List of French desserts facts for kids

Delicious desserts from Paris

France is famous for its amazing sweet treats! French desserts, pastries, and cakes are loved all over the world. In France, a special chef called a pâtissier (say: pah-tee-SYAY) makes all these yummy sweets. This chef is a very important part of a French kitchen team. The word Pâtisserie can mean both a French bakery and the delicious sweets they sell. Many fancy treats come from these special bakeries.

Discover French Desserts: A to C

Sweet Treat	Image	Type	What it Is
Baba au rhum		Dessert	A small, fluffy cake soaked in a sweet syrup. It's often topped with whipped cream.
Beignet		Snack / Dessert	A yummy, deep-fried pastry, often light and airy. Great for breakfast or a snack.
Bichon au citron		Snack / Dessert	A flaky puff pastry turnover filled with tangy lemon cream.
Biscuit rose de Reims		Biscuit	A pretty pink biscuit used in many French desserts, like Charlotte.
Bûche de Noël		Dessert	A special Christmas cake shaped like a log. It's usually a rolled sponge cake with creamy filling.
Bugnes		Snack / Dessert	A fried pastry, similar to a Beignet. Often enjoyed as a dessert or snack.
Café liégeois		Dessert	A cold dessert with coffee-flavored ice cream and whipped cream.
Calisson		Candy	A traditional French candy. Often eaten during Christmas celebrations.
Canelé		Snack / Dessert	A small cake with a soft, custardy inside and a dark, crispy outside. It's flavored with vanilla.
Charlotte		Dessert	A fancy dessert made with layers of sponge cake or biscuits. It has fruit puree or custard inside.
Chichis fregis		Snack	A type of donut, similar in shape to churros. Perfect for a snack.
Chouquette		Snack	Small, sugary puffs made from light choux pastry. Great for breakfast or a snack.
Clafoutis		Dessert / Breakfast	A baked dessert with sour cherries mixed into a pancake-like batter.
Crème brûlée		Dessert	A creamy custard dessert with a crunchy, caramelized sugar topping.
Crème caramel		Dessert	A smooth custard dessert topped with a clear caramel sauce.
Crêpes sucrées		Dessert	Thin, flat pancakes cooked on a griddle. Often filled with sweet toppings.
Crêpe Suzette		Dessert	A special crêpe dessert with a buttery orange sauce.
Croquembouche		Dessert	A tall cone-shaped dessert made of cream puffs. It's held together with caramel threads for celebrations.
Croustade		Dessert / Snack	French fruit pies or tarts. Delicious as a dessert or snack.

Delicious French Treats: D to G

Sweet Treat	Image	Type	What it Is
Dacquoise		Dessert	A cake made with layers of almond and hazelnut meringue. Often served with whipped cream.
Dame blanche		Dessert	A yummy ice cream sundae. It was created by a famous chef named Auguste Escoffier.
Dariole		Dessert	A small, cone-shaped mold used for desserts. It can also be the dessert itself.
Divorcé		Snack / Dessert	Two cream puff balls joined together. One has chocolate cream, the other coffee cream.
Éclair		Snack / Dessert	An oblong pastry made of choux dough. It's filled with cream and topped with icing.
Far Breton		Snack / Dessert	A cake or dessert similar to Clafoutis. It often includes prunes or raisins.
Fraisier		Dessert	A beautiful strawberry cake. Often enjoyed for special occasions.
Financier		Snack / Dessert	A small, moist almond cake. It's usually baked in a special mold.
Flan pâtissier/parisien		Snack / Dessert	A baked tart with a creamy custard filling inside a pastry crust.
Flaugnarde		Dessert	A baked dessert with fruit covered in a thick, sweet batter.
Galette des Rois		Dessert	A flaky puff pastry, traditionally filled with almond cream. Often eaten for Epiphany.
Gâteau à la broche		Snack / Dessert	A unique cake cooked on a rotating spit. This creates many delicious layers.
Gâteau des rois		Snack / Dessert	A crown-shaped sweet bread decorated with candied fruit and sugar. Also for Epiphany.
Gâteau au yaourt		Breakfast / Snack	A simple and delicious yogurt cake. Great for breakfast or a snack.

