When we dream of the perfect breakfast, we often imagine drinking a cafe au lait and nibbling a croissant along the Seine in Paris. You too? If you can relate, this list is for you. While we can’t get you a plane ticket, we can offer up these incredible recipes for all the pastries that the City of Lights (and farther abroad in France!) has to offer. From more advanced baking projects to easy-peasy shortcuts, we’ve got recipes for every level of baker here too. These 16 French pastries will have you feeling like a maître pâtissier (master baker) in no time.
If you’re not super-confident in the kitchen, you might think French pâtisserie is out of your grasp. We beg to differ! Having the right tools and ingredients will go a long way in helping you turn out delicious baked goods without a ton of stress. One easy shortcut is to use store-bought puff pastry, like we did in our French apple tart or our palmiers. Another is to make sure you’ve got the right pan for the job, like you’ll need for our straight-forward madeleines or our financiers. Once you’ve got those things, you’ll find achieving pastry greatness will come that much easier.
Alternatively, if you are looking for more of a project, we’ve got you too. Our French macarons, our pain au chocolat, our profiteroles, and our croissants all do take a bit of added effort, but the end results are SO worth it. Once you’ve mastered them, feel free to change them up a bit too—swapping in different fillings and ingredients is all part of the fun of baking, after all.
Pain Au Chocolat
If you’re looking for a fun baking project to tackle, this is it. The time may seem daunting, but a huge chunk of that is hands-off. The reward of freshly baked, flaky chocolate croissants is WELL worth it.
Get the Pain Au Chocolat recipe.
Profiteroles
Profiteroles sound fancy, but don't be intimidated. They're basically just little ice cream-filled, melted chocolate-covered puffs of goodness that are surprisingly straightforward to make.
Get the Profiteroles recipe.
French Macarons
Featuring crisp, shiny shells sandwiching a luscious rich filling, these classy French delicacies are sure to impress and delight anyone who tastes them. Macarons have a reputation for being technically challenging and finicky to make, but don’t be intimidated! Follow our tips to turn out great ones every time.
Get the French Macarons recipe.
French Madeleines
Madeleines are little French butter cakes, but they can carry whatever flavoring you add to them. This recipe uses browned butter and almond extract for extra nuttiness with orange zest instead of the traditional lemon zest to add a pop of brightness and color.
Get the French Madeleines recipe.
Financiers
Bring a petite taste of France into your kitchen with a batch of these nutty financiers. Unlike madeleines (their cookie cousins), financiers are made with almond flour, nutty browned butter, and egg whites to keep them light and airy.
Get the Financiers recipe.
Apple Tart
A classic French apple tart would usually involve cooking down an apple compote to go on top of the crust and under the spiral of apples. Not here. Instead, we macerate the slices to make sure they still get nice and jammy in the oven, with less work.
Get the Apple Tart recipe.
Fast(er) Homemade Croissants
There's really no such thing as a quick croissant, but this recipe is about as fast as they come. The dough is basically a borrowed pie crust technique, cutting large chunks of cold butter into flour and skipping the intimidating traditional laminating process.
Get the Fast(er) Homemade Croissants recipe.
Palmiers
Palmiers, also known as elephant ears due to their shape, are delicious and so simple to make. Sugar is sprinkled on top of flaky layers of puff pastry and then rolled so that when cut the cookies look like little hearts. So cute!
Get the Palmiers recipe.
Tarte Tatin
This classic tart construction relies on fruit being laid over caramel then topped with puff pastry. The caramel might be a little tricky, but we promise going low and slow and resisting the urge to stir is the way to make sure that you have the perfect caramelized bottom.
Get the Tarte Tatin recipe.
Beignets
Traditional New Orleans beignets are a fried pastry made from French pâte à choux, an eggy yeasted dough used for things like profiteroles and eclairs. To make things simpler, we made a unyeasted dough that comes together and fries up in minutes. Let the good times roll!
Get the Beignets recipe.
Fruit Tart
The mascarpone filling is light, slightly tart, and just sweet enough to pair well with the apricot preserve-glazed fruit of your choice. Bonus: the shortbread-like crust here gets pressed in rather than rolled out, which makes it no-fuss and stress-free.
Get the Fruit Tart recipe.
Napoleon Cake
Elegant in its simplicity, this creamy cool dessert inspired by French millefeuille is summer at its best. It's got layers and layers of flaky puff pastry and homemade vanilla pastry cream, covered with more pastry cream and puff pastry crumbs and decorated with fresh fruit. 😍
Get the Napoleon Cake recipe.
Galette De Rois
While Mardi Gras king cake is made of a yeasted dough rolled with a cinnamon sugar filling, galette de rois is made of puff pastry sheets filled with almond frangipane and jam. Prior to baking, the puff pastry is scored and egg washed, giving the final pastry a beautiful golden hue.
Get the Galette De Rois recipe.
French Apple Tart
This tart is so easy to make and uses store-bought puff pastry dough, meaning it can be ready in under an hour. The glaze uses a little Grand Marnier, which can be left out or replaced with rum or cognac. It really brings the whole tart together, and we highly recommend it!
Get the French Apple Tart recipe.
Lemon Tart
This impressive tarte au citron is surprisingly easy to make. We love serving it with a big dollop of homemade whipped cream or candied lemon peel.
Get the Lemon Tart recipe.
Tomato & Brie Tart
Summer tomatoes shine alongside melty cheese in this eye-catching tart. Slice it up into small pieces for the perfect summer appetizer, or into large ones and serve as an entrée with a peppery arugula salad. Got leftovers? Top them with a fried egg for a filling breakfast.
Get the Tomato & Brie Tart recipe.
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