Favorite Desserts Of French Origin

French cuisine is known and appreciated all over the world. William Isaías shares his favorites.  

As French pastry is a real world of sweetness and gluttony. Let’s see which are the most famous desserts and how to prepare them the right way.

10 desserts of French origin that you must try 

Macarons

Macarons, colorful, crunchy on the outside and with a soft ganache cream center, macarons are typical French pastries. 

Sift the powdered sugar together with the almond flour, add part of the egg whites and knead until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. 

In another bowl, beat the rest of the egg whites until stiff and add a sugar and water syrup. 

Join the two mixtures, mixing from the bottom upwards so as not to disassemble the meringue. 

Form discs that you will first dry and then bake for 10 minutes. Prepare your ganache and fill it!

Brioche Bread

A soft sponge cake with a delicate flavor, perfect for a homemade breakfast. 

Preparing it is very easy: dissolve the yeast in slightly warm milk. 

In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, eggs and yeast dissolved in milk. Knead the dough and finally add the softened butter. 

When the dough is smooth and homogeneous, let it rest for one hour. Knead it and place it in a mold where it should rest for another hour. 

Bake it for 35 minutes at 180 degrees until the surface is lightly browned.

Madeleine

Originally from northern France, madeleines are soft, buttery, shell-shaped cakes. 

Mix the eggs at room temperature with the sugar. 

Melt the butter and add the milk and the almond flavoring. Mix the two compounds and knead, adding the flour little by little. 

When the dough is well worked and homogeneous, you can transfer it to the classic shell-shaped molds and bake it for 5 minutes at 200 degrees.

Profiteroles

Soft choux pastry balls filled with cream and covered with chocolate: an explosion of flavor that everyone will love! 

Profiteroles, original recipe: It’s a bit long but quite easy to prepare: make a hot liquid with water, butter, a pinch of salt and sugar.

Add the flour and, as soon as the mixture is homogeneous, add the cold eggs and let them soak in. 

Your mixture will resemble a cream but with a thicker consistency. 

You can make your cream puffs with the help of a piping bag and bake them for 20 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. 

In the meantime, prepare the Chantilly cream for the filling and the glaze to cover the cream puffs.

Paris Brest

Paris Brest is a choux pastry dough doughnut filled with mousseline cream prepared for the first time by a French pastry chef in 1891. 

The recipe is similar to that of the classic cream puffs: butter, water, sugar and salt are added, to which flour is added and finally eggs.

The dough is divided into circles to give it the shape of a doughnut and then baked for 30 minutes at 200 degrees. 

Once cold, you can cut your Paris Brest and fill it.

Savarin

Savarin is a classic French pastry dessert very similar to baba.  

Make an initial mixture of flour, milk and brewer’s yeast; gradually add more flour, sugar and eggs one at a time, and finally the butter. 

Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees in a doughnut pan. 

Drizzle with a syrup of rum, water, sugar and orange peel and decorate with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Tarte Tatin

In the recipe for tarte tatin, the brisée pastry is combined with apples caramelized with butter and sugar. 

Clean and peel the apples, cut them into wedges. Caramelize the sugar, flavoring with cinnamon and pour into a 24 cm mold. 

Put a first layer of apples and then a second layer, taking care to overlap them well. 

Cover with the dough, prick with a fork and bake at 80 degrees for 30 minutes. 

When your tart is baked, let it cool and with the help of a serving plate turn it over so that the layer of apples is on top.

Clafoutis

A simple berry-based recipe: clafoutis is a typical cake that can also be prepared in a savory version. 

In a planetary mixer, mix the sifted flour and a pinch of salt. 

Add the sugar, vanilla, eggs, lemon zest and milk: you must obtain a smooth dough without lumps. 

Butter a baking tray, sprinkle it with a layer of sugar, add the fruit and finally pour the batter and another light layer of sugar. 

Bake for 45 minutes at 160 degrees until the surface is lightly browned.

Pain au chocolat

The must-try breakfast on the streets of Paris: a sweet puff pastry filled with dark chocolate: pain au chocolat are very similar to local saccottini. 

The preparation is a bit long but very simple: mix the sugar, brewer’s yeast, milk and egg; add the flour little by little and knead until you obtain a homogeneous mixture, which should rest for 30 minutes.

Soften the butter and spread it between two sheets of greaseproof paper to form a sheet, let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour. 

Take your dough and roll it out into a square, place the butter sheet in the center and close it between the four corners of the dough. 

Roll it out with a rolling pin, forming rectangles. Add two strands of dark chocolate and roll the dough into a roll. Let rise another 2 hours and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

Conclusions 

Pastry chef William Isaias shared with us his top 10 French desserts. From his article we can draw the following conclusions: 

• French cuisine is among the most recognized and valued worldwide;
• There are preparations for all tastes, from soft and delicate flavors, to an explosion of taste and textures;
• In addition to the flavors, the presentation is an element that elevates French cuisine.