Nancy Silverton's Crème Fraîche Brioche Tart

Ingredients

• 0.333 cup whole milk (Warm to the touch)
• 2.25 tsp active dry yeast
• 5 large eggs (Divided; used in the brioche dough)
• 3.5 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (Divided, plus more as needed; the recipe uses half of the finished dough for the tart)
• 0.333 cup sugar (For the brioche dough)
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 oz unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks, at room temperature)
• 1 cup crème fraîche (For the filling)
• 1 large egg (For the crème fraîche filling)
• 1 large egg white (Beaten, for brushing the tart edge)
• 0.333 cup sugar (For sprinkling over the crème fraîche; source gives a range of 1/3 to 1/2 cup, plus more for sprinkling)
• 1.5 cup sugar (For the optional white secret sauce)
• 2 vanilla beans (For the optional white secret sauce)
• 0.333 cup water (For the optional white secret sauce)
• 2.25 cup dry white wine (For the optional white secret sauce)
• 1 cup heavy cream (For the optional white secret sauce)
• 4 large egg yolks (For the optional white secret sauce)
• stone fruit or berries (Sliced plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and/or berries; use sugar to taste if macerating the fruit)
• sugar (To taste, if using macerated fruit)

Steps

1. 1

   Put the warm milk, yeast, 1 egg, and 1 cup of the flour into the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Mix with a rubber spatula until the mixture just comes together. Sprinkle the sponge with 1 more cup of flour, leaving the bowl uncovered for 30–40 minutes, until cracks form in the flour coating.

2. 2

   Lightly beat the remaining 4 eggs. Add them to the sponge along with the sugar, salt, and 1 more cup of flour. Mix with the dough hook on low speed for 1–2 minutes, until everything just comes together.

3. 3

   Sprinkle in the remaining 1/2 cup flour. Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat for a full 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Work the butter with a rolling pin or smear it with a bench scraper until it has the same consistency as the dough.

5. 5

   Reduce the mixer to medium-low speed. Add the butter a few tablespoons at a time until all of it has been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high for 1 minute, then reduce it to medium and beat for 5 minutes, until the dough comes back together.

6. 6

   Transfer the dough to a large buttered bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 2–2 1/2 hours.

7. 7

   Deflate the dough, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 4–6 hours.

8. 8

   After the second rise, divide the dough in half. Reserve one half for another use; only half is needed for this tart.

9. 9

   Roll the remaining half of the dough into an 11 1/2-inch circle. Center the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan over the dough and press it down to make an indentation. Crimp the edges inward.

10. 10

    Let the shaped dough rise uncovered until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

11. 11

    Preheat the oven to 275°F.

12. 12

    Whisk together the crème fraîche and the separate large egg. Set the filling aside.

13. 13

    Spread the crème fraîche filling evenly over the dimpled dough base.

14. 14

    Brush the edge of the tart with the beaten egg white, then sprinkle sugar over the crème fraîche.

15. 15

    Bake for 30–40 minutes, until the crust is golden and the custard is almost set. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack.

16. 16

    For the optional white secret sauce, make a caramel-wine syrup with the sugar, vanilla beans, water, and dry white wine. The source does not specify the detailed caramelization procedure or endpoint.

17. 17

    Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Combine it with the egg yolks and whip until pale and voluminous, then combine with the caramel-wine syrup as directed by the sauce preparation.

18. 18

    Bring the reserved caramel-wine syrup to a boil and add the sliced fruit. If macerating the fruit, add sugar to taste.

19. 19

    Serve slices of the tart topped with the sauce and fruit.

Notes

The recipe makes a full brioche dough batch but uses only half for the tart. The white secret sauce is labeled optional. The source gives only a brief description of the sauce preparation and does not specify the caramelization temperature, reduction time, or exact method for combining the whipped cream and egg yolks with the syrup.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• vegetarian
• French
• baked
• celebration
• special occasion
• yeasted dough
• fruit dessert