Recipe Roundup

49 Elegant French Desserts for a Parisian Pastry Experience at Home

All the cream puffs, soufflés, and tarts to ooh la la over.
A chocolate layer cake topped with mint flavored whipped cream and candied mint leaves on a cake plate.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

A trip to France wouldn’t feel complete without delicate tarts, macarons, madeleines, and paper-thin crepes, but you don’t actually have to book a flight to enjoy French desserts. We’ve compiled these 25 recipes for living that sweet French life, including chocolate croissants and chocolate mousse, clafoutis and a giant kouign-amann. Below, you’ll find classic French cake recipes for every skill level and dinner-party-worthy desserts for every craving. It’s time to get out the butter, break out the beret, and get baking.

  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Simon Andrews
    3/49

    Chocolate Mousse

    This chocolate mousse recipe is made with bittersweet chocolate—and calls for staple ingredients so you can make it as often as you like. The results? Each spoonful is remarkably rich and silky.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Michael Harlan Turkell
    4/49

    Apple Pithivier

    This golden starburst showstopper is filled with almond cream and apple butter, all encased in flaky puff pastry.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
    5/49

    Chocolate Croissants (Pains au Chocolat)

    To do right by chocolate croissants, it’s worth tracking down bittersweet chocolate batons. Each bite is a celebration of melted chocolate running through these flaky spiraled butter bombs.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Nicole Franzen
    6/49

    Mont-Blanc

    Crunchy, airy, and creamy, this recipe cleverly reformats the traditional Mont-Blanc, resulting in a version that’s friendly for home bakers. With meringue, whipped cream, and chestnut cream, it’s still as delicious as ever.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    9/49

    Gâteau Nantais

    Almond flour teams up with all-purpose flour in this rum-scented cake.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    10/49

    French Spiced Bread

    This cozy loaf can swing into sweet or savory territory depending upon your preference. Star anise, ginger, cinnamon, and dried stone fruits promise hearty and comforting flavor—it’s a French classic that we often bake around the holidays.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani
    11/49

    Brioche au Rhum

    Call this recipe cheating, but we think elevating a store-bought brioche to an astonishingly tasty, rum-led, fig-forward dessert is simply a smart win-win for all.

    Get This Recipe
  • Romulo Yanes
    12/49

    Chocolate Macarons With Orange Ganache

    Hip to the magic of chocolate-orange pairings, the French also know their way around an egg white. Once you make these, go on and gild the meringue—literally, with edible gold dust.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell
    13/49

    Lemon Curd Tart With Olive Oil

    Lemon curd fills a rich, moist almondy crust in this next-level tart. We dare you not to reach for seconds.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    14/49

    Classic Kouign-Amann

    This classic French pastry may test your patience and rolling pin, but the easy-to-follow steps in this recipe will lessen the intimidation factor.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    15/49

    Chocolate-Raspberry Soufflé

    Soufflés require egg whites aplenty and loads of whipping, but we promise this recipe is foolproof—and perfect for Valentine’s Day. Raspberry jam adds flavor and moisture to the mix.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau
    16/49

    Toasted-Flour Sablés

    Who knew hard-boiled egg yolks could make for shockingly good cookies? They keep too much gluten from developing in this five ingredient recipe, for delicate, tender cookies every time.

    Get This Recipe
  • Kimberley Hasselbrink
    17/49

    Cherry Buttermilk Clafoutis

    Sweet custard, tart cherries, and tangy buttermilk send this clafoutis into genius dessert territory. A touch of grated ginger adds zing.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    18/49

    Free-Form Chocolate Candies

    Adorn these chocolate bites with any number of toppings—whether your pantry holds dried figs or bee pollen. The only ingredient that’s absolutely required? Lots of chocolate.

    Get This Recipe
  • Eva Kolenko
    19/49

    Fig and Walnut Bostock

    The French know how to get figgy with it. Case in point: this pastry Bostock—made with walnut crème, day-old bread, honey, and—you guessed it—figs!

    Get This Recipe
  • Dan Forbes
    20/49

    French Macarons With Raspberry-Rose Buttercream

    Sifted almond flour is the magic key for these raspberry-rose buttercream macarons. Serve as an afternoon snack, sometimes called the “quatre heures” for its timing.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Christopher Testani
    21/49

    Bûche de Noël

    If you’ve never made a Yule log (or even if you have!), allow this beautiful birch-tree-inspired recipe be the impressive, elegant inspiration to get you rolling.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    22/49

    Gâteau Chocolat-Menthe

    This chocolate-mint cake gets its deep flavor from a minty soaking syrup.

    Get This Recipe
  • Marcus Nilsson
    23/49

    Cream Puffs

    These creamy clouds require lots of eggs and piping bags, but are surprisingly easy to assemble. Our recipe comes from baking maven Dorie Greenspan.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Tara Fisher
    24/49

    Raspberry and Pistachio Friands

    This glorious French treat lies somewhere between a muffin and a cupcake, while raspberry and pistachio flavors bring the fire. Hot tip: Grease your baking tins with abandon so these slip right out.

    Get This Recipe
  • 27/49

    Cinnamon Palmiers

    This puff pastry cookie is hugged in a cinnamon-sugar coat—it’s all the crispy bits you want, with a very simple method.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi
    28/49

    Coeur à la Crème With Roasted Strawberry Sauce

    Coeur à la crème (cream heart) is a classic French dessert, similar in texture to a no-bake cheesecake, traditionally served with strawberries.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Massimo Pessina and Blandine Boyer
    31/49

    Mille-Feuille

    A delicate tower of pastry and cream, this dessert can be made easier if you start with store-bought dough.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    32/49

    Marguerite Cassis

    This layer cake is usually made with buttercream, but a lofty pile of whipped cream is quicker and easier.

