For those who are wondering what to sample while strolling through Parisian streets, picking up some goodies from an Australian patisserie, or keen to try their pastry hand at home, we explore some of the best French pastries on offer – sweet and savoury.
In France, apple pies are found in many shapes, textures and forms. These range from the renowned tarte Tatin – where the apples are proudly on show, sitting atop a base of puff pastry – to the more enclosed pies such as the pate de la batteuse, half-moon shaped pies that celebrate apples during harvest time.
Apple tarte Tatin with cinnamon ice-cream
Commonly apple pies, including these two, share the classic ingredients of butter, sugar and vanilla bean.
SWEET STUFF Harvest apple pie (pate de la batteuse) A delicious apple pie dessert in the shape of a half moon. Filled with seasonal fruit, it was often associated with harvest time, hence the name, ‘de la battuese’, which refers to a threshing machine. Apple tarte Tatin with cinnamon ice-cream A dark and sticky sweet treat accompanied by perfectly crisp pastry. According to legend, tarte Tatin was invented by mistake in the 1880s, when a hotelier tried to disguise a burnt apple tart.
A delicious apple pie dessert in the shape of a half moon. Filled with seasonal fruit, it was often associated with harvest time, hence the name, ‘de la battuese’, which refers to a threshing machine.
A dark and sticky sweet treat accompanied by perfectly crisp pastry. According to legend, tarte Tatin was invented by mistake in the 1880s, when a hotelier tried to disguise a burnt apple tart.
Beignets originated in France and are now found around the world, meaning there are plenty of adaptations. The traditionally French variety resembles a kind of doughnut, made of either a choux pastry or a yeast dough. Beignets are commonly enjoyed warm and simply dusted with icing sugar. Others are more glamorously filled with cream or chocolate.
Canelés are petite, heavenly cakes defined by a custard centre protected by a caramelised crust.
FRENCH TREAT Feels like home: Bordeaux canelés pay tribute to a Frenchman's uncle The legacy of chef Vincent Uso's Uncle Alain lives on in every canelé baked using his secret recipe.
The four fundamental ingredients of a canelé are flour, egg yolks, vanilla and rum. Pastry chefs usually don't toy with the classic shape of canelés: a cylindrical shape with fluted edges. These are perfect with a coffee.
Canelés are from Bordeaux.
Chouquettes grace an inordinate number of pastry stores and bakeries in France, and often hang near the front counter, inviting a last-minute purchase.
SNACK TIME Chouquettes At Choukette, a French pastry located in Brunswick, Melbourne, Nans Wojtczak and his team work hard to create traditional bread and pastries. You can enjoy French baguette, quiches, cakes and croissants. In this podcast, Nans Wojtczak shares one of his specialties – chouquettes.
At Choukette, a French pastry located in Brunswick, Melbourne, Nans Wojtczak and his team work hard to create traditional bread and pastries. You can enjoy French baguette, quiches, cakes and croissants. In this podcast, Nans Wojtczak shares one of his specialties – chouquettes.
The baked 'little balls of choux', as they translate, are sprinkled with pearl sugar and are served as is or filled with a mousse or custard. Try a plain version first to fully appreciate the pastry's simplicity – crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Croissants are unignorable, the breakfast pastry of choice for many in France. The croissants in France generally aren't as grand, large or puffed up as some of their overseas counterparts. A good plain one can be satisfying enough, but if you're looking for a little more, get your hands on a ham-and-cheese or almond version.
CLASSIC Croissants The classic French croissant is dark, flaky and buttery. While the dough laminating process is lengthy, it is completely satisfying, and the results are delicious.
The classic French croissant is dark, flaky and buttery. While the dough laminating process is lengthy, it is completely satisfying, and the results are delicious.
Eclairs are the ideal, express afternoon sweet treat and come in endless variations. Coffee eclairs are great pick-me-ups and pistachio or chestnut-flavoured ones are for umami-lovers. You can also opt for a fruit filling, like strawberry cream, for something sweeter. Sealed with glistening frostings, it can be difficult to stop at just one.
Top of your day with chocolate eclairs.
If you want to enjoy the best of France's fresh produce, consider fruit tarts.
A TRUE DELIGHT! Mini raspberry tarts If you’ve ever wanted to make those little tarts that you see at the best patisseries, which look as though they’re studded with jewels, then Guillaume Brahimi's recipe is for you – perfect mouthfuls of delicious custard cream and fresh raspberries.
