French desserts are known to be fancy, flavorful and irresistible. But one thing that may surprise you about French sweets is that many of them are very simple to make. The desserts on this list may look like stunning French classics made in professional patisseries, but they are actually beginner-friendly and easy to put together. Try just one recipe and you will quickly see that anyone can make a perfect French dessert!
Paris-Brest
Imagine a ring of choux pastry filled with hazelnut praline crème mousseline filling. Certainly, it sounds delicious, one of my favorite French desserts! This classic French Paris-Brest recipe has it all. Crispy pâte à choux, silky, nutty creme mousseline filling, extra praline paste, and roasted hazelnuts make Paris-Brest one of the most impressive European desserts of all! This fancy-looking dish is a great dessert for a dinner party as it feeds a crowd and looks so impressive.
Go to the recipe: Paris-Brest
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
Tiramisu Choux Au Craquelin
This tiramisu choux au craquelin (crispy cream puff) perfectly combines Italian tiramisu and French choux pastry. It's a showstopper dessert that will impress everyone! It's a crispy cream puff with creamy mascarpone filling, all dusted with cocoa powder. It's delicate texture and delicious flavor can make it the star of any occasion!
Go to the recipe: Tiramisu Choux Au Craquelin
Chocolate Mousse Cups
This no-bake, five-ingredient chocolate mousse cups are a chocolate lover's dream come true! Made with rich dark chocolate and topped with delicious airy chantilly cream and sweet chocolate shavings, they are the perfect treat to satisfy your post-dinner sweet tooth. Not only are these drool-worthy desserts easy to make, but they are also eye-catching and beautiful!
Go to the recipe: Chocolate Mousse Cups
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
Chocolate Hazelnut Macarons
Chocolate hazelnut macarons are a dream for chocolate and hazelnut lovers. They are 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 chocolate hazelnut macarons are the ultimate afternoon tea snack that will impress everyone!
Go to the recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Macarons
Financiers
French Financiers are small bite-sized tea cakes, kind of like fancy French muffins! These French sweets are made with nut flour and browned butter (a "beurre noisette") and baked into dainty rectangles. They can be flavored with spices like cardamom, and they are often decorated with chopped nuts, too.
Get the recipe: Financiers
Palmiers
Palmiers are a great example of how something doesn't have to have lots of ingredients to be delicious! Puff pastry and sugar are rolled up into the shape of a palm and baked in the oven. That's it!
Get the recipe: Palmiers
Fraisier Cake
Fraisier cake is a famous French dessert that looks beautiful and tastes even better. It is made from two layers of moist Genoise sponge, a vanilla-flavored créme mousseline filling, strawberry jelly, strawberry compote, and fresh strawberries. It is really much easier to make than any other cake and looks so fantastic!
Get the recipe: Fraisier Cake
Mango Mousse Cake
A light and airy French mousse cake is traditionally made with whipped egg whites folded into an egg yolk sabayon base or sometimes made in other ways eg. with a cream cheese base. Mousse is sometimes served in a cup or can be made into a light and airy cake.
Get the recipe: Mango Mousse Cake
Floating Island
Floating Island is a classic French dessert that resembles an island, hence the name! The dessert is effectively a Crème Anglaise custard with poached meringue floating on top, which sounds complicated but it is a lot easier to make than it sounds.
Get the recipe: Floating Island
Mille Feuille
Mille feuille (or "thousand leaves") is a famous French dessert made from layers of puff pastry and pastry cream. To make homemade mille-feuille, you bake puff pastry under weights so it remains compacted and crisp and doesn't puff up high. Afterward, the crispy layers of Mille Feuille are stacked with crème pâtissière or crème mousseline.
Get the recipe: Mille Feuille
Beignets
Popular in French cuisine and a staple in the Louisiana city of New Orleans, these homemade beignets are fun to make and hard to resist! Their light, sweet, and pillowy texture make them the perfect treat to enjoy any time of day: For breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert. Top them with sugar, fill them with cream, or dip them in your morning coffee.
Go to the recipe: Beignets
Chocolate Brioche
For chocolate lovers who also enjoy the tender, fluffy texture of brioche bread, this chocolate brioche gives you the best of both worlds! This easy chocolate brioche recipe takes classic brioche bread and fills it with swirls of creamy chocolate and cocoa powder before topping it with melted butter. Enjoy it for breakfast with a cup of coffee or for an after-dinner treat!
