Tarte tropézienne: its history and how chefs reinvent it
A brioche, a smooth cream, pearl sugar: born in Saint-Tropez in the 1950s, the tarte tropézienne owes its fame to Brigitte Bardot. Gault&Millau tells the story of this iconic pastry from the Côte d'Azur.
It looks hearty, yet when well made it is incredibly light. A soft brioche, a smooth cream, a few grains of sugar on top: in just a few decades, the tarte tropézienne has become one of the sweet symbols of the Côte d'Azur. Its story is that of a meeting between a pastry chef from Poland and an actress at the start of her fame.
A Polish grandmother's recipe
Created by Alexandre Micka, a pastry chef of Polish origin based in Saint-Tropez, the tarte tropézienne appeared in the 1950s. He drew inspiration from his grandmother's recipe: a brioche dough filled with a cream close to pastry cream, but lighter.
Brigitte Bardot, the tropézienne's godmother
In 1955, Alexandre Micka catered for the crew of the film And God Created Woman, shot in Saint-Tropez. Brigitte Bardot tasted his cake and suggested he call it "tarte de Saint-Tropez". The pastry chef finally chose "tarte tropézienne" and registered the name. The film went around the world, and the tropézienne with it. Today, an international pastry competition is dedicated to it every spring in Saint-Tropez, under the aegis of Pierre Hermé.
The balance between brioche and cream
Its fundamentals, a brioche, a smooth cream and pearl sugar, lend themselves to many interpretations. Pierre Hermé sums up its spirit: "The Tropézienne is the balance between a very soft brioche, rather low in butter, lightly baked, sprinkled with pearl sugar, and filled with an airy, smooth cream that still holds its shape." Originally flavored with vanilla, sometimes with orange blossom or kirsch, it is eaten at room temperature, with equal proportions of brioche and cream.
When chefs reinvent it
At La Voile, in Ramatuelle, Julien Coulomb won the La Tropézienne competition in 2023 with a Var-inspired version that honors its ancestor: a panettone-style brioche with candied orange, topped with a pine nut macaronade instead of pearl sugar. In La Garenne-Colombes, Meilleur Ouvrier de France Nicolas Bernardé turned it into a cake: "A holiday memory of the south gave me the idea of reinventing the famous brioche as a Cakissime."
In Paris, Benoît Castel brings the south to the capital with his "Troparisienne", a brioche lightly soaked in orange blossom. Gaël Clavière, pastry chef at the Hôtel de Matignon, reinterprets it as a plated dessert, with a laminated brioche and a mosaic of royal icing shards in place of pearl sugar. In the Ardèche Cévennes, François Josse, French dessert champion in 2018, fills it at Familha with Cléry strawberries from Ardèche and a touch of lime zest. A dessert as light as it is fragrant!
Where to eat a great tarte tropézienne?
From the Côte d'Azur to Paris, our inspectors have tasted the versions worth the detour. Discover our selection of the best tartes tropéziennes.
