The French are known for many things: fine art, great wine, and their rich history. But what they're known for is excellent food. If you've been to France before, you know this to be true. What could be more heavenly than a cheese plate with a glass of wine?
French desserts are the epitome of sweetness. From crepes to tarts to eclairs, French dessert recipes run from simple to show-stopping. But don't be intimidated by the thought of making French desserts from scratch. Dessert recipes like classic Crème Brûlée, easy Chocolate Mousse, and homemade Macarons are all easier to make than you think. Whether you're looking for a recipe for a stunning cake or just an easy cookie recipe, we've got something for every occasion.
Creme Brulee
French Creme Brulee is a classic French dessert made with a rich custard base and topped with a hard caramel layer. This recipe uses heavy cream and egg yolks to create the custard, simmered over low heat.
The hardest part about making French creme brulee is waiting to cool and set in the fridge. If you're anything like me, you'll want to eat it as soon as it's done!
Palmier Cookies
These flaky, French Palmier cookies are made with puff pastry and are easy to make! They're perfect for the holidays and holiday cookie exchanges.
The French Palmier Cookies are a less sweet and flaky pastry with just a few ingredients. They are called Palmier, which means palm tree in French as they resemble the shape of a palm tree. These are easy to make and take no time at all!
- This cookie is perfect with your morning coffee or tea (black tea or Earl Grey).
- Or great as an after-school snack.
- It can even be served with ice cream or whipped cream for a dessert.
Financiers
Financiers are delicate cakes that are rich and moist. They are baked in rectangular molds and traditionally flavored with almonds. Most financiers are made with browned butter, which gives them a nutty flavor and soft, dense texture.
Apple Cranberry Galette
This Apple Cranberry Galette is made with a simple, homemade pie crust filled with sweet apples and Tart Cranberries. With all of the beautiful flavors of a traditional apple pie in a hand-held form!
This luxuriously rich and creamy apple cranberry galette is a perfect holiday dessert. It's an elegant dessert that looks far more complicated to make than it is. The entire recipe can be made in half an hour, from start to finish.
French Fig Tart
This French Fig Tart is a perfect summer dessert, with a crisp, buttery crust filled with fig preserves and topped with a simple vanilla-scented whipped cream.
This delicious tart combines a simple vanilla pastry cream filling with my favorite fig preserves. If you can't find fig preserves, you can use peach, apricot, or raspberry preserves as an alternative.
- The filling for the tart is simply a quick vanilla pastry cream that's thickened and flavored with vanilla bean for extra flavor.
- The pastry cream is then topped with your favorite fruit preserves. I used fig preserves, but you could use peach, raspberry, or apricot instead.
Parisian Flan
A French Parisian Flan is a custardy, creamy, and silky smooth dessert. It can be made in any flavor if the basic formula remains the same. I love to make a flan with different flavors of extract and fruit juices, but my favorite way to make it is with vanilla beans and fresh peaches.
Flan is a dessert that all cultures take pride in — it's just made differently depending on where you are. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, it's served upside down, the caramel on top and the custard underneath. But in France, you keep it right side up, so the caramel melts into the custard when you serve it.
Ina Garten's French Chocolate Bark
Ina Garten's French Chocolate Bark is a deliciously simple, no-bake holiday treat. This is the perfect recipe to whip up this Christmas season!
The perfect treat to have ready on hand for whenever you need a chocolate fix, this easy bark can be made with just five ingredients (plus salt). You can customize it with your favorite mixings— Garten uses sliced almonds and dried cranberries — or any toppings you like. The possibilities are endless!
Pears Belle Helene
Belle Helene is a classic dessert that combines poached pears and chocolate sauce. It's simple to make but looks elegant and tastes fantastic. They can be used for anything from savory dishes like tarts to sweet desserts like this one.
This classic French dessert — poached pears in chocolate sauce — is as easy to make as elegant. The recipe makes a beautiful breakfast or brunch dish, but it can also be served at the end of a meal with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
Crepes
Crepes can be sweet or savory. The French love them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You fill the crepe with cheese, fish, or meat and sauce for a savory meal. You fill them with fruit and whipped cream (or anything else sweet you like) and dust a little sugar on top for dessert.
Cherry Clafoutis
This classic French dessert is a big, fluffy pancake made with eggs, sugar, and milk, then baked with fruit. It's traditionally made with tart cherries that have been pitted and sprinkled over the batter before baking (there's no folding in this recipe!). In this version, I use frozen cherries. They make a beautiful, vibrant dessert.
There are three things to know about Clafoutis:
1) The batter should be thin — almost as thin as crepe batter. If necessary, you can add more milk to get it to the right consistency.
2) Make sure the cherries are well-drained before adding them to the batter. If they're not, your Clafoutis will be soggy.
3) Don't skip the dusting of powdered sugar at the end! Cherries aren't very sweet on their own, so this is essential.
