A tropical treat for the bank holiday weekend

Tarte Tropezienne with Mango and Passion Fruit

As we jump into yet another long weekend, I suspect a lot of baking will be happening here in the UK. Not that Brits need an excuse to bake, but with the King's Coronation happening tomorrow, I think a lot of Victoria Sponges and Scones will be made and enjoyed. I’ll probably whip up a batch of scones for the family but I personally would like a break from tradition, so have something else up my sleeve: Tarte Tropeziennes with mango and passion fruit whipped white chocolate ganache.

Tarte Tropezienne is a classic French recipe, and like many classics, it’s more modern than you’d potentially expect. Hailing from the south of France; the story goes that a Polish baker named Alexandre Micka opened up a shop in St Tropez, and as part of his menu, he created a dish using classic French brioche dough, but mashed it together with a recipe from his grandmother, using a lemon and vanilla cream filling. Around the same time, in the early 1950s, the actress Bridget Bardot was in town, filming her latest movie, the pastry chef was hired to provide catering for the film, or the cast and crew visited the pastry shop (the story seems to differ depending on who is telling it) and it is said that Bardot fell in love with the dessert and suggested naming it after the town. Tarte Tropezienne was born and it steadily grew in popularity, so much so that in the 70s Micka trademarked the name and opened a wave of bakeries under the Tarte Tropezienne banner. Today, the business has 28 shops spread throughout the south of France.

Traditionally, the filling is a mixture of pastry cream folded together with whipped cream, creating a deliciously light and creamy filling; this is a classic French cream known as ‘crème légère’. In a professional bakery environment, this mixture includes a little gelatine to stabilise the cream and in this case, it is referred to as crème diplomat. This can be a little confusing however, as creme diplomat has basically become the umbrella name for both recipes. Home bakers rarely need to add the gelatine as they don’t need the extra stability it brings.

For my version, we are changing things up a bit, so if you are a stickler for tradition please look away now. The brioche remains the same, adorned generously with pearl sugar. Everything else? Different. The brioche is moistened with mango pit syrup and the filling is twofold; firstly the cream element is replaced by passion fruit and white chocolate whipped ganache and a second filling is also added in the form of diced fresh mango. The whole thing has a bright summery tropical vibe, which I think would feel quite at home in the south of France, during the summer.

theboywhobakes

A post shared by Edd Kimber (@theboywhobakes)

The mango pit syrup is a great way to get as much flavour as you can from the mango, not letting anything go to waste. Once you have cut away as much fruit from the mango as you can, you are left with the pit and the skins, both of which will have remnants of fruit still attached. You could, of course, go to town on the fruit, scraping off every bit of fruit you can, getting covered in mango juice as you do so. Or you could make this brilliant syrup. Simple syrup is normally made with equal parts sugar and water, simmered together very briefly just until the sugar has dissolved. But, if we use one part sugar and two parts water, we can also add the mango pit and skins and simmer the whole thing for 15-20 minutes, until we have a simple syrup that has taken on all the flavour from the mango. I also like to finish the syrup with a little fresh lime juice, it helps to brighten the syrup and prevents it from tasting too sweet. The resulting syrup can be used in all manner of ways, including moistening cake layers, making cocktails and of course in this tropezienne recipe

The filling is something quite unusual, a white chocolate ganache that is very heavy on the cream and also includes passion fruit juice to add a bright fruity flavour. The higher level of cream is so that you can whip the ganache to make it light and fluffy. To finish the whole thing off I like to add some fresh mango, to add a strong fresh fruit flavour. As with all whipped ganache recipes, you need to be careful and avoid overwhipping the mixture; ganaches of this style can go from silky smooth to grainy very quickly, you want to whisk the cream just until thick enough that it can hold its shape whilst piping. Once whipped it also needs piping immediately as it continues to thicken as it sits.

Mango Pit Syrup

Pits and skins of 2-3 mangos

500ml water

250g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Juice of 1 lime

Note: I used vanilla sugar in my version so I skipped the vanilla bean paste

To make the syrup place the skins and pits of the mangos into a large saucepan and pour over the sugar, water and vanilla. Place over medium heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the mixture has reduced slightly, the finished texture should be thin and slightly syrupy. Pour the mixture into a bowl, through a fine mesh sieve to remove all the mango bits. Add the fresh lime juice to the syrup and pour into a jar and store in the fridge until needed.

The syrup will keep for up to a month in the fridge, although the flavour will be best within a couple of weeks of making.