In the United States, there’s a day for everything! So today, on October 14, we celebrate National Dessert Day to indulge in delicacies. The word “dessert” originated from the French word “desservir,” which means to clear the table or the last course to serve. In France, we enjoy these kinds of desserts every day, for example, the afterschool snack or gouter with a pain au chocolat. It is customary to bring a dessert or une tarte for family dinners.

Here are a few of my favorites, real classic desserts or gâteau:

L’Opéra cake is made with layers of almond sponge cake – aka Joconde in French soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffee or Grand Marnier, French buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze.

Mini tarts or Tartelettes de fruits are delightful mini versions of the traditional tartes made with buttery pâte brisée, almond frangipane layer or crème pâtissière, topped with seasonal fresh berries.

A Mille-Feuille, vanilla slice, or custard slice is made up of three layers of puff pastry pâte feuilletée, alternating with two layers of pastry cream crème pâtissière.

Baba au Rhum can be made full-size like a Bundt cake or mini individual size. It is a small yeast cake saturated and oozing in syrup made with rum and sometimes filled with whipped cream or pastry cream.

A Paris–Brest is a French dessert, made of choux pastry and a praline-flavored rich cream. This round pastry looks like a wheel and was created to commemorate the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race in the 19th century.

Le Fraisier, reminiscent of a strawberry shortcake, is a mousse cake to celebrate strawberries with layers of genoise sponge cake, vanilla cream mousseline, marzipan, and fresh strawberries.

There are so many more regional specialties, such as La Charlotte, Le St Honoré, La Tarte au Citron Meringuée, Le Moka, La Tarte Tatin.

Other beloved goodies like Madeleines, Financiers, Palmiers, and of course, Macarons are all delicious, but they fall in the petit gâteaucategories or pastries, not desserts.

So, which are your favorite French desserts?

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