BRIOCHE TART WITH WHITE SECRET SAUCE      Nancy Silverton

For the Tart 1/2 recipe Brioche dough, chilled 1 cup crème fraiche or sour cream 1 large egg 1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg white, beaten Crystal sugar For the Sauce 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 vanilla beans 1/3 cup water 2 1/4 cups dry white wine 4 large egg yolks 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks For the Garnish Assorted firm fruits, such as apricots, peaches, nectarines, and plums Assorted dried fruits, such as raisins, prunes, apricots, and peaches Almonds, toasted and chopped Confectioner's sugar

Serves 8 to 10 Line a baking sheet with parchment and butter a 10-inch flan ring. Work dough into a ball, flatten to a 5-inch disk, and on a floured surface roll into 12-inch circle. Center flan ring on dough and press to make a crimping guide. Place ring on lined baking sheet. Crimp edge by pinching dough between fingers, twisting slightly to make a diagonal crimp. Let dough fall about 1/4 inch inside guideline. Lift dough up and into the ring. Working around the edge, firmly press down the base of the dough while lifting the edge. Let rise, uncovered until doubled. Center rack in oven and preheat to 275°F. Whisk crème fraiche and egg together. Press fingertips deeply into dough on bottom of pan to make dimples. Spread crème fraiche mixture over bottom of tart. Sprinkle sugar over crème fraiche. Brush edge of tart with beaten egg white and sprinkle with crystal sugar. Bake 40 minutes, until crust is golden and custard is almost set. Transfer to a cooling rack. After a few minutes, slide a cardboard cake round under the tart and lift off the flan ring. To make caramel syrup, put sugar in a heavy saucepan. Split vanilla beans, scrape seeds into pan, and add pods. Pour in water to cover, and bring to a boil. Wash down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. As soon as the sugar is a deep gold, immediately remove pan from heat and add wine. It will sizzle, seize and harden. Return pan to heat and bring syrup to a boil. Pour 1 1/2 cups syrup through a strainer into a heatproof measuring cup. (Reserve remaining syrup for fruit garnish.) Put yolks into a mixer bowl and, whisking constantly, drizzle in hot syrup. Put bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and whisk constantly for 5 minutes. Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium-low for 15 minutes, until cool, pale, and tripled in volume. Fold in whipped cream. To garnish, dice dried fruit, soak in hot water for several minutes, drain, and pat dry; or slice fresh fruit. Bring reserved caramel-wine syrup to a boil. Add fruit. Swirl pan and stir until fruit is softened. To serve, place a slice of tart on each plate. Spoon on some sauce and caramel-poached fruit, and decorate with nuts and a dusting of confectioner's sugar.