Did you know that the tarte tropézienne was popularized by a famous French actress? A surprising success when you know that the cake has its origins in a pre-war Polish recipe!
Does a brioche filled with a mixture of buttercream and pastry cream mean something to you? It’s hard not to recognize the Tropézienne tart! As delicious as it sounds, the famous cake from the Côte d'Azur is known throughout the world, notably thanks to a renowned actress. I'll tell you more!
What is the origin of the Tropézienne tart?
Contrary to what one might think, the Tropézienne tart is in fact a recipe from Poland. It was the pastry chef Alexandre Micka who brought it in his suitcases when he settled in the small port in the South of France in the 1940s. A few years later, he opened a pastry shop there in which he offered a kind of brioche filled with cream and sprinkled with large grains of sugar, a revisitation of a recipe from his Polish grandmother. Very quickly, the pastry shop and its flagship cake gained reputation.
In 1956, a film crew moved to the village. At its head, Roger Vadim, director of the film And God… Created Woman. Every morning, Alexandre Micka was responsible for bringing coffee and croissants to the actors. One day, the pastry chef offered them his specialty; the dessert delighted everyone's taste buds and in particular the main actress, a certain Brigitte Bardot. Legend even says that it was she who suggested he named the brioche “tarte tropézienne”.
The 22-year-old actress, already extremely famous, fully contributed to the success of the Tropezian cake. But the pastry chef was also able to make his business prosperous. In 1973, he registered the trademark and recipe for the Tropézienne tart. The company was then taken over by Albert Dufrêne who still treasures today the original recipe given by its inventor. Since then, the small pastry shop has become a real business producing up to 2,500 Tropéziennes per day!
Where can you find real Tropézienne pie?
Having become a culinary specialty of a small port, the Tarte Tropézienne has obviously seen many revisitations. To taste the real Tarte Tropézienne, all you have to do is go… to the “Tarte Tropézienne” and one of its fifteen boutiques! The best known is located on the legendary Place des Lices in Saint-Tropez. You can taste the famous tart topped with vanilla cream flavored with orange blossom.
Still in Saint-Tropez, you can also go to two bakeries and pastries: Marcel & Cavazza and Aux Deux Frères. I haven't tested them, but I'm interested in your opinion!
Finally, to find a Tropézienne tart in Paris, nothing could be easier, there are many places offering them. I heard that Philippe Conticini's - who revisited it with acacia honey - is very tasty.
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