Tropézienne (brioche filled with mascarpone diplomat cream)

Mix the flour, sugar, instant yeast and salt; add cold eggs and milk and mix until combined.

Mix on medium about eight minutes until the dough comes off the sides of the bowl, scraping the bowl and attachment as often as needed.

Check the dough temperature: 68F, 20C. If the dough is too warm the butter melts and the brioche texture suffers.

Add the chilled cubed butter and mix about eight more minutes until fully incorporated, scraping down. Check the windowpane.

Shape into a tight round and let rise until doubled, a couple of hours. No extra flour during or after mixing.

Punch down, shape into a tight log on a frozen tray, wrap in plastic film and refrigerate overnight.

For the streusel, mix butter, flour, sugar, a pinch of salt and vanilla until it comes together; refrigerate, grate through a cooling rack and freeze.

Next day, using extra flour now, divide the chilled dough into three 300 g (10 oz) portions; shape each into a super tight round and refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Flatten one round into a nine inch, 23 cm disc, refrigerating again if it shrinks; freeze the other portions.

Prick the dough so it proofs evenly and press down all around the border for a dome shape. Proof a couple of hours.

Egg wash, top with streusel and bake at 350F, 180C, approximately 25 minutes.

For the pastry cream, heat the milk on low with a dash of vanilla powder and a quarter of the sugar. Mix the egg yolks, remaining sugar, cornstarch and flour.

When the milk boils, temper the yolk mixture with it, return everything to the saucepan and bring to a boil; keep whisking two more minutes.

Off the heat, add the softened gelatine and the mascarpone and smooth with an immersion blender.

Spread over a frozen baking tray lined with plastic wrap to cool fast; refrigerate overnight.

Whip the cream and set aside; in the same chilled bowl smooth out the pastry cream, then incorporate the whipped cream to make the diplomat cream.

Form the diplomat cream into a thick wheel and freeze overnight.

Make a light syrup of water, sugar, orange peel, vanilla and orange blossom water; flambe Cointreau.

Halve the brioche; moisten the top surface then the bottom with the syrup, evenly but not soaked through.

Cut the top, upside down to keep the crust intact, into eight, 10 or 12 portions. Set the unwrapped frozen cream wheel on the bottom half and arrange the top slices in order.

Refrigerate a few hours until the filling is fully thawed, then cut into portions.

variation: strawberry compote -- puree about half the strawberries with a dash of lemon juice, heat, add the sugar and agar-agar mixture, bring to a boil and chill; once set, blend with an immersion blender and fold in the remaining strawberries.