Tarte Tropézienne

Discover the history of Tarte Tropézienne.

1. Orange blossom syrup

   • 160 g water
   • 80 g white sugar
   • 20 g orange blossom water / orange liqeuer
   • 5 g orange zest (1/2)

   • Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until completely dissolved.
   • Then turn off the heat and add the orange zest and orange blossom water.
   • Keep at room temperature until ready to use.

2. Streusel

   • 25 g butter
   • 25 g all purpose flour
   • 25 g powdered sugar

   • In a bowl, mix the butter at room temperature, the powdered sugar and the flour until combined.
   • Then make a ball, wrap it in cling film and put it in the freezer until it hardens completely, at least for 1 hour.

3. Brioche dough

   • 210 g strong or bread flour
   • 120 g butter
   • 100 g eggs (2)
   • 40 g whole milk
   • 20 g white sugar
   • 8 g fresh yeast
   • 4 g salt

   • In the bowl of the mixer, start by mixing the flour, eggs, milk, sugar, fresh yeast and salt until all the ingredients are combined.
   • Then knead on medium speed for 10 minutes until the flour develops gluten and becomes elastic.
   • Then gradually add the cold butter in small pieces and knead for another 10 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and becomes smooth, shiny and even.
   • Then transfer the dough onto our work surface, form it into a ball and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
   • By leaving our dough to ferment in the refrigerator, we get a slower but more continuous rising process, which results in the development of aromas and flavours as well as a better texture of the crumb once we bake the dough.
   • The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and turn it out onto our lightly floured work surface.
   • Shape the dough into a dough disc of about 28 cm and optionally place it in a buttered baking tin of the same diameter. Then lightly press the edge of the brioche disc so that it takes on a curved shape when baked.
   • Leave to rise until the dough has tripled in volume. The time will depend on the conditions of the dough and may take between 2 - 3 hours.
   • The optimum fermentation temperature for this dough is 27º C. If we do not have a fermentation chamber, we can replicate a similar environment in our unlit oven by placing a pan of boiling water in it. In this way we will achieve a suitable temperature and humidity for the correct fermentation of our dough.

4. Diplomat cream

   • 300 g whole milk
   • 220 g mascarpone
   • 200 g heavy cream (35% fat)
   • 100 g white sugar
   • 70 g egg yolk (4)
   • 15 g all purpose flour
   • 15 g corn flour
   • 10 g orange blossom water / orange liqeuer
   • 7 g gelatine

   • First, hydrate the gelatine in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
   • Heat the milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until it comes to the boil.
   • Meanwhile, in a bowl, with a whisk, mix the cornflour and sifted flour, egg yolks and sugar until a uniform, lump-free mixture is obtained.
   • When the milk comes to the boil, pour it over the egg yolk mixture in a trickle and mix it with the whisk, stirring constantly. Return the mixture to the heat and cook over a medium heat until the cream thickens.
   • When the mixture has thickened, turn off the heat, add the gelatine and mascarpone and mix well.
   • Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover with cling film in contact with the custard. Keep in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours until ready to use.
   • Once the cream has cooled and thickened, take it out of the fridge and whip it lightly with the whisk to make it creamy.
   • In another bowl, whip the cream into stiff peaks and fold it into the custard with a rubber spatula in an encircling motion. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

5. Assembly

   • Pearl sugar
   • Chopped almonds
   • Powdered sugar

   • When the dough has tripled in volume, brush the surface lightly with beaten egg.
   • Then, using a hand grater, grate the frozen stresusel over the dough and add a little chopped almond and pearl sugar on top.
   • Preheat and bake for 22 minutes at 180º C.
   • Remove from the oven and let it cool down to room temperature.
   • When our brioche is completely cool, plate it, cut it in half and generously soak the bottom with the orange blossom syrup.
   • Take our diplomat cream out of the fridge and transfer it to a piping bag with a smooth nozzle 2 cm in diameter.
   • Pipe buttons in a circular shape starting from the outside and ending in the centre.
   • Then turn the top of the brioche disc upside down, i.e. crumb side up, and cut it into twelve equal portions. Sprinkle each portion with more orange blossom syrup and place them in order on the cake.
   • By making the cuts prior to assembling the cake, we have the portions already marked and avoid squeezing out the cream when we make the cut from above. This makes it easier and cleaner to serve our portions.
   • Finally, sprinkle a little icing sugar on top.
   • Keep in the fridge until ready to eat and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

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