If you’ve ever wanted to make those little tarts that you see at the best patisseries, which look as though they’re studded with jewels, then Guillaume Brahimi's recipe is for you – perfect mouthfuls of delicious custard cream and fresh raspberries.
You'll find plenty of tarts crowned with amazing raspberries, blueberries, apples or peaches when these fruits are in season. Often beneath the fruit toppings are pastry cream or custard. Other tarts simply flaunt the fruit itself.
Macarons should not be confused with macaroons. Both are indeed fancy cookie sandwiches, but macaron biscuits are made from meringue and almond meal, whereas macaroons are made with coconut.
Macarons: A burst of flavour and colour.
Macarons were introduced to France by Italy's Medici family during the Renaissance. The treats are now a major part of French cake culture. They come in a kaleidoscope of flavours and the French-style are filled with jam, buttercream or ganache.
MACARONS RECIPE Macarons French pâtissier, Pierrick Boyer, shows us how to prepare Macarons, the small almond and meringue biscuits that have become very fashionable. A little experience is required to make macarons well. It may you a few times to obtain a good result.
French pâtissier, Pierrick Boyer, shows us how to prepare Macarons, the small almond and meringue biscuits that have become very fashionable. A little experience is required to make macarons well. It may you a few times to obtain a good result.
A classic mille feuille, which graphically translates as 'a thousand leaves', comprises layers of puff pastry and vanilla pastry cream with a dusting of icing sugar. Although it sounds simple, in its purest form, the cake is incredibly hard to master.
France brims with modern versions that feature ingredients such as chocolate glaze, jams and fruits. Fundamentally, what unites different types of mille feuille are three layers of pastry and two layers of cream.
MILLE FEUILLE RECIPE White peach and basil mille feuille The classic French pastry has been given a summer update – white peaches, basil and freshly cracked black pepper layered with a vanilla crème patissiere cream and crisp layers of puff pastry.
The classic French pastry has been given a summer update – white peaches, basil and freshly cracked black pepper layered with a vanilla crème patissiere cream and crisp layers of puff pastry.
Named in honour of France's famed Mont Blanc, this sweet treat features meringue, encased in strands of sweet chestnut puree. It's often topped with whipped cream or icing sugar, evoking the cap of the snowy mountain. These pretty desserts make common appearances at afternoon teas and bridal showers.
HOW TO MAKE MONT BLANC Mont Blanc It is easy to see how this French dessert consisting of a sweet chestnut puree on top of meringue gets its name from the mountain that inspired it.
It is easy to see how this French dessert consisting of a sweet chestnut puree on top of meringue gets its name from the mountain that inspired it.
An opera cake is France's answer to tiramisu, an ideal dessert for coffee lovers. Architecturally, it relies on three layers: an almond sponge soaked in coffee syrup, a rich chocolate ganache and a coffee buttercream. The layers are intended to represent the levels of an actual opera house – logical and decadent.
Pain au chocolat bluntly translates to 'chocolate bread' due to the fact that originally it was made using a brioche base.
We could have pain au chocolat for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
The pastry has adapted to rely on a yeasted puff pastry, which wraps around a stick of chocolate before it's baked. These are a favourite of children on their way to school, and big kids, alike.
EAT THIS Vanessa's pain au chocolat Homemade pastry certainly takes longer, but it's absolutely worth every second as the delightful smells of the warm, buttery, chocolatey goodness fill the kitchen. 'Pain au chocolat' or 'chocolatine?' What do the French actually consider correct? Forget the recent presidential election, if there’s a topic that really gets people worked up in France, it’s not politics, it’s pastries!
Homemade pastry certainly takes longer, but it's absolutely worth every second as the delightful smells of the warm, buttery, chocolatey goodness fill the kitchen.
The Paris-Brest, although founded in Paris, is found all over France. It was designed to promote the Paris-Brest-Paris bike race, explaining its resemblance of a bicycle wheel. These come in small sizes for one person, or larger sizes which are ideal for sharing. The pretty ring of choux pastry, filled with a hazelnut cream and topped with slivered almonds, makes for a beautiful centrepiece at dessert time.
BIKING DELICIOUS Paris-Brest with hazelnut crème au beurre This light and airy dessert was created and named in honour of the ‘Paris-Brest’ – a famous French cycling race, and is presented in the shape of a bicycle wheel.
