St-Tropez Tart, a Provençal classic, is sold in all patisseries in France. It was created in 1955 and named by Brigitte Bardot to celebrate her home town. Serves 8.
For the cream
500ml semi-skimmed milk
1 vanilla pod, split in two
3 eggs
100g icing sugar
50g plain flour
200ml double cream, whipped
4 drops orange-blossom oil
2 pinches salt
For the brioche
5g dried yeast paste
50ml water
250g plain flour
salt, to taste
30g icing sugar
3 eggs
125g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and at room temperature
zest of 1 lemon
15g sugar crystals
50g unsalted butter, cubed
50g icing sugar, sieved
First make the cream filling. Boil the milk with the vanilla pod, then vigorously whip the eggs with the icing sugar until it resembles a thick cream. Fold in the flour. Pour in the boiling milk and mix well. Put it back on the heat for about 3 minutes, or until thickened. Once the cream mixture is cooked, pour it into a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool (as quickly as possible). When cool, whip using an electric mixer. Add a third of the double cream to the mixing bowl, still beating vigorously. Then gently stir in the remaining cream, orange-blossom oil and salt.
Next make the brioche. Dilute the yeast in lukewarm water. Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add the eggs and the diluted yeast to the mixture and blend using a dough hook until slightly sticky. After 8 to 10 minutes’ low-speed kneading, the dough should be smooth and elastic. Then add 125g of butter and continue to knead gently until it is completely incorporated. Stir the lemon zest into the dough, then cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature to rise for approximately 1 hour (or until it has doubled in volume). Preheat the oven to 200°C. When risen, knead the dough by hand until it returns to its original size. Leave it to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 15 minutes. Spread the brioche mix into a 20cm-diameter greased cake tin. Leave to rise until once more doubled in size. Sprinkle the top with the sugar crystals and butter cubes. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Take it out and let it cool, then cut into two through the centre to make a sandwich.
To assemble the tart, use an icing bag to squeeze the cream over the lower part of the brioche. The filling should be at least as thick as each of the two slices of brioche. Put the upper part of the brioche on top of the cream. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.