Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4

First, make the brioche dough. Place the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a food mixer. Crack in the eggs, followed by the milk and slowly knead all the ingredients together using the hook attachment.

Increase the speed to medium and knead for 8 - 10 minutes until a smooth, glossy dough forms.

Whilst still kneading on medium speed, add the butter cubes one by one, allowing each addition to be completely incorporated before adding the next.

Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and leave the dough to prove for 1 - 2 hours or until doubled in size.

After having proved, roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to a 24 - 26 cm circle, gently bursting any bubbles in the dough with a sharp knife. Allow to prove once again for another hour.

In the meantime, make the cream filling. Pour the milk, cream, and vanilla into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and warm gently over a low to medium heat. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, corn flour and egg yolks, whisking into a thick paste.

Just as the milk and cream begins to simmer, remove from the heat, and whilst whisking at the same time, slowly pour into the egg and corn flour mixture. Pour all the mixture back into the saucepan and return to the low heat.

Add the softened gelatine leaves to the pan and whisk gently until the mixture thickens to a glossy custard consistency.

Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Whisk through the mascarpone.

Cover the surface of the cream filling with clingfilm to avoid it forming an unwanted skin. Leave to cool a little at room temperature before placing in the fridge until completely cooled.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.

After the brioche’s second prove, whisk together the egg yolk and water to form the glaze. Using a pastry brush and being careful not to deflate the risen brioche, brush the surface of the brioche with the glaze before sprinkling with the pearl sugar.

Bake the brioche for 25 - 30 minutes until risen and dark golden. Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool on a wire cooling rack.

When both the brioche and cream filling are both fully cooled, slice the brioche through the middle using a sharp bread knife.

Whip the double cream and fold into the cream filling before spooning into a piping bag. Decoratively pipe the cream around the edge of the brioche before filling the middle with the remaining cream.

Finish the tarte tropezienne with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Cook’s Notes

The creme patissiere must be completely cooled before folding in the whipped cream and assembling. This can be done well in advance, or even the day before and stored in the fridge. Fold through the whipped cream just as you are ready to assemble the tarte.