French Sweets from H to M

Sweet Treat	Image	Type	What it Is
Jésuite		Snack	A triangular puff pastry filled with almond cream. It's topped with almonds and sugar.
île flottante		Dessert	A light dessert with soft meringue "islands" floating on a creamy vanilla sauce.
Kouign-amann		Dessert	A sweet, round pastry with many layers of butter and sugar. Baked until crispy.
Macaron		Snack / Dessert	A colorful, sweet meringue cookie made with almond flour. Often filled with cream or jam.
Madeleine		Snack	Small, shell-shaped sponge cakes. Famous for their delicate taste.
Marjolaine		Dessert	A fancy dessert with layers of almond meringue and chocolate buttercream.
Mendiant		Dessert	A chocolate disk topped with nuts and dried fruits. Traditionally eaten at Christmas.
Mille-feuille		Dessert	A dessert with many thin layers of puff pastry and creamy pastry cream.
Mont Blanc		Dessert	A dessert of sweetened chestnut puree. It's shaped like vermicelli and topped with whipped cream.
Mousse		Dessert	A light and airy dessert made with flavored whipped cream, like chocolate mousse.

French Delights from N to P

Sweet Treat	Image	Type	What it Is
Nonnette (dessert)		Snack / Dessert	A small gingerbread cake made with honey and rye flour. Often filled with orange marmalade.
Tarte Normande		Snack / Dessert	An apple tart from Normandy. It has sliced apples, almonds, and a creamy egg custard.
Opera cake		Dessert	A fancy cake with layers of almond sponge cake, coffee syrup, chocolate ganache, and coffee buttercream.
Oreilette		Dessert	A fried sweet fritter. Often enjoyed during Christmas and Mardi Gras.
Pain d'épices		Snack / Dessert	A spiced cake made with rye flour, honey, and various spices. Similar to gingerbread.
Pain perdu		Snack / Dessert	Slices of bread soaked in eggs and milk, then pan-fried. Known as French Toast.
Paris–Brest		Dessert	A ring-shaped choux pastry filled with praline-flavored cream. It was created for a bicycle race.
Petit four		Dessert	Tiny, bite-sized cakes or pastries. Perfect for a small treat.
Plombières		Dessert	A type of ice cream, often flavored with candied fruits.
Profiterole		Dessert	Small cream puffs filled with cream. Often topped with chocolate sauce.
Puits d'amour		Dessert	A small puff pastry tartlet filled with jam or cream.
Pêche Melba		Dessert	A classic dessert with peaches, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce.
Poire à la Beaujolaise		Dessert	Pears poached in red wine. A simple and elegant dessert.
Poire belle Hélène		Dessert	Pears poached in syrup. Served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Pot de crème		Dessert	A rich, creamy custard dessert. Often served in small cups.

More French Sweets: Q to Z

• Quatre-quarts: A simple cake made with equal parts butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.
• Religieuse: A dessert made of two cream puff cases, one larger than the other. It's filled with pastry cream and decorated to look like a nun.
• Riz à l'impératrice: A fancy rice pudding dessert, often with candied fruits.
• Savarin: A ring-shaped yeast cake soaked in sweet syrup, similar to a Baba au rhum.
• Soufflé: A light and airy baked egg-based dish. It puffs up when cooked and can be sweet or savory.
• St. Honoré cake: A classic French cake made with puff pastry, choux pastry, cream puffs, and whipped cream.
• Tarte conversation: A small tart with a puff pastry lid. Often filled with almond cream.
• Tarte Tatin: An upside-down apple tart where the apples are caramelized before baking.
• Tarte des Alpes: A fruit tart from the Alps region, often with local fruits.
• Tarte à l'badrée: A traditional tart from the Lorraine region, often with a creamy filling.
• Tarte à la brimbelle: A delicious blueberry tart. 'Brimbelle' is a local name for blueberry.
• Tarte aux mirabelles: A sweet tart made with small, yellow Mirabelle plums.
• Tarte normande: An apple tart from Normandy, with sliced apples, almonds, and a creamy egg custard.
• Tarte Tropézienne: A sweet brioche cake filled with cream. It's famous from Saint-Tropez.
• Teurgoule: A creamy rice pudding baked slowly in a special pot, from Normandy.
• Tuile: Thin, crispy cookies, often shaped like roof tiles.
• Vitréais: A special pastry from the town of Vitré in Brittany.

Images for kids

• 

  Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart in which the fruit (mostly apples) are caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked.

An assortment of petit fours, which are small confectioneries. Some petit fours are also savory.

Religieuse is made of two choux pastry cases filled with crème pâtissière, covered in a ganache of the same flavor as the filling, and then joined/decorated with piped whipped cream.

• 

  Le Vitréais is a pastry from Vitré, Brittany.

See also

In Spanish: Repostería de Francia para niños

• Cuisine - The art of cooking.
• List of desserts - More sweet treats from around the world.
• List of French cheeses - France is also famous for its cheeses!
• List of French dishes – common desserts and pastries - A broader list of French foods.
• Pâtisserie – A French or Belgian bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets. In these countries, only bakeries with a licensed master pastry chef can use this title.
• Feuilletine - A crispy ingredient made from crushed crêpes, used in French sweets.