Sweet and elegant is the best way to describe these must-make European desserts. Imagine rich flavors, delicate textures, and beautiful presentations. This formula makes European desserts look fancy, but you can easily recreate them in your kitchen. Satisfy your desire for a sweet fix without traveling to Europe!
Crème Brûlée Choux Au Craquelin

This Crème Brûlée Choux au craquelin (cream puff) is filled with silky vanilla pastry cream (Crème Pâtissière) and topped with a crunchy caramelized sugar layer just like traditional Crème Brûlée! Its delicate texture and delicious flavor will certainly impress everyone. It is crunchy, creamy, and silky, with a wonderful caramelized sugar flavor! Certainly one of the most delicious choux pastries I have ever made!
Go to the recipe: Crème Brûlée Choux Au Craquelin
Pear Galette
This incredibly delicious Fall Pear Galette is the perfect dessert to welcome the colder weather. Easier to make than pie, it's a super rich and buttery rustic crust that is layered with perfectly spiced tender poached pears that melt in your mouth and some crunchy roasted walnuts to finish with!
Go to the recipe: Pear Galette
Panna Cotta
Panna Cotta means "cooked cream" in Italian, and this European dessert is incredibly versatile. It is a molded dessert of sweetened cream thickened and set with gelatin to make the texture stable yet still jiggly. It can be flavored in so many ways, from coffee, coconut, vanilla, or other fruit. This particular Panna cotta recipe is made with coconut milk, so it is, in fact, a dairy-free European dessert.
Go to the recipe: Panna Cotta
Napoleon Cake
Napoleon Cake is a perfectly moist and deliciously creamy dessert made of crunchy puff pastry and silky pastry cream that can be a great fit for any occasion. This recipe will show you how to make Napoleon cake that is flaky, elegant, and overflowing with homemade goodness.
Go to the recipe: Napoleon Cake
Ricotta Pie
This easy Sicilian Ricotta pie with a hint of lemon is one of the creamiest, most delicious European desserts you will ever make! Classic ricotta pie is traditionally a Spring dessert associated with Easter, but I think you can enjoy it at any time of year. The fresh lemon flavor, creamy filling, and crispy pie crust are the most amazing flavor and texture combinations.
Go to the recipe: Ricotta Pie
Baklava
Baklava is originally from Turkey, Greece, and the Middle East, and it's certainly easy to see why its invention is hotly contested between countries. It is a layered dessert made of filo pastry (phyllo), filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. Enjoy baklava with hot, strong coffee to bring out its delicate sweetness and nutty flavor.
Go to the recipe: Baklava
Paris-Brest
Paris-Brest, a delicate ring-shaped choux pastry with hazelnut praline crème mousseline filling, is definitely the Queen of French pastries! Crispy pâte à choux bonds together with silky, nutty creme mousseline filling in my classic French recipe! Extra praline paste and roasted hazelnuts in the filling bring additional crunchiness, making this Paris-Brest one of the most impressive desserts of all!
Go to the recipe: Paris-Brest
Croquembouche
Croquembouche is a very famous sight in French patisserie windows. Have you ever seen a tower of profiteroles wrapped in a delicate cobweb of spun sugar? It's certainly a showstopper! A beautiful and impressive croquembouche is traditionally served at weddings as a grand centerpiece; it isn't hard to see why.
Go to the recipe: Croquembouche
Chocolate Hazelnut Macarons
Chocolate hazelnut macarons are a dream for chocolate and hazelnut lovers in a lovely, bite-sized French macaron format. The macarons are filled with silky chocolate ganache and hazelnut paste with the most delicious natural nutty flavor. These creamy, crunchy, chewy macarons are the ultimate afternoon tea snack that will impress everyone!
Go to the recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Macarons
Rum Baba
Rum baba (baba au rum), this classic yeast bundt cake soaked in delicious rum syrup, decorated with a light vanilla bean whipped mascarpone frosting, is the ultimate brioche-like boozy dessert! My rum baba recipe is super fluffy and moist, and the rum-based soaking syrup makes it even creamier without making it soggy.
Go to the recipe: Rum baba
German Bee Sting Cake
This delicious two-layer traditional German bee sting cake is sure to be the talk of your guests at your next gathering! It is a traditional dessert made with soft, airy, French brioche bread filled with creamy vanilla pastry cream and a honey-glazed, crunchy almond topping. It is more than tasty but also eye-catching!
Go to the recipe: German Bee Sting Cake
Sablé Breton Tart
Sablé Breton is a delicious French pâtissérie-style buttery pastry often used as a base of a cake or tart or simply enjoyed as sable cookies. This Sablé Breton tart filled with raspberry confit, custard - creme mousseline, to be exact - and raspberries is a delicious and super decorative dessert that you will be able to make easily following my step-by-step baking guide.
Go to the recipe: Sablé Breton Tart
Crème Brûlée Cake
Your classic crème brûlée dessert just got even better with this irresistible vanilla crème brûlée cake! This eye-catching dessert is made with a light and spongy vanilla cake base, topped with a creamy homemade vanilla pastry cream, and then brought to life with a caramelized layer of crunchy burnt sugar. It will quickly become one of your favorites!
Go to the recipe: Crème Brûlée Cake
Nalesniki Polish Crepes
Soft Polish crepes or Nalesniki filled with a smooth, sweet, and delicious quark cheese filling.
Go to the recipe: Nalesniki Polish Crepes
Medovik Tort Russian Honey Layer Cake
This Medovik tort Russian honey layer cake is a unique birthday or celebration cake. Layered with thin honey cakes and whipped sour cream frosting, it makes for a deliciously soft and satisfying cake.
Go to the recipe: Medovik Tort Russian Honey Layer Cake
German Black Forest Cake
Authentic German black forest cake or schwarzwälder kirschtorte. This is the best-known German gateau. Three layers of chocolate sponge filled with cherries, Kirsch, and whipped cream and garnished with chocolate shavings.
Go to the recipe: German Black Forest Cake
Torta Caprese
Torta Caprese is a delicious, flourless, chocolate-almond cake from Capri! If you love fudgy brownies, you'll love this gluten-free chocolate cake, with its crackly top and moist center.
Go to the recipe: Torta Caprese
Greek Skillet Orange Fillo Cake
This orange fillo cake is a traditional Greek dessert with filo pastry, oranges, cinnamon, and simple syrup that we made more accessible to home cooks by making it in a skillet.
Go to the recipe: Greek Skillet Orange Fillo Cake
Sourdough Maritozzi
These sourdough Maritozzi made with a soft brioche bun and filled with a simple whipped cream are sublime.
Go to the recipe: Sourdough Maritozzi
French-Style Lemon Tart
This is the traditional French-style lemon tart with creamy lemon filling and a buttery crust. You will need just a small piece to fall in love with this delicate French pastry!
Go to the recipe: French-Style Lemon Tart
Lemon Ricotta Amaretti Budino Cake
This Italian ricotta Amaretti Budino cake falls somewhere between a cake and a pudding. You will need a Bundt pan to make this tasty lemon ricotta amaretti cake, which is often served at Christmas or other holidays.
Go to the recipe: Lemon Ricotta Amaretti Budino Cake
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