of steps. If you can follow a recipe, you can make this dessert. It’s best to do this over two days. The first day, make the brioche dough (allowing the dough to relax and be easier to work with) and the crème pâtissiere (so the custard can set up). The second day, shape the dough, bake the brioche, and allow to cool. Then fold whipped cream into the pastry cream to make Crème Diplomate. And finally, assemble.
This will surely be a showstopper dessert for your dinner guests. Cue Paul Hollywood’s handshake.
LE RECIPE — TARTE TROPÉZIENNE
for the brioche —
350 grams ap flour
8 grams active yeast
42 grams sugar
8 grams salt
176 grams whole eggs, room temperature
58 grams milk
158 grams butter, cubed, room temperature but not too soft
1 egg, beaten for an egg wash
pearl sugar, also known as Swedish sugar
tools —
kitchen aid or stand mixer with dough hook
bowl (for proofing)
gram scale
baking sheet
parchment paper
steps —
day one: mixing the brioche dough
Add the sifted ap flour, salt, sugar, and yeast to the stand mixing bowl and mix on low speed. Stream in the milk. Mix on low speed until incorporated.
Add the eggs one at a time to ensure they’re properly mixed.
Once the dough has come together, turn up the mixer to medium and mix until the dough forms a ball on the dough hook. The sides of the mixing bowl should be relatively clean. Add the butter, a few cubes at a time until it’s incorporated into the dough - usually about 3-4 minutes of mixing between each addition of butter. As the butter is gradually added, the dough might start to break apart; keep mixing before adding more butter, and it’ll come back together. You’ll hear the signature slap slap slap of the brioche dough against the side of the bowl. Once the butter has been fully incorporated, keep mixing on medium high speed for 5-10 minutes until soft.
Place the brioche dough in a clean, dry, and lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to proof in a relatively warm and draft-free area until the dough has doubled in size.
Once the dough is proofed, cover with plastic wrap on the surface of the dough, and place in the refrigerator overnight - if time allows. Make the pastry cream.
day two: shaping and baking the brioche
Turn out the brioche onto a lightly floured surface. You can either make one big Tarte Tropézienne or smaller ones. Roll the dough into a 10” circle (if making smaller tartes, roll to 5”). Place the brioche on a piece of lightly oiled or sprayed parchment on a baking sheet. Cover with a clean towel, and allow to proof once more for about 30 minutes. While it’s proofing, preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Brush the top of the brioche with egg wash and top with pearl sugar, pressing them in slightly if needed. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the pan, and then place on a wire rack to finish cooling.
for the crème diplomate —
498 grams milk
252 grams egg yolks (about 4 large eggs)
100 grams sugar
32 grams cornstarch
1 gram salt
5 grams vanilla extract - or 1 whole vanilla bean, scraped
3 sheets gelatin, bloomed
60 grams heavy cream
5 grams powdered sugar, if desired (this will make the crème diplomate a little sweeter)
tools —
medium pot
whisk
spoon
2 clean mixing bowls
pastry bag and star tip, if using
steps —
day one: crème pâtissiere
Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together in a medium sized bowl.
Add the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla to a sauce pot over medium low heat. Allow to reach a simmer, but don’t let it boil or scorch the bottom.
Temper the yolks by pouring 1/3 of the hot milk the egg yolks and whisk until smooth (if you add all the milk at once, the yolks will curdle). Add the tempered eggs back into the pan with the rest of the milk. Over medium low heat, constantly whisk the custard until thick like vanilla pudding.
Chef tip: check the custard with the back of a spoon by dipping the spoon into the custard, coating the back (if it’s done, it’ll really coat the back of the spoon - and will look like vanilla pudding). Run your finger across the custard to draw a line. If the custard doesn’t drip back into the line and is thick, it’s done. If the custard drips back into the line, keep cooking and whisking. The thicker the custard is, the better it will hold up in your tarte tropézienne, but be careful not to go too long or you’ll curdle the yolks. Remember: you’re basically making a pudding. While the custard will set up more in the refrigerator, if it doesn’t look like pudding, keep cooking it. You can always turn down the heat on your burner to ensure it doesn’t curdle.
Once the pudding is done, immediately pour it into another clean bowl or container, and while it’s still hot, whisk in the bloomed gelatin. If there’s any curdled bits at the bottom of the pan, don’t scrape it out. (If you curdled the pastry cream a little bit, don’t worry! There’s a way to bring it back as long as it’s not too curdled. Push the custard through a chinois or finely meshed sieve into a clean bowl. Then use an immersion blender to smooth out the rest of the custard.)
Place plastic wrap directly onto the custard so it doesn’t form a skin and refrigerate overnight or for 4 hours until chilled.
day two: finishing the crème diplomate and assembling the Tarte Tropézienne
While the bread is cooling, whip cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks.
Take the crème pâtissière out of the refrigerator and fold in the whipped cream using a whisk. The whisk allows the whipped cream to stay airy while a spatula will cause the whipped cream to fall. Place in a piping bag with a star tip, if desired. Refrigerate the crème diplomate if not ready to use.
Once the brioche is cool, slice it in half - hamburger style. (Bonus points: brush the halves with orange blossom simple syrup - equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil with a few splashes of orange blossom water.)
Fill or pipe the crème diplomate onto the bottom half of the brioche. Place the top half of the brioche on the custard. Chill to allow the tart tropézienne to set up. Et voila! Slice and serve.