French cooking has evolved into an art form and is regarded as one of the most respectable and prestigious cuisines globally. If there’s one thing you should not miss, it’s divine French pastries - rich and decadent, yet elegant and fanciful, these crisp, flaky, and pillowy creations have captured the imagination of food connoisseurs the world over.

What’s even more fascinating is the history behind these pastries and how they have stood the test of time. Among the top 4 well-known French desserts are:

1. Profiterole

This pastry supposedly brought to France by de Medici’s entourage of Italian chefs, this filled French choux pastry ball contains whipped cream, custard or ice-cream, and is decorated with powdered sugar, caramel or chocolate. Italian chef Panterelli invented choux pastry, but his original recipe changed over time and French patissier Jean Avice perfected the dough into choux buns. Then, chef Antoine Carême came up with the idea of filling the choux with cream in the 18th century, resulting in the profiterole as we know it today. He also invented the profiterole tower – ‘croquembouche’ - the wedding cake of choice in France.

2. Pain Au Chocolat

Originally made from a brioche base, this means ‘chocolate bread’ in French and has since evolved to use the same buttery, flaky pastry as a croissant. It made its first appearance in the early 19th century and is also known as chocolatine in the south-west part of France.

3. Mille Feuille

A traditional mille-feuille, translated to mean ‘a thousand leaves’, consists of three layers of puff pastry, alternating with two layers of pastry cream, and is dusted with powdered sugar on top. It sounds simple enough in execution but takes a real expert to deliver an airy, flaky and crisp vanilla slice. Similar to the Italian Napoleon that is filled with almond cream, some mille feuille variations include whipped cream, fruits, custard or chocolate glaze. The first mille feuille recipe was seen in chef François Pierre de la Varenne’s cookbook Le Cuisinier François in 1651 and famous pastry chef Adolphe Seugnot has been credited with the creation as well in the 19th century.

5. Éclair

An oblong-shaped choux dough filled with cream and topped with chocolate icing, some variations are filled with chestnut puree, flavoured custard or fruit flavoured fillings. The name éclair means ‘flash of lightning’, perhaps due to the glisten of the frosting. Its origins can be traced to the 19th century when it was first called ‘petite duchesse’ and some food historians speculate that chef Carême also created this.