Paris Treats for the Traveler With a Sweet Tooth

Paris is sweet on the eye, sweet on the romance and sweet on the palette. It is a sugar lovers dream and the biggest problem you’ll have when it comes the delectable French deserts is which one to choose. To help you navigate that sweet last course, we’ve broken down the top 10 French desserts for your visit to France. And if you have to eat more than one a day just to get through them? Well, c’est la vie!

Tartes Aux Fruits – The tartes aux fruits are prepared with fresh fruit inside a buttery pastry.  The fruit sit atop a heavenly Chantilly cream.  You can enjoy these tartes in both a miniature individual portion, or as a pie-type slice.

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The Éclair – The éclair is a popular dessert in Paris.  The long French pâte a choux pastry can be filled with either a rich custard or pastry cream, and topped with a sweet fondant or chocolate ganache.  Did you know that in French,  the term éclair means lightning?  

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The Paris Brest – This pastry was created to celebrate the Paris to Brest bicycle race in 1891.  Shaped in a round in homage to a bicycle wheel, it's a ring of pâte choux filled with praline flavored crème.

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Macaron – Macarons are undeniably delectable.  There are so many flavors to choose from.  The base ingredients include an airy meringue and almonds.  Be sure to not confuse with coconut macaroons, in which the English added the -oon to the word in the 16^th century.

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Tarte Au Citron – Tarte Au Citron  (lemon tart) is a very popular dessert, consisting of a rich pastry crust and delicious lemon filling.  The filling, however, is not made with fruit, but rather is a custardy cream containing lemon juice, lemon zest and of course, eggs and sugar.

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The Mille Feuille – This fluffy treat comes in a vanilla or custard slice and is comprised of several layers of puff pastry.  Between the puff pastry lies an additional two layers of pastry crème.  Another name for the Mille Feuille is the Napoleon.

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The Tarte Tatin – Named after the hotel that serves the dessert (Hotel Tatin), the tarte Tatin is a unique upside-down pastry.  Its ingredients include caramelized fruit prepared with sugar and butter.  It pairs famously with a bit of tart crème fraiche. 

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Choux à La Crème – These cream puffs are created using puff pastry as well.  They swell while cooking and are actually hollow.  The oozing center can be either whipped cream or custard.   Interestingly enough, once you add chocolate as the topping and ice cream as the filling, it then becomes a profiterole.  

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Croissant – Not limited at all to dessert, this buttery flaky wonder is a signature French pastry.  There are so many ways to top it; you can use fruit, chocolate, fondant or a compote of your choosing.  You will not be disappointed.

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Petits Four – Translated, petit four means small oven, and are also known as mignardises.  The fours are miniature bite-sized confections that can also be savory if you choose.  The sweet route includes a sugary glaze atop a crispy biscuit.  These pastries are perfect for tea parties. 

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