24 French Pastries That Are Flaky, Buttery, and Bakery-Case Beautiful These French pastries bring bakery magic to your kitchen. By Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on September 2, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Standing in front of a French pastry case often means swooning over buttery beauties and cream-filled delights while struggling to choose just one. Even if you can’t bring home everything on display, the good news is that many classic French pastries are entirely doable in your own kitchen. This collection features easy-to-follow recipes for favorites like flaky pain au chocolat, delicate macarons, tender madeleines, and ethereal cream puffs, plus plenty more bakery-worthy treats. Love these recipes? Join MyRecipes — your personal home for recipes — to easily save and organize your favorites, plus thousands more, in one convenient place. 01 of 24 Fun and Fancy Macarons Photo by Sarah Crowder / Food Styling by Drew Aichele These pretty, party-ready macarons are sandwiched with homemade chocolate ganache, store-bought jam, apple butter, or firm caramel sauce and painted with edible shimmering luster dust. Make them ahead and stash them in the freezer. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 24 Pain au Chocolat Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Making pain au chocolat at home takes some dedication, but the payoff is huge. Your kitchen will smell amazing, and you’ll have a whole dozen chocolate-filled croissants to savor and share. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 24 Fraisier Cake Morgan Hunt Glaze / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling Show off seasonal strawberries with this elegant French cake. Our version is composed of two pillowy, amaretto-brushed genoise sponge layers, vanilla-flecked mousseline cream, and fresh ruby-red berries. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 24 Easy Kouign-Amann Cake (Breton Butter Cake) Food & Wine / Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero / Prop Styling by Thom Driver This streamlined version of kouign-amann keeps the salty-sweet appeal of the famous Breton cake while utilizing store-bought pizza dough or frozen bread dough, cutting down the active work time to just half an hour. Alternatively, you could make the dough from scratch for individual kouign-amann. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 24 Tarte Tatin Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Chef Benoît Guichard shares a classic recipe for the favorite French dessert, complete with homemade pastry. The apples — a full five pounds of them — get soft and caramelized in the oven for an impressive and appetizing presentation. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 24 Mille-Feuille Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Chelesa Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Also known as a Napoleon, this decadent stacked French dessert layers on the butter — first in the flaky puff pastry, then in the rich, vanilla-flecked pastry cream. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 24 French Lemon Tart Cara Cormack Fill a golden shortcrust pastry shell with warm lemon curd, which turns silky and sliceable as it chills. After a couple of hours in the fridge, it’s ready to serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 24 Almond Croissants Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Missie Crawford Stuffed with brandy-tinged almond cream and topped with sliced almonds, these golden twice-baked croissants are worth every bit of effort. You’ll need eight large day-old croissants to make them — homemade are especially delightful, but store-bought will also work. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 24 Baba au Rhum Punch Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee 2021 F&W Best New Chef Paola Velez adds layers of dark rum and fresh fruit flavor to homemade brioche for her adult variation on the classic cake, using almost a cup of top-shelf dark rum between the cinnamon-spiked rum soak and the strawberry-peach rum punch coulis. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 24 Plum Galette Carson Downing / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans This tart is a favorite dessert at chef Jacques Pépin’s house. You can make it with any seasonal fruit, such as rhubarb, peaches, cherries, apricots, or apples. The dough is buttery, flaky, and very forgiving — and it comes together in 10 seconds in a food processor. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 24 Gâteau au Champagne Food & Wine / Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Sophisticated in its simplicity, this French sponge cake is made with fruity olive oil, lemon zest, and dry sparkling wine, which imparts gentle acidity and a faint floral note. It’s delightful with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 24 Midsummer Fruit Tart Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Kelsey Moylan / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle With its tangy, creamy cheesecake filling and tender shortcrust, Julia Child’s classic tart is the perfect vehicle for showcasing whatever peak-season fruit you fancy. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 24 Gâteau au Yaourt (Yogurt Cake) Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Christina Daley F&W’s Lucy Simon mixes this classic French cake in a single bowl. Rich French-style yogurt gives it a moist, slightly dense crumb, delicately scented with orange zest and vanilla. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 24 Tarte Tropézienne (Brioche Cake with Pastry Cream) Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Seek out high-fat European-style butter to make both the tender brioche and the vanilla pastry cream in this classic Provençal cake topped with crunchy pearl sugar. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 24 Strawberry-Almond Bostock Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Prissy Montiel This easy French breakfast pastry uses leftover brioche as a canvas for honey-lemon syrup, creamy almond frangipane, and macerated strawberries. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 24 Hazelnut and Crème Fraîche Meringues with Lemon and Parmesan Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis François Perret fills double-decker meringues with tangy, gently sweetened crème fraîche, then drizzles a generous spoonful of hazelnut praline over the top. The unexpected garnishes of Parmesan cheese and lemon zest bring pleasant pops of umami brightness. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 24 Corn Flour Madeleines Victor Protasio Cornbread meets miniature French cakes in this recipe from chef Cassidee Dabney, who uses a countertop electric flour mill to finely grind the corn for exceptional flavor and texture. “Capture that moment immediately after you grind,” she urges; its essence “will appear in whatever you’re making.” Get the Recipe Save 18 of 24 Sour Cherry Tart with Almond Frangipane Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas Tangy sour cherries and rich, nutty frangipane are a natural pair, especially in a tender pâte sucrée crust and strewn with sliced almonds. Serve the tart with whipped cream, crème fraîche, ice cream, or all on its own. Get the Recipe Save 19 of 24 Vanilla–Brown Butter Sablé Cookies Johhny Miller Pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz makes these butter cookies with a spotlight on vanilla. Use a high-quality vanilla extract, or go the extra mile with fresh-scraped vanilla bean seeds. Get the Recipe Save 20 of 24 Brown Butter–Pistachio Financiers © Tara Fisher At bakeries, financiers are typically baked in bar-shaped molds, but mini muffin pans work just as well. Top Chef winner and host Kristen Kish makes hers with ground pistachios to complement the nutty brown butter. Serve them with fresh berries and crème fraîche to complete the experience. Get the Recipe Save 21 of 24 Chocolate-Frosted Éclairs Anna Williams Joanne Chang’s classic éclairs are filled with vanilla-infused pastry cream that’s been lightened with whipped cream before they’re topped with a slick of bittersweet chocolate glaze. Get the Recipe Save 22 of 24 Jacques Pépin’s Favorite Pound Cake © Edward Pond Jacques Pépin’s version of the fundamental loaf cake comes fairly close to the original made with equal parts flour, sugar, eggs, and butter; he moistens the batter with a bit of milk and includes vanilla and salt to enhance the flavor. Get the Recipe Save 23 of 24 Chocolate Cream and Orange Brioche Buns Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Buttery-soft brioche envelops a filling of tangy orange marmalade and silky chocolate pastry cream; crunchy pearl sugar on top cradles a chocolate-dipped candied orange slice for a sweet treat that looks like it came straight out of the pastry case. Get the Recipe Save 24 of 24 Salted-Caramel Cream Puffs with Warm Chocolate Sauce © Christina Holmes Cookbook author David Lebovitz uses salted butter in the rich filling for these stunning cream puffs to help balance out the sweet caramel custard, further offset by generous drizzles of bittersweet chocolate sauce. For extra crunch, sprinkle slivered almonds on top. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food World Cuisines European Cuisines French Cuisine Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit