I love most anything baked from the oven, especially some of the famous French pastries. They're my greatest temptations. You'll always find a selection of famous French pastries at buffet breakfasts which is probably why I always look forward to hotel stays. I'm a big believer in a good breakfast.
Yes, it deserves a 'the'. Dominating breakfast tables since pretty much forever, croissants are probably one of the most famous French pastries. Their flaky crust, soft pillow like layers and buttery goodness are a match made in heaven. And they're so versatile! It doesn't matter if you like sweet or savory, there's so many variations! There's the chocolate croissant, ham and cheese croissant and the most recent, Cronut!
Another breakfast pastry, yay! It's basically a raisin bread. It looks very much like a cinnamon roll that's filled with custard and raisin instead of cinnamon. My day tends to light up whenever I have something dessert-like for breakfast. It just feels really good to start your day with something sweet. You can try Pain Au Chocolat for something chocolaty too!
Bring on the desserts! Macarons are all the rage nowadays with flavors going from green tea to durian. It's kind of like a small crunchy whoopie pie if I were to describe it. It's quite pricy though, but worth an indulgence once in a while because it's seriously hard to make them yourself. I tried three times and failed in all my attempts, heh. People also tend to get it confused with macaroons which are actually coconut cookies.
My Mom likes to call them cream puffs but I think profiteroles sound classier. I tried making these too! I didn't fail at this one but it's a lot of work if you're doing it alone, but great fun. You get to choose your own fillings and toppings, how you want to decorate it, and you can even make a spectacular croquembouche! I'd totally have that as my wedding cake.
Some may know this as vanilla slice, custard slice or even Napoleon which is basically an almond mille-feuille. Even though there's different variations of this incredible invention all over the world, it all originated from France. The latest trend that seems to bear a close resemblance to the mille-feuille is no other than the mille crepe, or crepe cake as some might call it.
These fluffy buttery tiny little sponge cakes will leave you floating on air. That is if you come across those rare genuine ones. It uses a simple Italian Genoise cake batter. I really like this because of how simple it is, unlike some of the others that I've previously mentioned. And it also reminds me of the packet of cakes that my grandma used to buy me when I was a kid. They were cheap but enough to make a child happy.
I really love how the filling in turnovers just oozes out. Just the thought of that makes my heart beats faster. This is a French version of a turnover shaped like a Bichon dog's head (slightly odd, but okay), filled with smooth silky lemon Bavarian cream and coated with caramelized sugar. I'm seeing fireworks right now.
I seem to take my pastries a little too seriously. So let's just end this with a little warning, they have only the slightest bit of nutritional value so remind yourselves that before dving into gluttony heaven. Having that said, they're my biggest guilty pleasure. What's yours?