Ah, Paris. The French capital is renowned as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. There’s a lot to see and do in the City of Lights, and one thing you absolutely can’t miss is the food. As the home of haute cuisine, France has become a byword for quality among culinary enthusiasts – and if you try any of these wonderful sweet treats, you’ll see why.
Choux á la Crème
Associated with weddings and celebrations, this mix of puff pastry and whipped cream is airy, filling and utterly irresistible.
Fun Facts
- The puff pastry swells during cooking, creating the space for the filling.
- Some chefs use different flavours of custard rather than whipped cream.
- In English, choux á la crème goes by a much less impressive name: cream puff.
Ile Flottante
Ile flottante (literally ‘floating island’ in English) is a delightful French concoction that mixes lightness with a rich, creamy texture. Meringues made from whipped egg whites and sugar and flavoured with vanilla extract float in a lovely vanilla crème made from egg yolks and hot milk. The subtle flavours come together wonderfully.
Fun Facts
- Variations include using thicker crème and adding caramelised sugar to the meringue.
- Some versions also add layers of dessert biscuits soaked in alcohol.
- Ile flottante is also known as oeufs á la neige – ‘eggs in snow’.
Baba au Rhum
What could be more indulgent than the creamy, sugary treats we’ve mentioned so far? It was perhaps this very question that led to the storied tradition of combining desserts with alcoholic drinks. In this case, a cake is saturated with a rum syrup. Mix in some dried fruit and you have baba au rhum, or rum baba in English.
Fun Facts
- The recipe actually comes from a larger Eastern European cake, similar to babka.
- The dried fruit complements the naturally sweet flavours in the rum.
- King Louis XV was allegedly one of the first to add alcohol to his cakes.
Though you can try versions of many of these dishes all around the world, why settle for second best? Book a flight to Paris and truly treat your taste buds!
