Recipes Desserts 32 of Our Favorite French Desserts By Food & Wine Editors Updated on September 6, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: © Kate Mathis French desserts have a high "ooh la la" factor. They're admired the world over, and for good reason: They're stunning to look at and bring just the right combinations of flavor and texture. To successfully create these sweets at home, technique is important, as is the use of best-quality ingredients. But fear not; our collection of French dessert recipes is meant to inspire and guide you through to their delicious ends. From classic macarons to delicate crêpes and creamy custards, here are dozens of incredible French desserts to try. 01 of 32 Raspberry Macarons Michael Turek These are among the simplest classic French macarons, made with only sugar, almond flour, egg whites, red food coloring — and a filling of raspberry jam. The jam is the star of the show, so be sure to purchase the finest seedless raspberry jam you can find. Get the Recipe 02 of 32 Plum Galette © Con Poulos This tart is a favorite dessert at Jacques Pépin's house. You can make it with any seasonal fruit, such as rhubarb, peaches, cherries, apricots, or apples. The dough is buttery, flaky, and very forgiving. It comes together in 10 seconds in a food processor. Get the Recipe 03 of 32 Sugar-Crusted Chocolate Cookies © Quentin Bacon This is Jacques Torres' recipe for sablés, a classic French butter cookie with a sandy, crumbly texture (sablé means "sandy") — though this fabulously dense version is actually more like shortbread. Get the Recipe 04 of 32 Apricot Pâte de Fruit © Edward Pond In France, pâtes de fruits are sold in high-end pâtisseries or pastry shops. The French roll them in sanding sugar, which has large crystals that cling to the candy without melting. Table sugar also works, as long as the jellies are rolled in it just before serving. Get the Recipe 05 of 32 Cream Puffs with Chocolate Sauce © Anna Williams At Christmas, pastry chef Elizabeth Katz likes to create a tower of fluffy, chocolate-covered cream puffs. The dessert harkens back to her time as a pastry chef in the French kitchen at New York City's Daniel, where a croquembouche (a pyramid of custard-filled profiteroles draped in caramel and wrapped in spun sugar) was de rigueur at holiday dinners. Get the Recipe 06 of 32 Triple-Layer Chocolate Macaroon Cake © Anna Williams French chef François Payard layers chewy coconut cake with silky chocolate ganache. The beauty of the recipe is its simplicity: It has only six ingredients. Get the Recipe 07 of 32 Crème Brûlée © Stephanie Meyer "This creamy, rich dessert is the perfect love letter," says chef Andrew Zimmern. "I made crème brûlée for dessert the first time I cooked for my wife when we had just started dating, and it worked out perfectly in every way." Get the Recipe 08 of 32 Raspberry Clafoutis © Tina Rupp For this classic French dessert, vintner Alix de Montille swaps in raspberries for the traditional cherries. You can, of course, make it with sweet cherries if you'd like; apricots and plums would also work. Get the Recipe 09 of 32 Crêpes Suzette © Con Poulos While restaurants traditionally make the buttery orange-flavored sauce for this famous dessert tableside from start to finish, chef Jacques Pépin finds it easier to prepare largely in advance when entertaining. He flambés the liquor in front of his dinner guests and pours it over the platter of crêpes while still flaming. Get the Recipe 10 of 32 Lemon-Ricotta Soufflés © Tina Rupp To make these individual soufflés sturdy, chef and vintner Maria Helm Sinskey uses choux pastry mixed with airy meringue and ricotta. While the inside is nicely custardy, the edges and sides are deliciously crisp. The soufflés, which have a lovely, not-too-sweet lemon flavor, can be served hot, warm, or cool, when they become like mini citrus cakes. Get the Recipe 11 of 32 Pear Tarte Tatin with Red-Wine Caramel © John Kernick Instead of apple pie, chef Shawn McClain ends his Thanksgivings with this stunning tarte Tatin. Because the recipe calls for store-bought puff pastry, it's quite easy to prepare. Get the Recipe 12 of 32 Chocolate Tartlets with Candied Grapefruit Peel © from Chez Jacques (Stewart, Tabori Chan Orange is the classic choice with chocolate, but candied grapefruit peel has a little bitterness that's also enjoyable. Chef Jacques Pépin prefers using a deep, strong dark chocolate with about 70 percent cocoa — the richer the better. Get the Recipe 13 of 32 Pistachio Financiers © Earl Carter Jing Tio, owner of culinary boutique Le Sanctuaire, likes to end dinner parties with rare fermented Chinese p'uerh tea and pistachio financiers, the absurdly easy-to-make buttery French cakes. The batter is made with ground almonds; vibrant green pistachios decorate the cake tops. Get the Recipe 14 of 32 Mango-Basil Vacherin © Kate Mathis Yigit Pura perfected this crisp-creamy French dessert while working at restaurant Daniel in New York City. His updated version combines little lime meringue kisses with basil ice cream and sweet mango sorbet. Get the Recipe 15 of 32 Floating Islands with Dark Chocolate Crème Anglaise and Toasted Pistachios Victor Protasio The rich, deep chocolate flavor contrasts with the incredibly light and airy texture of this classic French dessert. Use your favorite high-quality dark chocolate for the best results. Get the Recipe 16 of 32 Jacques Pépin's Favorite Pound Cake © Edward Pond