Go to the recipe: Chocolate Brioche
Crème brûlée
Crème brûlée (which translates as "burnt cream") is one of my favorite French desserts. It is a rich cream custard baked in a water bath with sugar sprinkled over the top that is torched (or brûléed) until it melts to form a hard and crunchy top layer. It is made of a few simple ingredients, and many people don´t know how incredibly easy to prepare!
Get the recipe: Crème Brûlée
Pistachio Macarons
These are the ultimate pistachio macarons that has the perfect color and deep, natural, nutty flavor without being overly sweet. The macarons are decorated with an easy white chocolate and pistachio pattern. They can't really get any more delicious and pretty! You just can't go wrong with the pistachio flavor—it is widely popular!
Go to the recipe: Pistachio Macarons with Pistachio Ganache Filling
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
Parisian Flan
This Parisian flan, aka "Flan Pâtissier" in French, is a classic French dessert that is deliciously creamy. This baked custard tart is perfect for a dinner party, dessert, or afternoon tea.
Go to the recipe: Parisian Flan
Crème Brûlée Cookies
This easy crème brûlée cookies recipe combines two dessert favorites to create an irresistible handheld treat! Gooey, soft sugar cookies are topped with a creamy pastry cream and then finished with a crispy caramelized sugar topping. It is a cookie lover's dream come true!
Go to the recipe: Crème Brûlée Cookie
Raspberry Frangipane Tart
Raspberry frangipane tart recipe consists of contrasting layers of Pâte Sablée (sweet shortcrust) tarte filled with an incredibly delicious, easy almond cream (frangipane) and raspberries! For the ultimate luxurious experience, after baking, the tartlet is decorated with creamy raspberry rosewater mousse domes covered with velvet spray and super easy rosewater whipped mascarpone piping, as well as some fresh raspberries.
Go to the recipe: Raspberry Frangipane Tart
Peach Galette
Making this easy peach galette recipe takes literally zero effort with incredible delicious results! Looking for a super quick and pretty summer pie without all the fuss? This Homemade Peach Galette recipe is for you! Flaky and buttery pie crust – that comes together in 3 minutes – loaded with fragrant peaches and baked to perfection!
Go to the recipe: Peach Galette
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
Profiteroles
Featuring a crisp choux pastry shell, luscious pastry cream filling, and a decadent, glossy chocolate glaze, every bite of these easy profiteroles is like a taste of heaven! Whether making them for a special occasion or just because, these fun, bite-sized treats are guaranteed to impress!
Go to the recipe: Profiteroles
Cream Puff
This easy cream puffs recipe is the perfect combination of fancy and simple! With a crisp choux pastry shell, a silky chantilly cream filling, and a dusting of sweet powdered sugar, this French-style favorite is just as perfect for a cozy night at home with friends and family as it is for an elegant dinner party or special event. The best part? Even novice bakers can make them with the help of my step-by-step recipe!
Go to the recipe: Cream Puffs
Raspberry Mousse
These delicious, creamy raspberry mousse cups will brighten your dessert table this summer! The raspberry mousse is made with fresh, juicy raspberries, a layer of fresh raspberry compote, and delicious vanilla chantilly cream to decorate. It is a simple yet elegant dessert perfect for a birthday party, baby shower, or any occasion!
Go to the recipe: Raspberry Mousse
Classic Chocolate Eclair
This is seriously the BEST classic chocolate eclair recipe that will take you through how to make eclairs at home step by step. It's a foolproof recipe designed for home bakers in their kitchen environment but delivers professional results. Mastering homemade eclairs is one of the most rewarding skills to learn!
Go to the recipe: Classic Chocolate Eclair
White Chocolate Mousse
These smooth and creamy white chocolate mousse cups will surely put a smile on your face! Made with decadent white chocolate and a hint of vanilla, this airy yet flavorful dessert melts in your mouth and packs just the right amount of sweetness. Its chantilly cream and shaved chocolate topping adds a beautiful finishing touch, making it perfect for any occasion!
Go to the recipe: White Chocolate Mousse
Madeleines
Classic French Madeleines are one of the easiest, most delicious little tea cakes you can make. I flavor them with vanilla and lemon for a classic taste, and the iconic shell shape makes them look so elegant. It's clear why this traditional French snack is so popular!
Go to the recipe: Madeleines
More Desserts
These are the best dessert cup recipes to make when you want something dainty, delicious, and individual. Dessert cups work so well at parties when you want everyone to have their own and create a colorful and mouthwatering display of sweet treats.
Go to the recipes: Dessert Cup Recipes
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