    Get This Recipe
  • Christopher Testani
    33/49

    Kouign-Amann

    The cute clover-shaped rolls are made from buttery, yeasted, laminated dough that have been sanded with crunchy layers of sugar.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Massimo Pessina & Blandine Boyer, Food Styling by Eric Kayser
    34/49

    Frasier

    Bookmark this one for spring; your best strawberries deserve a place in this strawberry cream cake.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Shutterstock
    37/49

    Quatre-Quarts au Chocolat de Juliette

    This delicious cake is different from other good chocolate pound cakes. It uses melted bittersweet chocolate instead of the more usual cocoa, and the cake is baked in a bain-marie, or water bath.

    Get This Recipe
  • Mitchell Feinberg
    38/49

    Peanut Dacquoise With Peanut Butter Mousse

    Dacquoise is a dessert made of giant flat meringues layered with mousse, whipped cream, or buttercream. Using peanut butter to flavor the dessert isn’t quite traditional, but…

    Get This Recipe
  • Anita Calero
    39/49

    Tangerine Soufflé with Citrus Coulis

    To encourage the soufflé to climb up the sides of the dish, grease the dish with butter and sprinkle it with sugar. The sugar prevents the soufflé from sticking to the sides.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell
    40/49

    Chocolate-Chestnut Mousse

    Your blender does most of the work for you to make this impressive mousse, and it requires no eggs, no double boiler, and no extra fuss. It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert for company.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Sang An
    45/49

    Caramel Apple Pastis

    This sweet phyllo-wrapped pie is a descendant of the savory meat-filled b’steeyas of Morocco.

    Get This Recipe
  • Chris Craymer
    46/49

    Merveilles

    These traditional fried cookies are called marvels for good reason. They’re flavored with brandy or dark rum, orange zest, and vanilla.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by MIKKEL VANG
    47/49

    Opera Cake

    With three thin layers of sponge cake and a layer each of espresso buttercream and dark chocolate ganache, the Opera cake is a rich, intricate dessert. You’ll often see it at French patisseries, where it’s glazed in chocolate, sometimes with the word Opera iced on top.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    48/49

    Easy-Fancy Pear Galette

    Canned pears, a simple almond cream, and store-bought puff pastry make this pear galette recipe feel sophisticated but entirely doable.

    Get This Recipe
  • Alex Lau
    49/49

    Croquembouche

    Each of these French desserts could be the belle of the ball, but we must admit that nothing is quite as impressive as this towering delight.

    Get This Recipe
Julia Price Baron has been a creative director, writer, producer, and occasional filmmaker for over 15 years. She’s collaborated on projects for Food Network/Discovery+, CNN, Etsy, Universal, Spotify, Audible, Netflix, Nickelodeon, IFC, and Elle Decor among others. While she’s a one-pot kind of cook, she’s a passionate all-the-pots kind of ... Read more
Contributor
The Epicurious editorial team develops original recipes, and publishes stories about cooking better, faster, and more creatively, sustainably, and affordably. See our full masthead, here. ... Read more
Read More
The Complete Epicurious Cake Recipe Finder
The Complete Epicurious Cake Recipe Finder
Explore our cake recipes finder to find the cake that suits your schedule and your cravings. Click on a cake icon and read more!

Genevieve Yam

The 23 Most Popular Dessert Recipes of 2022
icon
Gallery
The 23 Most Popular Dessert Recipes of 2022
Epicurious readers couldn’t get enough of these custards, pies, and layer cakes.
17 Gooey Desserts You’ll Want to Eat Straight From the Serving Dish
icon
Gallery
17 Gooey Desserts You’ll Want to Eat Straight From the Serving Dish
Molten chocolate or luscious caramel? Sign us up.
81 Deep, Dark Chocolate Dessert Recipes
icon
Gallery
81 Deep, Dark Chocolate Dessert Recipes
The night is dark, and full of chocolate.
41 Father’s Day Breakfasts to Say, “Thanks, Dad”
Extra-tender cinnamon rolls, everything-bagel quiche, a chorizo and egg crunchwrap, and more ways to show your gratitude.
31 Fourth of July Desserts for Star-Spangled Summer Fun
Like butter-pecan icebox cake, sour cherry pot pie, sheet pan shortcake, and more.
The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App This Week
Like cold soy milk noodles and “the best” pistachio ice cream.
The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App in May
Like green falafel smash burgers and a crispy rice salad.
19 Homemade Ice Cream Recipes Worth a Second (or Third or Fourth) Scoop
Hazelnut espresso, no-churn dark chocolate, raspberry-cardamom, and more dreamy combos.
23 Fresh Basil Recipes for Pesto and Beyond
Grilled corn with basil butter, pineapple shrimp noodles, slow-cooker pork with zesty basil sauce, and more.
Our Favorite Carla Hall Recipes
From a black-eyed pea salad to “by far the best” shrimp and grits.
Cheese Expert Tries Every Trader Joe’s Cheese
Trader Joe’s is famous for its cheese selection, but which ones are actually worth buying? Cheese expert Liz Thorpe joins Epicurious to taste test everything from classic Brie and sharp cheddar to more adventurous flavors like chocolate stilton and spicy scotch bonnet. Join Liz as she breaks down the best buys, hidden gems, and which cheeses to skip on your next Trader Joe’s run.