Tarte Tropézienne: Saint-Tropez Cream-Filled Brioche vs Classic Boston Cream Pie

Both desserts hinge on a stovetop pastry cream of milk, egg yolks, cornstarch, butter and vanilla, yet they take it in different directions. The Tarte Tropézienne infuses its cream with a whole vanilla bean, then folds in whipped heavy cream for an airy crème diplomate, sandwiched inside a rich, butter-kneaded yeast brioche sprinkled with pearl sugar. The Boston Cream Pie keeps its vanilla pastry cream dense between two baking-powder sponge layers and uses its cream in a smooth poured glaze of semi-sweet chocolate and corn syrup. One is soft, yeasty and light; the other tender, custardy and crowned with chocolate.