French Desserts That Will Challenge American Desserts
Paris-Brest
For the 1910 Paris–Brest–Paris cycling race, pastry chef Louis Durand invented the Paris-Brest dessert. It's a ring-shaped choux pastry filled with praline crème mousseline.
Strawberry Galette
Galettes are simple French pastry desserts. First, create a crisp, buttery pie dough, then top it with fresh fruit and form a crust.
Eclair
Eclairs, like profiteroles and cream puffs, are classic French choux pastry delicacies. Choux pastry requires simply water, flour, milk, and eggs.
Mille Feuille
Mille feuille (French for "thousand leaves") is a puff pastry and pastry cream delicacy. Bake puff pastry beneath weights to produce homemade mille feuille.
Crème brûlée
I love French crème brûlée (literally "burnt cream"). It's a creamy cream custard cooked in a water bath with candy strewn on top and torched until it melts to make a crispy top layer.
Financiers
Like exquisite French muffins, French Financiers are miniature tea cakes! Nut flour and browned butter (a "beurre noisette") make these French treats.
Macaron
Macarons are almond paste and meringue biscuits piped into rounds. Fruit purees or chocolate ganache can fill these adorable French pastries.
Choux au craquelin
Using choux pastry with craquelin dough, choux au craquelin are crispy cream puffs. The choux pastry's crackly appearance and brittle texture come from the craquelin dough melting over top.
Charlotte Cake
Charlotte cakes (or "Charlotte aux Fraises") seem fancy yet are easy to make! Crème mousseline, ladyfinger biscuits, and strawberries garnish this French dessert.
Fraisier Cake
Fraisier cake is a popular French dessert. Two layers of soft Genoise sponge, vanilla créme mousseline filling, strawberries jam, strawberries compote, and fresh strawberries make it.