Tarte Tropézienne: Saint-Tropez Cream-Filled Brioche vs Classic St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

Both desserts lean on butter, milk, vanilla and egg, but put them to very different work. The Tarte Tropézienne kneads butter and eggs into a yeast-risen brioche topped with pearl sugar, then fills it with a crème diplomate: a vanilla-bean pastry cream thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch, lightened with whipped cream and served slightly chilled. The gooey butter cake uses melted butter in both a pressed flour-and-sugar base and a tangy cream cheese and powdered sugar topping, baked until the edges turn golden while the center stays soft and gooey.