1 In a large mixing bowl or with an electric mixer, place your flour and add salt, sugar, and lightly beaten eggs. Mix well, then incorporate the yeast diluted in warm milk and finally the softened butter. Knead for 6 to 7 minutes, cover with a clean cloth and let rise (puff up) for at least 2 hours in a warm room.
2 After this time, knead it for another 30 seconds and place it in a large buttered and floured tart pan. Let it « rise » for another hour.
3 Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Brush your brioche with egg wash, then sprinkle crystal sugar on top. Bake for approximately 35 minutes.
4 Prepare the cream.
a) Bring to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan the milk and the scraped interior of the vanilla pod with a pinch of orange blossom water. When it reaches a boil, remove from heat and cover (let infuse).
b) In a bowl, pour your 8 egg yolks and caster sugar. « Whiten » for 2 minutes with a whisk, then add the sifted flour. Stir, then slowly incorporate the boiled milk. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and, on the heat, while constantly stirring with a whisk, cook for 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
c) When this « pastry cream » is still warm, mix it with the softened butter using a whisk. If it's not smooth, strain it through a sieve.
5 The brioche tart is out of the oven, let it cool. Then, when it's completely cold, slice it in half horizontally. Spread all the cream on one half and cover with the other half. Refrigerate until serving.
Moving often brings to light treasures we thought were lost forever. That's exactly what's happening to me right now. I was carefully arranging my cookbooks for their new home when my eye fell upon one of my father Gabriel's old favorite books, a great cook if ever there was one. It was a worn old « Escoffier » worn thin by countless readings and re-readings. With trembling hands, I opened these yellowed pages to discover small checkered pages inside, written in his beautiful purple « rounded » handwriting, containing his impressions and ideas for recipes to come. One of them was particularly explicit, as it presented a condensed piece of history along with the recipe that went with it. So let me leave you for a few moments with Gaby, my father, who will surely look upon you, wherever he may be, with kindness.
May 1964
Friends are telling me about a recipe that's all the rage on the coast in Saint-Tropez, created by a pastry chef named Alexandre Micka located on the town square, and whose merits are praised by our national sweetheart (Brigitte Bardot). He calls it the Tropézienne tart. I'm going to send a word to Soustelle so the « pastry chef » will give me the recipe.
June 1964
Soustelle kindly sent me the recipe tested by Max. He describes this recipe as a bit « old-fashioned », but the cream is good. I'm noting it and will give it to Malinge so he can test it. Soustelle, chef at Lucas Carton, Max, the pastry chef, and Malinge, pastry maker located near our restaurant in Sousceyrac.
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