The Atlas · France's Signature Department

French Desserts & Sweets

114 of France's 444 ranked dishes are sweets, a quarter of the whole cuisine. Yet by our raters the best is no gâteau but Croissant, the breakfast pastry, Nº 80 in the world.

114 dishes ranked·25.7% of the cuisine·9,123 diner ratings·Top rank Nº 80

France is where the world learned to make pastry, and its ledger shows it: 114 ranked sweets, from the laminated croissant to the sugar-cracked crème brûlée, the trembling soufflé and the caramel-and-choux cathedral of the St. Honoré cake. This is the department that names your bakery counter, the tart and the meringue and the mousse all speak French first.

So the surprise is the summit. Not a plated showpiece but the humble croissant tops the French list at Nº 80, with the crème brûlée behind it at Nº 205 and the chocolate soufflé at Nº 214. France fields fewer sweets than Italy's 305, and none reaches the very top of the world board, where an Algerian almond cookie sits at Nº 8. Read them below: the signature sweets, by region, or the complete list of all 114.

The Signature Sweets

Twelve signature sweets in rank order, four told in full, then eight more from the pastry counter.

Croissant, sweet pastry from France
Plate ISweet Pastry · France

1Nº 80 worldwide

Croissant

Sweet Pastry · France

The flaky, buttery crescent of the French breakfast, made by folding layers of butter into a lightly sweet yeast dough again and again until it bakes up in dozens of shattering layers. Best warm from a boulangerie, with a crisp golden shell and a soft, honeycombed middle.

★ 4.4|766 ratings

Crème brûlée, custard from France

2Crème brûléeNº 205

Custard · France

A silky vanilla custard of egg yolk, cream, and sugar, chilled and then finished with a thin layer of sugar burned to a glassy, brittle crust. The whole pleasure is in the crack of the spoon through the caramel top into the cool cream beneath.

★ 4.3|534 ratings

Soufflé au chocolat, chocolate dessert from France

3Soufflé au chocolatNº 214

Chocolate Dessert · France

The chocolate soufflé, a French showpiece of dark chocolate folded into whipped egg whites and baked so it rises dramatically above the rim of its dish. Served the instant it comes from the oven, molten in the middle, before it has a chance to fall.

★ 4.3|229 ratings

Soufflé, dessert from France

4SouffléNº 568

Dessert · France

The plain soufflé, a French test of nerve: a cream base folded into whipped egg whites and baked until it climbs above its ramekin. Sweet versions hide a sauce in the middle and reach the table the instant they rise, before the fall.

★ 4.1|236 ratings

  1. St. Honoré Cake, sweet pastry from France5

    St. Honoré Cake

    Nº 805

    Sweet Pastry · France★ 4.1

  2. Mousse au chocolat, chocolate dessert from France6

    Mousse au chocolat

    Nº 987

    Chocolate Dessert · France★ 4.0

  3. Tarte Tatin, tart from France7

    Tarte Tatin

    Nº 1,175

    Tart · Lamotte-Beuvron★ 4.0

  4. Lemon Meringue Pie, sweet pie from France8

    Lemon Meringue Pie

    Nº 1,180

    Sweet Pie · France★ 4.0

  5. Pain au chocolat, sweet pastry from France9

    Pain au chocolat

    Nº 1,205

    Sweet Pastry · France★ 4.0

  6. Meringue tart, tart from France10

    Meringue tart

    Nº 1,282

    Tart · France★ 4.0

  7. Florentines, cookie from France11

    Florentines

    Nº 1,398

    Cookie · France★ 3.9

  8. Mousse, dessert from France12

    Mousse

    Nº 1,569

    Dessert · France★ 3.9

The Gazetteer

Where France's sweets are made

The regions of France with the deepest pastry traditions. Choose one to filter the complete ledger below.

Placed dishes only · top 6 regions

  7. Another 48 ranked dishes are logged simply as pan-French, with no single regional home.

The Complete Ledger

All 114 French desserts & sweets in the world ranking, every entry.