The French call pound cake quatre-quarts ("four-fourths") because the original was made with equal parts flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. Jacques Pépin's mother, aunt, and cousin all have their versions. He likes to fold in candied citrus peels to make a French fruit cake; he also loves plain slices dipped in espresso. Get the Recipe 17 of 32 Alsatian Rhubarb Tart © David Prince Jean-Georges Vongerichten bakes rhubarb in the raw pastry shell in a convection oven, rather than blind-baking the crust. To ensure a thoroughly cooked crust when using a conventional oven, we recommend baking the tart shell completely before adding the rhubarb. However you make this dessert, it's irresistibly tangy, creamy, and frothy. Get the Recipe 18 of 32 Cherry and Chocolate Bûche de Noël © Michael Turek Every year during Christmas week, pastry chef Dominique Ansel serves guests complimentary mini bûches de Noël. His version here is lighter than many, thanks to the beaten egg whites in the batter and the use of whipped cream in place of buttercream as frosting. Get the Recipe 19 of 32 Spring Millefeuille © Abby Hocking When you cut the millefeuille, celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli recommends using a serrated knife and a sawing motion to cut even (and fairly neat) portions. Or just put in the center of the table with some forks and let things happen as they may. Get the Recipe 20 of 32 Hazelnut and Crème Fraîche Meringues with Lemon and Parmesan Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Perfect for tea or a light dessert, these elegant double-decker meringues are filled with tangy, gently sweetened crème fraîche and drizzled with a generous spoonful of hazelnut praline. But the real head-turning touch comes from the garnishes — ethereal flakes of Parmesan and sunny flecks of lemon zest. Get the Recipe 21 of 32 Bittersweet Chocolate Tart © Con Poulos This outrageously elegant tart is from Alain Ducasse's Manhattan restaurant, Benoit. Decadent bittersweet chocolate filling sits inside a chocolate-almond crust and is topped with a shiny cocoa and milk chocolate glaze. Serve it with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Get the Recipe 22 of 32 Frozen Crème Caramel © Christina Holmes To make her crème caramel more refreshing, chef Amanda Hallowell serves it partially frozen, like a semifreddo. These can be frozen for up to a week. Get the Recipe 23 of 32 Extra-Creamy Chocolate Mousse © Christina Holmes What sets French Pastry chef Dominique Ansel's chocolate mousse apart from other versions of the dessert is that he folds in the chocolate just before serving. Get the Recipe 24 of 32 Burnt Honey-Orange Tuiles Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen The beauty of this cookie-brittle hybrid is that you can make it with any croissant — homemade or store-bought. To ensure a crispy tuile, let the croissant slices bake until they are a deep golden brown to give the sugar in the syrup time to caramelize and harden to the perfect texture. Get the Recipe 25 of 32 Roasted White Chocolate and Coffee Truffles © Christina Holmes Pastry chef Belinda Leong made many kinds of ganache during her time at the venerable Pierre Hermé pâtisserie in Paris. Here, she slow-roasts white chocolate, which adds an enticing caramel flavor to the super-creamy ganache filling in her truffles. Get the Recipe 26 of 32 Vanilla–Brown Butter Sablé Cookies Johhny Miller Pastry Chef Natasha Pickowicz loves simple vanilla cookies like these. Vanilla, a notoriously difficult product to grow and source, really shines in this recipe, making the ingredient's quality especially important. Get the Recipe 27 of 32 Pain d'Épices © Oddur Thorisson This hearty, deeply spiced gingerbread loaf from French cook and blogger Mimi Thorisson has a wonderful honey-buckwheat flavor. Get the Recipe 28 of 32 Brown-Butter Crêpes with Nutella and Jam © Marcus Nilsson To give his crêpes a subtle, nutty flavor, chef Mike Price browns the butter for his batter. "Any jam will go with hazelnuts and chocolate," he says. "You can't screw that up." Get the Recipe 29 of 32 Chocolate-Dipped Florentine Shortbreads © Dana Gallagher Here, pastry chef and chocolatier Pierre Hermé combines the tenderness of shortbread with the elegance of florentines, the caramelized almond cookies studded with glittering candied fruit. Get the Recipe 30 of 32 Fresh Raspberry Tart © Keller & Keller To make sure the pastry stays crisp and flaky, arrange the raspberries on top no more than 30 minutes before serving. The jam not only sets the berries in place, but also adds flavor intensity and gives them a beautiful shine. Get the Recipe 31 of 32 Skillet Apple Charlotte © Lucy Schaeffer A classic apple charlotte has a crust of buttered bread slices filled with caramelized apples. In this quick version, apple wedges are sautéed with honey and maple syrup, topped with buttered toast, and turned out of the pan like a tarte Tatin. Get the Recipe 32 of 32 Orange-Anise Croquembouche with White Chocolate Christopher Testani For this magnificent croquembouche, choux pastry puffs are filled with festive orange- and anise-infused cream, then secured into a tower with white chocolate. For extra magic, sprinkle the puffs with gold luster dust after they're stacked. Don't be put off by the nearly eight hours it takes to complete this showstopper — it's only one hour of active cooking time! Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit