France day 17: Pastries 101

Somehow I had another picture free day today so let's have a foodie lesson instead on French pastries instead!

Feuilletée pastry

Wonderfully flaky due to the fat that gets folded in. Rich, but not heavy. When fresh, the outside is crisp while the inside is wonderfully soft. My personal favorite.

Croissants

Probably the most well known of French pastries, the French actually eat these for breakfast with jam, butter or other spreads. You can also find them filled and topped, like this.

Pain au chocolat

A flaky croissant made better with chocolate. Timmie's makes an inferior version of these that I'll probably be settling for when I suffer from France withdrawal back home.

Chausson au pommes

A hand held apple pie, but flakier. Mme. packed me not one but two of these in my lunch last Saturday.

Choux Pastry

A little drier than a donut would be and a great platform for delicious crème patisserie. Interesting because it's actually cooked on the stove before being formed into pastries and baked.

Éclair

Filled with the loveliest crème patisserie and topped with glaze, usually in coffee or chocolate flavour.

Religieuse

The exact same thing as an éclair, but arranged more creatively.

Profiteroles

Little tiny éclairs. Usually served for dessert in restaurants.

Chouquette

Same pastry but just simply sprinkled with a bit of sugar.

Beignet pastry

Pretty close to North American donut pastry.

Beigne au Nutella

Donut. Nutella. Sugar. Diabetes.

I still have 8 days in France so there will definately be a Pastries 201.
Prerequisite: Pastries 101