FrenchTarte au sucre lilloise
Brioche sugar tart
Tarte au sucre du Nord, Lille's brioche sugar tart
In Lille and across the Nord, a sugar tart is not pastry at all but a flat round of soft brioche dough, dimpled and covered with brown cassonade sugar, butter and a little egg and cream, which bakes into a sticky, caramelised top over a fluffy base. Families buy it from the boulangerie for Sunday breakfast and goûter, or bake one when guests come for coffee. The Nord's own beet sugar, vergeoise, gives it a deep, almost molasses flavour; soft dark brown sugar is the closest swap. Chef's tip: press deep dimples into the risen dough with your fingertips before adding the topping; the sugar and cream collect in them and bake into little pools of caramel.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 8
- Per serving
- 330 kcal
Ingredients
For the brioche dough
- 1 oz caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup lukewarm milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ oz unsalted buttersoft
For the topping
- 1 egg
- 3 ½ tbsp double cream or crème fraîche
- 1 oz salted butterin small pieces
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 9 oz strong white bread flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 oz caster sugar and ½ tsp salt, add ¼ cup lukewarm milk and 2 eggs and knead for 8 minutes into a soft, sticky dough. Knead in 2 ½ oz unsalted butter a little at a time until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic. Cover and leave to rise for 1½ hours, until doubled.
100 minStep 2: Butter a 28 cm tart tin. Press the dough out into the tin with your hands, right to the edge. Cover and leave for 30 minutes, until puffy.
30 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Press deep dimples all over the dough with your fingertips.
Step 4: Whisk 1 egg with 3 ½ tbsp double cream or crème fraîche. Scatter 3 ½ oz vergeoise or soft dark brown sugar evenly over the dough, dot with 1 oz salted butter, then spoon the egg and cream over the sugar so it soaks in. Common mistake: spreading the sugar thinly; it needs a generous, even layer or the top dries out instead of caramelising.
Step 5: Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the base is golden, the edge sounds hollow when tapped and the topping is bubbling and set in sticky, darker patches.
25 minStep 6: Cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then slice. Eat warm or the same day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does tarte au sucre lilloise take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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