Top 8 French Desserts

Whether it's haute cuisine or simply bread and cheese, France has long been intertwined with the culinary arts. Various types of Champagne and wine were devised in France, as were numerous complex entrées. France has something for your sweet tooth, too, with a long history of tasty desserts. This piece looks at some of the most tantalizing, melt-in-your-mouth options when you want to end your meal right.

#8. Chocolate mousse: A fast and simple dessert you can make to spark a little French romance is chocolate mousse. Typically using chocolate, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract, you just mix together those components and chill it.

#7. Crème brûlée: Along with the French, the Catalans and English also sometimes say they were the first to make crème brûlée. However, France has the strongest argument since it is on just about all of its restaurant menus.

#6. Crêpe: While a crêpe can be savory, you can also have one for dessert. When you finish your meal with a crêpe, it might be filled with fruit, butter and sugar, or Nutella.

#5. Canelés: While pâtisseries and bakeries throughout France serve these pastries, they originated in the Bordeaux region. With a caramelized crust and soft custard interior, rum and vanilla give them their delicious flavor.

#4. French lemon tart: The subtly sweet, flaky crust of this tart is contrasted with a sharp, cool lemon filling. Chantilly cream is often added in a small gobbet. You can find this traditional treat in cafes and pâtisseries around France.

#3. Orangettes: Orange, chocolate, sugar, and water combine for this easy-to-make recipe. The ingredients allow you to make chocolate-dipped, candied orange peels.

#2. Tarte Tatin: The tarte Tatin was invented by accident. Caroline and Stéphanie Tatin, sisters who owned a hotel, produced this masterpiece through a caramelization timing mishap, says French legend. Quinces, pears, and prunes are fruits that are now often included in tarte Tatin recipes.

#1. French macaron: This popular confection features a pair of meringue-based cookies sandwiching ganache, butter cream, or jam. As Culture Trip points out, it is unsurprising how much the French macaron has in common with the notion of romantic love – with both of them tracing their origins to the Middle Ages and becoming enormously popular through hard work and ingenuity during the 1800s.

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