Bread and Butter Pudding vs Tarte Tropézienne: Saint-Tropez Cream-Filled Brioche

Both desserts rely on eggs, milk, cream, butter and vanilla, but put them to very different work. In bread and butter pudding they become a single custard poured over buttered stale bread and raisins, then baked until golden and puffed, with a softly wobbling centre and a hint of nutmeg. The Tarte Tropézienne splits them up: butter and eggs enrich a yeast-leavened brioche sprinkled with pearl sugar, while milk, egg yolks and vanilla bean form a cornstarch-set pastry cream, lightened with whipped cream into an airy crème diplomate. One is served warm and custardy, the other slightly chilled, pairing tender brioche with a cool, light cream filling.