Tarte tropézienne, the glamorous dessert named by Brigitte Bardot

Is there a more glamorous piece of pâtisserie than the tarte tropézienne? Born in the inherently chic Saint-Tropez, named by Brigitte Bardot on the set of a film before becoming such a cult favourite that it  graces virtually every bakery on the French Riviera, the tarte tropézienne has star quality.

But for some reason, it’s rarely found beyond its namesake town; I’ve never even seen it anywhere in the UK. There’s been a real resurgence in recent years of retro or comparatively unknown European pastries – the choux bun, the pain Suisse and the Kouign-amann have all become cool, widely available bakery favourites – but the tropézienne remains uncharacteristically low profile. I think it’s time it had its moment in the sun – or, as would be the case here, in the drizzle.

The tarte was created in 1952 by a Polish pâtisserie owner, Alexandre Micka, who lived and worked in Saint-Tropez. He based it on an old family recipe; three years later, Bardot was filming And God Created Woman in the area, and Micka was doing the  catering for the cast and crew. His brioche and custard cake was wildly popular, and became a fast favourite on set. It was Bardot who suggested he give it a proper name. Actually, she proposed a name herself, ‘la tarte de Saint-Tropez’, but Micka went with the snappier name we know it by today – and in the 1970s, he both trademarked the name, and renamed his bakery after it.

While the ‘tropézienne’ bit of the name might be accurate, it’s not actually a tart at all, but rather an enormous brioche bun, topped with pearl sugar and sandwiched with a thick custard, traditionally flavoured with orange blossom water.