114 entries
  1. 80 Croissant Sweet Pastry France ★ 4.4
  2. 205 Crème brûlée Custard France ★ 4.3
  3. 214 Soufflé au chocolat Chocolate Dessert France ★ 4.3
  4. 568 Soufflé Dessert France ★ 4.1
  5. 805 St. Honoré Cake Sweet Pastry France ★ 4.1
  6. 987 Mousse au chocolat Chocolate Dessert France ★ 4.0
  7. 1,175 Tarte Tatin Tart Lamotte-Beuvron ★ 4.0
  8. 1,180 Lemon Meringue Pie Sweet Pie France ★ 4.0
  9. 1,205 Pain au chocolat Sweet Pastry France ★ 4.0
  10. 1,282 Meringue tart Tart France ★ 4.0
  11. 1,398 Florentines Cookie France ★ 3.9
  12. 1,569 Mousse Dessert France ★ 3.9
  13. 1,736 Fraisier Cake France ★ 3.9
  14. 1,808 Éclair Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.9
  15. 1,863 Sablé Cookie Sablé-sur-Sarthe ★ 3.9
  16. 1,999 Brioche Sweet Bread France ★ 3.9
  17. 2,023 Tarte aux mirabelles Tart Lorraine ★ 3.9
  18. 2,114 Bredele Cookie Alsace ★ 3.8
  19. 2,199 Soufflé au citron Dessert France ★ 3.8
  20. 2,216 Crêpes Mylene Flambéed Dessert Normandy ★ 3.8
  21. 2,440 Profiteroles Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.8
  22. 2,587 Grand Marnier Souffle Dessert France ★ 3.8
  23. 2,630 Fallue Sweet Bread Normandy ★ 3.8
  24. 2,668 Wild Blueberry Tart (Tarte aux brimbelles) Tart Belfort ★ 3.8
  25. 2,703 Gâteau de ménage Cake Franche-Comté ★ 3.8
  26. 2,830 Paris-Brest Sweet Pastry Paris ★ 3.8
  27. 2,892 Royal Chocolate Cake France ★ 3.8
  28. 3,317 Jalousies Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.8
  29. 3,411 Brioche Saint Genix Sweet Bread Saint-Genix-sur-Guiers ★ 3.8
  30. 3,420 Mille-feuille Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.8
  31. 3,480 Kouign-amann Sweet Pastry Douarnenez ★ 3.8
  32. 3,522 Flan Pâtissier Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.8
  33. 3,823 Puits d'amour Sweet Pastry Paris ★ 3.7
  34. 4,202 C Choux à la crème Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.7
  35. 4,270 Chaussons aux pommes Sweet Pastry Saint-Calais ★ 3.7
  36. 4,383 Friand Cake France ★ 3.7
  37. 4,544 Brasillé Sweet Pastry Calvados ★ 3.7
  38. 4,563 Glace plombières Ice Cream Plombières-les-Bains ★ 3.7
  39. 4,568 Palets de dames Cookie Nord ★ 3.7
  40. 4,607 Petit four Dessert France ★ 3.7
  41. 4,608 Chouquette Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.7
  42. 4,619 Soufflé aux framboises Dessert France ★ 3.7
  43. 4,679 Macarons de Nancy Cookie Nancy ★ 3.7
  44. 4,722 Nonnette Cake Dijon ★ 3.7
  45. 4,797 Brioche de Nanterre Sweet Bread Nanterre ★ 3.7
  46. 4,815 Praluline Sweet Bread Roanne ★ 3.7
  47. 4,951 Flaugnarde Dessert Limousin ★ 3.7
  48. 4,982 Niflette Sweet Pastry Provins ★ 3.7
  49. 5,149 Beignets Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.6
  50. 5,179 Tarte Normande Tart Normandy ★ 3.6
  51. 5,701 Café Liégeois Dessert France ★ 3.6
  52. 5,728 Gâteau opera Cake Paris ★ 3.6
  53. 5,867 Moka Cake Paris ★ 3.6
  54. 6,002 S Soufflé glacé Frozen Dessert France ★ 3.6
  55. 6,261 Religieuse Sweet Pastry Paris ★ 3.5
  56. 6,328 Dariole Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.5
  57. 6,350 Beerawecka Cake Alsace ★ 3.5
  58. 6,442 French pralines Dessert France ★ 3.5
  59. 6,682 Gâche Vendéenne Sweet Bread Vendée ★ 3.5
  60. 6,692 Pastis landais Sweet Pastry Landes ★ 3.5
  61. 6,741 Tarte au maroilles Tart Nord-Pas-de-Calais ★ 3.5
  62. 6,803 Fiadone Cheese Dessert Corsica ★ 3.5
  63. 6,919 Mousse au café Dessert France ★ 3.5
  64. 7,042 Dacquoise Cake Dax ★ 3.5
  65. 7,109 Gâteau Basque Cake Pyrénées-Atlantiques ★ 3.4
  66. 7,148 Pompe à l'huile Sweet Bread Provence ★ 3.4
  67. 7,214 Oreillettes Provençales Deep-fried Dessert Provence ★ 3.4
  68. 7,237 Crème caramel Custard France ★ 3.4
  69. 7,285 Poires au vin Dessert Burgundy ★ 3.4
  70. 7,327 Galette des rois Cake France ★ 3.4
  71. 7,354 Charlotte Russe Cake France ★ 3.4
  72. 7,513 Mousse au citron Dessert France ★ 3.4
  73. 7,536 Financier Cake France ★ 3.4
  74. 7,556 Biscuit rose de Reims Cookie Reims ★ 3.4
  75. 7,568 Mousse au caramel Dessert France ★ 3.3
  76. 7,585 Tarte Tropezienne Dessert Saint-Tropez ★ 3.3
  77. 7,644 Canistrelli Cookie Corsica ★ 3.3
  78. 7,652 Île flottante Dessert France ★ 3.3
  79. 7,673 Navette Cookie Marseille ★ 3.3
  80. 7,819 Clafoutis Dessert Limousin ★ 3.3
  81. 7,832 Gibassier Sweet Pastry Lourmarin ★ 3.3
  82. 7,874 Pain aux raisins Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.3
  83. 7,953 G Gâteau Creusois Cake Creuse ★ 0.0
  84. 7,969 Coussin de Lyon Dessert Lyon ★ 3.2
  85. 8,035 Brioche Vendéenne Sweet Bread Vendée ★ 3.2
  86. 8,051 Croquembouche Sweet Pastry France ★ 3.2
  87. 8,108 Canelé Sweet Pastry Bordeaux ★ 3.2
  88. 8,116 Fruit meringue Dessert France ★ 3.2
  89. 8,169 Gâteau Nantais Cake Nantes ★ 3.2
  90. 8,330 Far Breton Cake Brittany ★ 3.1
  91. 8,339 Marron glacé Dessert Rhône-Alpes ★ 3.1
  92. 8,340 Gâteau au yaourt Cake France ★ 3.1
  93. 8,408 Calisson Dessert Aix-en-Provence ★ 3.0
  94. 8,414 Madeleines Cookie Commercy ★ 3.0
  95. 8,415 Pogne Sweet Bread Rhône-Alpes ★ 3.0
  96. 8,416 Macarons Cookie Paris ★ 3.0
  97. 8,451 Bûche de Noël Cake Paris ★ 3.0
  98. 8,470 Pain d’épices Sweet Bread Reims ★ 3.0
  99. 8,472 Parfait Frozen Dessert France ★ 3.0
  100. 8,557 Bêtise de Cambrai Dessert Cambrai ★ 2.9
  101. 8,619 French meringue Dessert France ★ 2.8
  102. 8,659 Palmier Cookie France ★ 2.7
  103. 8,717 Baba au rhum Dessert Paris ★ 2.6
  104. 8,725 Ladyfingers (Boudoirs) Cookie Savoie ★ 2.6
  105. 8,810 Meringue Cookies Cookie France ★ 2.0
  106. 9,390 L Le poirat Sweet Pie Bourges ★ 0.0
  107. 9,563 B Brioche tressée de Metz Sweet Bread Metz ★ 0.0
  108. 9,591 S Soufflé au kiwi Dessert France ★ 0.0
  109. 10,058 Cornuelle Cookie Villebois-Lavalette ★ 0.0
  110. 10,064 Suisse de Valence Cookie Valence ★ 0.0
  111. 10,106 C Cucciole Cookie Corsica ★ 0.0
  112. 10,169 P Pastissou Cake Saint-Laurent-de-Lévézou ★ 0.0
  113. 10,285 C Coupétado Dessert Lozère ★ 0.0
  114. 10,286 S Savoyard Bread Pudding (Farçon de Séez) Dessert Savoie ★ 0.0
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Questions, Answered

