Tarte Tropézienne

Introduction

The Tarte Tropézienne is a French cake that is named after the town of Saint-Tropez. It was created in 1955 by Polish baker Alexandre Micka. The cake consists of a brioche base filled with cream and decorated with strawberries.

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 50g caster sugar
• 7g instant yeast
• 3 eggs
• 125ml milk
• 125g butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the filling:
• 500ml double cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon gelatin powder
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 250g strawberries, hulled and halved

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter and vanilla extract.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is well combined.
4. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
6. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface.
7. Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1cm.
8. Cut out circles of dough using a cookie cutter or a glass and place them on a greased baking tray.
9. Cover the tray with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place to rise for a further 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
11. Bake the brioches for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
13. To make the filling, whisk together the cream, vanilla extract, sugar, gelatin powder and water in a bowl.
14. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until the gelatin has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
15. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
16. Stir in the strawberries.
17. To assemble the cake, cut the brioches in half horizontally and spoon the strawberry filling onto the bottom halves.
18. Replace the top halves and dust with icing sugar.

Potential changes & improvements

– You could use other fruit instead of or as well as strawberries in the filling, such as raspberries, blueberries or blackberries.
– If you want a more decadent cake, you could add a layer of chocolate ganache between the brioche and the strawberry filling.
– For a non-dairy version, you could use soy milk and margarine instead of cow’s milk and butter.

What other food it works well with

The Tarte Tropézienne goes well with a cup of coffee or tea.

Common Mistakes

– Not kneading the dough for long enough – this will result in a tough cake.
– Not allowing the dough to rise properly – this will result in a dense cake.
– Overcooking the brioches – this will make them dry and hard.

Nutritional Information

Allergens: Wheat, milk, eggs