Life
9 Essential French Pastry Recipes Because We Are Not Afraid of Butter and Sugar
We love croissants. And macarons. And those adorable little brioche buns that look like they’re wearing top knots. But when it comes to whipping them up ourselves? That’s a different story. After all, French pastry is like your glamorous, jet-setting friend: you meet at the bistro, over coffee. You dine on the patio with a copy of Le Monde in hand — but never do you invite it home.
This time, though, we will not be daunted. We will not let a buttery, flaky confection cower us into submission. So with a dough scraper in hand and a rolling pin in the other, we’ve gathered the essential pastries we’ll master together. The good news? It’s easier than you think. Roll up your sleeves and get to work — Julia Child’s got nothing on us.
Image: Bake Noir
Plum Clafoutis
We’ll start you off easy with this summery clafoutis — a baked dessert that’s a cross between a Dutch baby and custard. Traditionally, it’s made with cherries, but A Pastry Affair whips hers up with plums.
Image: A Pastry Affair
Chocolate Pots de Crème
Call it mousse. Call it custard. But whatever you do, don’t call it pudding. This airy, chocolaty confection from Green Kitchen Stories is just seven ingredients — whisk, bake, and devour.
Image: Green Kitchen Stories
Orange-Scented Palmiers
Don’t be fooled by all the delicate, pretty layers: this crisp cookie calls for just puff pastry, sugar, and orange zest. Bonus points if you make your own pastry — but frozen’s just as good. We won’t tell. Thanks, Hummingbird High!
Image: Hummingbird High
Raspberry Meringue Mille Feuille
If you have leftover puff pastry from your palmiers, use them to build Sugar et Al’s mille feuille, aka napoleon. Homemade meringue (you can do it!) and a tart raspberry compote take this treat to the next level.
Image: Sugar et Al
Chocolate and Nutmeg Tart
Few things are as classically French as the chocolate tart, which calls for chocolate ganache poured onto pâte sucrée (aka sweetened butter dough). Five and Spice kicks hers up with a hint of nutmeg.
Image: Five and Spice
Vanilla Cream Puffs
For tarts, we whipped up a pâte sucrée — but cream puffs? They’re a whole ‘nother breed of pastry called pâte à choux. This is essentially water, oil (or butter), and sugar cooked over the stove, plus flour and eggs mixed in afterward. With a little bit of muscle, you’ll have bakery-worthy cream puffs in no time. Thanks, Bake Noir!
Image: Bake Noir
Apple Maple Financiers
Arguably the most forgiving of pastries, the financier is an almond cake traditionally shaped like a gold bar (hence its name). Sugar et Al whips up a tasty variation in her standard-issue muffin tin.
Image: Sugar et Al
Crockpot Brioche
This one’s not for the purists at heart. Crepes of Wrath takes the guesswork (and the kneading) out for one fluffy, mindblowingly simple brioche bread.
Image: Crepes of Wrath
Croissants
There’s no easy way around this one, but luckily, our friends at Half Baked Harvest walk us through the steps. With a little planning and a trusty rolling pin, these croissants are just a few folds away from your breakfast table.
Image: Half Baked Harvest