This light and airy dessert was created and named in honour of the ‘Paris-Brest’ – a famous French cycling race, and is presented in the shape of a bicycle wheel.
This quiche is a pillar of French cuisine, an ultimate crowd-pleaser known around the world. It combines bacon, cheese and onion to make for a smoky yet comforting quiche. Some pastry chefs include vegetables, but when in France, aim to find a traditional quiche Lorraine before trying any others.
Speaking of resemblant pastries, meet religieuse cakes. These were created in the 19th-century Paris by Italian pastry chef Frascati. Religieuse is the French word for 'nun', who are affectionately honoured in dessert form via two chocolate topped choux pastry buns that are stacked on top of each other – the bottom bun larger and the top bun smaller, representing body and head. The buns are filled with the likes of pastry cream, custard, coffee, caramel or rose-flavoured cream.
In the same category as the Paris-Brest, is the St Honouré. Named in honour of the French patron saint of pastry chefs. It is slightly more elaborate than the Paris-Brest, with a base of puff pastry holding the choux pastry. It's filled with pastry cream and gloriously topped with cream puffs.
HONOUR THIS St Honoré cake (gâteau St Honoré) Making this cake requires skill and a love of choux and caramel.
Making this cake requires skill and a love of choux and caramel.
Tarts are a great way of showing off French cheeses. Maroilles is a soft cow's milk cheese, which is native to the regions of Thiérache and l'Avesnois. The cheese is often described as strong, nutty and pungent, so if you can't handle strong cheeses, this one is not for you.
Treat yo'self with a slice of Tarte au Maroilles.
A shortcrust pastry holds a simple mixture of cheese, creme fraiche, butter and eggs, ensuring there aren't many distractions from the hero that is the cheese. It's baked until the cheese is gooey and the top is golden brown.
BAKING TIME Tarte au Maroilles A delicious savoury tart featuring cubes or slices of cheese on a base of shortcrust pastry.
A delicious savoury tart featuring cubes or slices of cheese on a base of shortcrust pastry.
Here's another one for the strong cheese aficionados. This tart combines Roquefort cheese and caramelised onion, which is a genius balancing act, bringing together the saltiness and sourness of Roquefort with the sweetness of caramelised onions. This one is ideal at lunchtime with a salad.
Yule log cakes or 'bûche de Noël' pop up throughout the country during Christmas time.
FESTIVE Yule log (bûche de Noël) Traditionally made of a plain genoise sponge and chocolate buttercream, my updated version of the Christmas-time bûche de Noël is a combination of a flourless chocolate cake, rich chocolate ganache and a lightly toasted Italian meringue – the perfect dessert for a festive celebration.
A sheet of plain, Italian-style genoise cake is filled with chocolate cream and rolled into a log shape. Why a log, you ask? It references the tradition of families burning logs on Christmas Eve, in pursuit of bringing luck to the new year.
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MORE FRENCH FOOD The classic and the spin: French and Japanese crêpes A crêpe by any other name would taste as sweet (or savoury). Three popular French sandwiches and where to find them French sandwiches are simple comfort food infused with a dash of posh and a generous helping of butter and cheese. Warm up by making the perfect cassoulet Cassoulet can feed an army and it led to wartime triumph for the French, one legend claims. It's still a crowd-pleaser today. Pasta with snails (escargot Languedocienne) A French pasta dish with snails, clams, anchovies and white wine. Le Welsh (croque monsieur du Nord) Made with melted cheddar, ham, bread and beer, this dish is a French take on the ‘Welsh rabbit’, or rarebit. Generosity is key when it comes to this French toastie The croque monsieur turns ham, cheese and toasted bread into a seriously delicious sandwich. Blueberry and almond clafoutis with cardamom cream A traditional French clafoutis is made with cherries, but I love the unique, perfumed sweet sourness of blueberries. They also go so well with almond! Get hands on with these sweet and savoury pull-apart loaves From the sticky sweetness of monkey bread to a rich French cheese loaf, you'll want to rip into these. Fun to make, too!
A French pasta dish with snails, clams, anchovies and white wine.
Made with melted cheddar, ham, bread and beer, this dish is a French take on the ‘Welsh rabbit’, or rarebit.
A traditional French clafoutis is made with cherries, but I love the unique, perfumed sweet sourness of blueberries. They also go so well with almond!
SBS acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia.