Desserts are an essential part of any cuisine and without them, the meal feels incomplete. When it comes to classic desserts, French decadent desserts can calm down any sweet-tooth cravings. Did you know that the word ‘dessert’ came from French word ‘desservir’? Though the literal translation means ‘clear the table’, it just feels right to assume that it means to wash down a large meal with something sugary. There are a plethora of French sweets to choose from and each of them tastes better than the other. To make it easy for you we have shortlisted some of the desserts that define indulgence.
Profiterole
If we had to choose one ingredient to flavour our desserts, we would most certainly pick chocolate. It is evergreen and a crowd-favourite. Profiterole is a chocolate-covered puff pastry that is filled with either whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or vanilla ice cream. As per legends, this sweet was supposed to be a cheesy savoury item that only came to existence by accident. We all love a sweet accident. Don’t we?
Éclair au chocolate
This oblong choux dough pastry is believed to have originated in France at the turn of the 20th century. The dough is made on the stovetop and then piped into short logs and baked until golden. They are the best when filled with a vanilla custard filling and topped with thick chocolate icing.
Clafoutis
Clafoutis is a traditional crustless French tart. The cake can be imagined as an appetising golden mean between a soft custard and floury batter. In France, it is customary to serve clafoutis with cherry pits, which also lends their rich flavour to the cake as it bakes. And it is often served with a dollop of chantilly cream on the side which makes it the perfectly delicate and sweet.
Bûche de Noël
This dessert resembles the tree bark as it is an elongated rolled sponge cake filled with chocolate buttercream and covered with dense chocolate from all sides. Bûche de Noël is another traditional dessert which is mostly made during festivals, this sweet is sometimes also decorated with marzipan sticks, sugar cobwebs, and meringue mushrooms. This dessert is believed to be popularized by the Parisian bakers in the 19th century.
Crème Brûlée
It would have been a blunder if we missed this iconic dessert in our mini French tour. Crème Brûlée also known as burned cream, is a custard-based dessert that is topped with a layer of caramel which is blowtorched for the rich crunchy effect.
All hail Parisian desserts!