In 1955, a confectioner of Polish origin opens a bakery in Saint-Tropez. Among variety of desserts a real star - Brioche with cream, inspired by a grandmother’s recipe, is represented. Alexandre Mika keeps the recipe a secret for a long time. The movie “And God Created Woman” is being  filmed near the confectionery that summer, and the film crew, including the admirable Brigitte Bardot, often visits the bakery. She loves the dessert from the beginning, and it was her idea to name of the dessert - Tart from Saint-Tropez, the same as Tropézienne.

The Tropézienne is associated with summer vacations, sea, carelessness and fun. For those who spend their holidays in Saint-Tropez, it is a kind of ritual to taste a Tropézienne on the beach, in the sunshine.

For the dough you will need:

7 g instant yeast 

35 g sugar

35 g  milk

210 g flour

2 eggs

70 g butter

1 tsp. orange flower essence (at pleasure)

1 egg yolk

For the cream you will need:                                                                                                                                               

250 g milk

30 g starch

2 egg yolks

60 g   sugar

1 plate of gelatin

200 g cream

Mix all the dry ingredients, add  warmed up milk and eggs, knead a homogeneous dough. Add room temperature butter cut into cubes and continue kneading the dough until you get a uniform, elastic ball. Wrap a bowl and place in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours, or until the volume doubles.

Lightly knead the raised dough, make a ball, place it on a baking sheet, put it in a mold (ring only), cover with a tea cloth and wait for the dough to rise, 30-40 minutes. Apply   beaten egg yolks +  little amount of water to the brioche. Sprinkle with large crystals of sugar and bake.

To make a cream, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl, add the starch and mix.

Dissolve gelatin in cold water. Boil the milk, pour the boiling milk over the egg mass, stir and return to the pot. Put it on a medium heat and make the cream by continuous stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat, pour in the strained gelatin and mix well.  Let cool to room temperature.

Mix the cooled cream with a mixer, it should become glossy. Whip the cream to medium firmness in other bowl, carefully mixing in the pastry cream.

Cut cooled brioche into widths, with the help of a pastry bag make the cream balls, close the top piece, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Bon appétit!