Not counting chocolate.
Tarte tatin and souffle get honorable mentions but didn’t make the list because they require the addition of ice cream to make them complete.
#10. Choux a la Creme
Basically, a French cream puff. I prefer mine with custard filling.
#9. Baba au Rhum
A rum and syrup saturated cake occasionally topped with whipped cream. Sometimes, it even comes with an injectable shot of extra rum!
#8. Canelé
The dark caramelized exterior protects a firm vanilla custard interior.
#7. Dacquoise
Alternating layers of almond and hazelnut meringue topped with buttercream.
#6. Macaron
Meringue shells and (usually a) flavored buttercream or ganache cream filling.
#5. Eclair
Cream-stuffed choux dough topped with icing – usually, chocolate.
#4. Paris-Brest
A choux pastry wheel sandwiching praline cream.
#3. Kouign-Amann
A slow-baked multi-layered cake containing butter and sugar that resembles a caramelized croissant. The New York Times referred to it as “the fattiest pastry in all of Europe”!
#2. Gateau Basque
I prefer the almond or pastry cream version of this flaky crust.
#1. Savarin
Citrus-flavored yeast cake soaked in orange liqueur, topped with Chantilly cream.
Surprising, no?
So, which are your favorites?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, aaand yes!!!
I was surprised! I was expecting the Macarons to be #1. For French pastries I can’t go past an Almond Pain au Chocolat. I’m not sure if it counts as a dessert, though?
I did a croissant and danish course a couple of months ago. Here’s a photo of the goodies we made:
https://imgur.com/aruTOh0
A work colleague’s wife has a cooking channel on YouTube and recently cooked Canelé. I will have to give them a try!
Oooooooh
Ah, a more enjoyable and less thought provoking post today.
If I had to pick any of the desserts listed, I’d say eclairs. I’m disappointed cheesecake wasn’t on the list. 🙁
I hope your day was better.
I wouldn’t consider cheesecake a specifically french dessert.
It’s not French, but English-Italian, but the best dessert I’ve had I think must be ASK Italian’s Chocolate Etna (https://www.askitalian.co.uk/menu/menu/desserts/):
“Hot toffee sauce is poured over the dark chocolate cup at your table, revealing a hidden scoop of vanilla gelato on top of a heavenly hot chocolate fondant.”
The dark chocolate cup is about the “chocoliatist” chocolate I’ve ever had. I don’t think I’ll ever want another dessert!
Thanks! I’m hungry now. 🤤🤤🤤 😅
I have to confess I am not as cultured as you are, have only had the eclair. And it was from a doughnut shop at that.
That’s a good list.
My all time favorites that does not appear on your list are
1- Flan slice
2- crème brûlée
3- millefeuille
4- St Honoré
The others are on your list, roughly.
Yes, you’re right. I have cheesecake on the brain. 😉
Now Yur Talkin’! 😀 XOXOXOXOXO 🙂 XOXOXOX 🙂 XOXO
Dacquoise. YUM!
Albeit, asking me to pick a favorite desert, no matter french or otherwise, is like asking a mother to pick a favorite child. They are all so equally wonderful for their own reasons. I do tend to lean a teensy bit more toward almost any sweet with a combo of orange and almond, pistachio & almond or chocolate & almond. Also, almost anything with hazelnut. Usually prefer the moist cakes & pastries, though I’m not as keen on nutella as you seem to be and do enjoy some versions of french financier cakes and orange-almond toast.
A friend I visited in NY last summer made the most delicious Flourless french almond and orange cake.
She added a homemade cream cheese topping with almond slivers to make it her own.
Lately my brain and taste buds have been hooked on Kataifi, various versions of Tiramisu, Flan, Creme brulee and Annisette toast.
On another happy place thought … Coming up ths week:
New seasons of Handmaids Tale and Black Mirror. 🙂
Well yes, each is my favorite. I love eclairs, especially the custard filled type. Our local supermarket bakery fills them with a sugary whipped cream substance which I do not care fo at all.
I remember a raspberry napoleon cake ?? from when we visited Paris when I turned 14. I have never found anything else quite so yummy. Perhaps I never will, and my memory would bring only disappointment.
The rum savarin from Thierry here in Vancouver! A revelation to our usual office birthday cake options that’s for sure.
I’m not in Vancouver anymore! I miss Thierry! 🙁
I too am shocked at the macaron’s poor placement, under eclairs? At some point I may have eaten That Éclair, the one that became one éclair too many and never wanted to have another. These are all way too delicious to look at before my nutritious lunch. My blueberry Kind Bar is looking like cardboard after savoring these pics.
I need a window of time to just do movies, I haven’t seen Avengers and I want to see MIB Intl and John Wick 3; seeing Keanu be awesome in Always Be My Maybe now has me Keanu brained.
All of them. If I ever get to Toronto, I’ll have to try some. Probably can’t do the rum one (although I could when I was much younger); I’ve developed an allergy to alcohol.
I can’t actually eat them because of an allergy but my friend raves about this place in Montreal for Kouign Amann. She has to go there when we visit. Just thought I would mention it in case you haven’t tried it…
https://www.facebook.com/Au-Kouign-Amann-130216647050155/