French desserts & sweets, frequently asked, answered from 9,123 ratings.

What is the best French dessert?
By our diners' ratings it's the croissant, Nº 80 worldwide, the buttery laminated breakfast pastry. Behind it come the sugar-topped crème brûlée at Nº 205, the chocolate soufflé at Nº 214, and the airy plain soufflé.
What is France known for in desserts?
Pastry, above all. A quarter of France's 444 ranked dishes are sweets, and the craft names the whole field: viennoiserie like the croissant and pain au chocolat, custards like crème brûlée, and choux-and-caramel set pieces like the St. Honoré cake and Paris-Brest.
What is the most famous French dessert?
Fame and rank part ways. The croissant is both France's best-rated sweet and its most-reviewed, with 766 ratings, but the crème brûlée and the chocolate soufflé are the plated names diners picture when they think French dessert. By score the croissant still leads.
What is a soufflé?
A soufflé is a baked French dessert built from a cream or pudding base folded into whipped egg whites, which lift it high above the ramekin in the oven. It is famously unforgiving: served the moment it rises, before it deflates. The plain version ranks Nº 568.
Which region of France makes the most desserts?
Among sweets with a named home, Paris leads with eight, from the wheel-shaped Paris-Brest onward, ahead of three apiece from Normandy and Corsica. Most French sweets, though, are logged simply as national, belonging to the country rather than one town.
Where else should I look for great desserts?
Especially the other pastry nations. Worldwide the department runs to 2,151 sweets from 154 countries, topped not by France but by Algeria's almond makroud at Nº 8. Nearer the peak, Italy fields 305 ranked desserts and Spain 80. See Desserts & Sweets worldwide.

This Department, Elsewhere

Desserts & sweets from France's neighbours, ranked the same way.

DutchDesserts & Sweets52GermanDesserts & Sweets49AustrianDesserts & Sweets28SwissDesserts & Sweets16BelgianDesserts & Sweets15LuxembourgishDesserts & Sweets4
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