French Baking Recipes Worth A Try

Get yourself into French baking through these delicious classic recipes to prepare for breakfast, dessert or a cozy coffee break with friends and family.

I did it! One year, and one French baking recipe a month. This was my personal challenge for 2018 and it seems you all liked it a lot. Every month, I picked one French baking recipe that is reminiscence of my childhood and shared the recipe with you. The idea is always to get yourself into French baking. Hence, I put an extra effort to make my recipes easy and accessible.

In spite of my rather multicultural background, French baking is and remains my comfort food. I remember all these after-school trips to the bakery when I was a kid, where I would grab a delicious viennoiserie. Later on, when in middle school, I was the one in charge of re-selling the chocolate croissants to the other students (true story!). And it didn’t stop here. When in high school, I got myself this perfect student job in a bakery. By the time I had absolutely no idea I would one day dedicate my career to food, but when I think about it today, it seems that it was written somewhere.

Here are the 12 monthly French baking recipes I shared in 2018. They are all prepared with love, passion, and if you look to the recipe very closely, you might even hear a little bit of my French accent! Whether you are looking for an easy classic French breakfast recipe or a subtle dessert, I hope you will find some great inspiration.

January: La galette des rois

La galette des rois – Learn how to bake the traditional French galette des rois with frangipane and a twist of tonka bean bringing stronger vanilla notes. The recipe comes with a step-by-step guide to making puff pastry from scratch.

February: Brioche à tête

Brioche à tête – Buttery and rich in flavor, this beautiful golden brown French brioche will surprise you by its extremely soft and airy texture inside and its slightly crispy crust on the outside. Tip: for this specific recipe, I highly recommend the use of a stand mixer.

March: Bread! (yes, but the easy way!)

5 Easy No-Knead Bread Recipes – If you are looking for the crunchiness and texture of the French bread, this magic no-knead bread recipe will make you sweep off your feet! With no effort and no time, you will have the perfect one every single day. Tested and 100% approved by my own parents who have been eating bread every single day of their entire life! I loved the recipe so much that I created 5 versions: with white flour, with whole wheat, with seeds, with figs and walnuts, with olives and rosemary.

April: Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie – Sumptuous and elegant lemon meringue pie made easy for you. Learn how to master this classic dessert with a homemade crust, a subtle lemon curd and a fluffy Italian meringue.

May: Strawberry Tart with Pastry Cream

Strawberry Tart with Pastry Cream – Delicious and authentic French Strawberry Tart made with a sweet pastry crust, a generous vanilla pastry cream, and some fresh strawberries on top.

June: Pains aux raisins (easy recipe)

Pains aux raisins (easy recipe) – This easy recipe will make you love homemade pains aux raisins at first bite. Not a fan of raisins? Why don’t you replace them with mini chocolate chips?

July: Chocolate Chip Brioches Suisses

Chocolate Chip Brioches Suisses – Wake up to these adorable chocolate chip vanilla custard brioches “brioches suisses”. Soft, creamy, loaded with mini chocolate chips, they have everything you ever asked for!

August: Canelés de Bordeaux

Canelés de Bordeaux – The canelé (or cannelé) are these adorable traditional French pastries from Bordeaux with a soft custard center flavored with vanilla and rum, and a crispy caramelized crust.

September: Chocolate Eclairs

Chocolate Eclairs – Learn how to master the French chocolate eclairs recipe like a professional French pastry chef, with a chocolate ganache made easy for you.

October: Classic Apple Tart Tatin

Classic Apple Tart Tatin – This French dessert recipe is a classic for a reason. There is just no beating the combination of soft warm apples, caramel and buttery crust.

November: Chocolate Chip Brioche Buns

Chocolate Chip Brioche Buns – Easy chocolate brioche buns are a perfect addition to your breakfast basket. They are soft, pillowy, and loaded with chocolate chips.

December: Chocolate Profiteroles

Chocolate Profiteroles – Let’s wrap up the year with these Classic French Profiteroles made with a foolproof choux pastry. Serve with hot chocolate sauce and candied hazelnuts for extra taste.

That was it for 2018, but you can find even more French baking recipes here, among which some of my favorites are the chouquettes (definitely a worth-try!), chocolate chip viennoises, the madeleines and the almond croissants.

What’s next? 2019 has just started and I’m all up for a new exciting challenge based on your #1 recipe from 2018, the Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies. Can you guess what it is? The answer will be posted next week. Stay tuned!