The only thing sweeter than a delicious, artisanal dessert is the feeling of accomplishment when you make it yourself. Flex your skills with versatile recipes like puff pastry and pâte à choux, then branch out into tarts, croissants, profiteroles, and more. Once you’ve mastered the basics, the pie's the limit!
Pâte à choux is the base dough for goodies like cream puffs, profiteroles and éclairs, gougères, and more! The shape you pipe it in depends on the pastry you intend to make. For example, for a cream puff, you'll pipe a mound, cut it in half after it's baked, and fill with piped whipped cream. The possibilities are endless!
Make these little puffs of pleasure extra special with homemade pastry cream! Also, a word to the wise: make sure your dough is sufficiently cool before you add the eggs (you don't want to end up in a scramble—literally!).
Versatile and delicious, pastry cream is perfect for all kinds of uses, from filling éclairs to enjoying in a fruit tart. Pro Tip: It's essential to continuously whisk so the cream doesn't curdle or scorch!
Made with a pâte à choux pastry base, these cheesy, light delights are best served hot, so enjoy them fresh from the oven!
Whether you're making a Napoleon, tart, or some other tantalizing treat, this recipe for puff pastry is the place to start!
Crispy puff pastry contrasts against cool, soft pastry cream in these delightful desserts, and fresh berries make it all the more refreshing! Napoleons are best eaten fresh, but can be stored in the refrigerator for about a day.
These tantalizing tartlets are the perfect level of sweetness thanks to fresh fruit being the star of the show. For the same splendor out of pear season, try stone fruits or apples!
These light, crispy French delights are easy to make whenever you have leftover puff pastry dough—but they're so good, you'll be making (or buying!) puff pastry just to have them! Try putting your own spin on them by making them into different shapes and giving them different fillings, like swirls studded with chocolate pieces.
These terrific twists are almost as easy to make as they are to enjoy! Don't be afraid to mix it up with other flavorful, savory seasoning additions, like a sprinkle of pepper or powdered garlic.
Ever wanted to make your own croissants or their chocolatey bretheren, pain au chocolat? Now you can! After you've made the base dough, you don't have to cut and shape it right away—you can freeze and store it for later use. Use the base dough to make either variation of this classic treat!
This classic almond-based confection can be shaped and decorated into fun treats as is, or used to add a nice nuttiness to recipes like Stollen.
Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, these cookies are perfect for lovers of all things almond.
This terrific tart combines ease with elegance and deliciousness. If you can’t find Cosmic Crisp apples, feel free to use Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, and if you're feeling ambitious, up the ante with homemade Marzipan.
These dainty cakes are a labor of love! Use melted chocolate or ganache to decorate them after the fondant dries or pick up some pre-made, small royal icing shapes to stick on. You can store them in the fridge for about two days if they don’t all disappear in one go.