10 French Pastries To Know According To Cordon Bleu Chefs

Macaron

These delightful little sweet treats made from stiffly whipped egg whites, sugar and ground almonds or coconut, macarons have a light, crispy exterior and a soft, chewy interior. Often available in various flavors and colors, with fillings like ganache, buttercream or jam sandwiched between two halves of the meringue cookie, French macarons are known for their smooth, domed shape.

Profiterole

These small, round and hollow pastries made with choux pastry are baked until crisp and golden on the outside but hollow and soft on the inside. Profiteroles are commonly filled with sweet and creamy fillings such as whipped cream, custard or ice cream, and even piled on top of one another to make a popular French dessert centrepiece known as the croquembouche. Once filled, the profiteroles are topped off with chocolate sauce, caramel or powdered sugar and served as a sweet ending to a meal or as part of a high tea assortment.

Religieuse

A classic French pastry that is said to resemble the appearance of a nun, religieuse are comprised of two choux pastry puffs – a larger one at the bottom and a smaller one on top – stacked on each other and filled with cream. The smaller choux set on top of the larger one acts as a head, with the whole pastry adorned with icing or ganache to resemble a nun’s habit. Available in a variety of flavors for fillings, the religieuse are typically filled with chocolate ganache, coffee or Chantilly cream.

Pain Au Chocolat

What most of us identify as a chocolate croissant, the pain au chocolat or ‘chocolate bread’ in French, is a popular viennoiserie pastry. Consists of a piece of dark chocolate wrapped in a thin layer of yeast-leavened or laminated dough, it is then folded over the chocolate and rolled up, giving it a cylindrical shape. Once proofed, the risen pastry is baked until golden brown and flaky – allowing for a separation of layers to be visible. Eaten for breakfast, paired with a cup of coffee or as a snack, the pain au chocolat is enjoyed for its buttery-crisp texture with a hint of chocolate in each bite.

Mille Feuille

Translating to ‘a thousand leaves’ in French, the mille feuille is a classic French pastry that is commonly known as a Napoleon. Made of multiple layers of thin puff pastry alternated with layers of pastry cream, custard or whipped cream, the paper-thin puff pastry layers are baked until crisp and golden before assembled with cream and fruit. Meant to appeal visually for its layering, these pastries are incredibly delicious due to the contrast between the crispy pastry and its creamy fillings.

Éclair

Made from choux pastry, the éclair is similar to the pastry used in cream puffs and profiteroles – only oblong in shape. Piped onto baking sheets before they have their time in the oven to turn crisp and hollow inside, the cooled éclairs are filled with a flavored cream or custard – often vanilla or chocolate, through a small hole made on either sides of the pastry. Once filled, the top of the éclair is coated with a chocolate icing or flavored glaze, to add sweetness and some additional flavor.

Madeleine

These visually pleasing, shell-shaped sponge cakes have a distinctive scalloped shape on one side and a slightly humped appearance on the other. Made from a genoise batter, which is a light, airy sponge cake batter, it is typically flavored with lemon zest, vanilla or almond extract. In traditional recipes, the batter is chilled before it is baked in shell-shaped moulds, because the low temperatures help in creating the characteristic bump on the underside. Madeleines are best enjoyed with tea or coffee and prized for their soft, moist texture and slightly sweet taste.

Cannele

The cannele or canelé is a French pastry with a caramelized crust and soft custard-like center. Originating from Bordeaux, the sweet treat has a distinctive fluted shape, typically resembling a small, ridged cylinder. Made with simple ingredients of flour, sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla, the cannele is also flavored with rum and orange blossom water in some variations. Moulds coated with beeswax contains the batter which is baked at a high temperature, creating the caramelized crust while keeping the interior moist and custardy.

Kouign-Amann

A Breton-style pastry made with bread dough containing layers of butter and sugar, similar to a croissant, what makes the kouign-amann different is the additional sugar folded in between the layers. Shaped into a round cake or and baked until the sugar caramelizes, the pastry has a crispy, caramelized exterior with a soft and flaky interior, due to the layers of butter within the dough. Enjoyed alongside tea or coffee as a sweet indulgence, the kouign-amann can also be enjoyed for dessert or as a snack.

Chouquette

A chouquette is a delightful French pastry that is smaller in size compared to a standard choux pastry, and topped off with pearl sugar to give them a sweet, crunchy outer shell. Typically round in shape, made by piping choux pastry dough onto a baking sheet, these treats are often enjoyed as a snack or a sweet treat, the airy pastries can also be filled with pastry cream or custard filling for a boost of flavor.