Madeleines
A madeleine is a small cake with a distinctive shell-like shape acquired from baking in pans with shell-shaped depressions. Madeleine cookies are a French tea cake. They're typically baked in special molds with a shell shape.
Madeleines are often served on their own or dipped in coffee or tea. You can also use them to make ice cream sandwiches, soak them in syrup for a sweet dessert, or top them with glaze and sprinkles.
French Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate truffles are a classic French confection that you can find on the dessert menu at almost any French restaurant. The chocolate ganache is formed into small balls and then coated in cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles, or nuts to create these small bite-sized treats. The chocolate Truffles recipe produces deliciously decadent bites of chocolate every time.
French Lemon Tart
The French Lemon Tart is one of the most famous desserts in France. It is a simple tart that is easy to make and satisfying to eat. This tart is an absolute delight with a sweet and buttery crust filled with creamy lemon custard filling.
The beauty of this particular lemon tart recipe is that you can make it in advance, as the finished product keeps well in the fridge. A great make-ahead dessert!
Cream Puffs
A cream puff is a dessert pastry made from choux pastry and filled with cream, custard, or ice cream. They can be decorated or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, fruit, powdered sugar, and whipped cream. The puffs may be frozen and decorated with piped double cream from a pastry bag. Cream puffs are also known in French as "choux à la crème,"
Creme au Caramel
Creme au caramel, also called flan, is an old-fashioned French dessert that is tricky to make. The basic recipe calls for eggs and milk (or cream) baked in a water bath until set.
- A layer of caramel lines the bottom of the molds and forms a sauce on serving.
- Don't be afraid to try this recipe.
- It will give you the confidence to prepare it again and again; it's so easy and so delicious!
This will be your favorite dessert!
Caneles
Canelés are small, wealthy, rum and vanilla-flavored French cakes with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust. Caneles are little cakes with a creamy interior and a thick, caramelized outer shell. They're loved for their intense flavor, soft texture, and crispy exterior.
- Make them for brunch (they're an excellent base for French toast) or to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee.
- Caneles freeze well, so you can make extras to stash in the freezer.
- Pop it in the microwave (or oven) for a few seconds to reheat when you want one.
- Note that this recipe requires overnight chilling of the batter.
Beignets
Beignets are a French pastry fried and then coated in powdered sugar. They're like doughnut holes but better because they're covered in more sugar.
Beignets are best enjoyed warm, which is when their crispy exterior is at its finest. However, you can also make them ahead of time and store them in an airtight container for up to three days (although you will want to reheat them before serving). You can even freeze the beignets for up to three months — thaw them out first!
Meringue Kisses
French meringue kisses are a delightful dessert with whipped egg whites and sugar. You pipe these airy treats on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven until they are crisp. These cookies are very light and take on the flavor of whatever you add to them.
French meringue kisses have several different uses. You can serve them alongside fresh fruit for dipping or use them to decorate cakes and other desserts. They can also be used as the base for other desserts, such as lemon meringue pie.
Cafe Liegeois
Desserts are made to be shared. The French Cafe Liegeois is a dessert that you can share with your whole family. It is the perfect way to end a meal, and it will leave you wanting more.
This is the creamiest, most luscious dessert you will ever have. It has three delicious layers that melt in your mouth: a whipped cream layer, a custard layer, and an ice cream layer. Combining these three layers creates a creamy texture and taste that goes beyond description. Liegeois is an elegant dessert perfect for any occasion and can be made ahead of time.
Flaugnarde
This is a great way to use up peaches and berries that are about to go wrong. The texture is similar to an apple cobbler, but it's a little sweeter, and the fruit stands out. It's super easy, so it's perfect for a weeknight dessert.
In traditional French cooking, Flaugnarde is made with peaches but can also be made with pears or cherries.
Palets de Dames
A French Palets de dame, or a classic French cheeseboard, is a simple and delicious cheese plate that's perfect for a last-minute get-together. In France, it's just called a 'cheese plate,’
Palets de dames aren't fancy or fussy. You don't need to do any pairing or combining of particular ingredients. Just select your favorite cheeses and get ready to enjoy a delicious snack with friends. Try hazelnut wafers instead if you don't feel like making the individual chocolate cookies. You can find these in the cookie aisle at most supermarkets.
Yogurt Cake
This French Yogurt Cake is so easy to make! It doesn't require many ingredients; it's moist and delicious. Great for a quick breakfast or dessert!
This cake is trendy in France; I think it's so easy to make with essential ingredients that you have on hand most of the time, and also because it's SO GOOD. It has a super soft texture; it's moist and flavorful.
If you're like me, then you've probably tried to recreate some of those dishes at home. You may even have tried to make some French desserts. And if you haven't tasted any French desserts before or if this is the first time you're trying your hand at one — fret not!
It's easier than it looks.
