Crème Caramel a l'Orange Fraîche {Fresh Orange Crème Caramel}

This Crème Caramel a l'Orange Fraîche is a fresh and citrus-y take on the classic vanilla Parisian brasserie and restaurant dessert. 

This dessert has a "fancy" feel, but it is super easy to make and you can make it ahead of time. It's perfect for both an elegant or casual dinner party too. 

Almond Rum Cake | Gâteau de Nantes

You can trace the lineage of this deliciously moist almond rum cake to Nantes, a city in the Loire Valley in the western part of France. 

Gâteau de Nantes is a rich cake, made with almonds, flour, sugar, lemon zest, eggs, and lots of butter. It's then soaked in a rum and sugar syrup that is spiced with black pepper and allspice. Finally, it is topped with a sweet rum glaze. 

Pierre Hermé's Half-Baked Chocolate Cake

This half-baked chocolate cake, or Gâteau au Chocolat Mi-Cuit, just oozes delicious gooey chocolate when you cut it open. 

 

If you're familiar with those little individual molten chocolate cakes, also known as lava cakes, that were all the rage a few years ago, just know that this cake takes the concept to another level. 

Chocolate Bouchons

These individual chocolate cakes, known as bouchons ("corks" in French), are so chocolaty and melty, and absolutely delicious. 

 

These chocolate bouchons are Thomas Keller's take on an American classic, the brownie. The resulting gateau de bouchon are incredible. They are an amazing treat. 

Crème Brûlée with Vanilla and Grand Marnier

Crème brûlée is the ultimate elegant dessert, yet it is super easy to make. You can make the custards up to a day in advance, and then caramelize the top right before serving.

As Ina Garten says, "crème brûlée is the ultimate 'guy' dessert. Make it and he'll follow you anywhere." Source: Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home (affiliate link). 

Fresh Cherry Clafoutis with Almonds

This Fresh Cherry Clafoutis with almonds is a tasty custardy dessert. Clafoutis (pronounced cla-foo-tee) is totally elegant, yet very easy to make. 

Cherry Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert. In fact, the traditional way it is baked is with un-pitted cherries. Evidently the thinking is that the cherry pits impart an almond flavor to the dessert.

Provençal Vegetable Soup with Pistou (Soupe au Pistou)

This Provençal Vegetable Soup is so hearty.

Provençal vegetable soup is from Provence, in the south of France. It's typically made with white beans, green beans, onions, leeks, carrots, zucchini, potatoes, and pasta. Cooks also add other fresh vegetables such as yellow squash, tomatoes, peas, and corn from the weekly markets throughout the region.

Auvergne Crown | Couronne Auvergnate

The Auvergne Crown, or Couronne Auvergnate, is a classic bread from France. You can find these couronnes in boulangeries (bread bakeries) throughout most of the country. The loaves are deeply browned and crusty, and the crumb is exceptionally flavorful with lots of uneven holes.

There are actually bannetons (rising baskets) made expressly for theses loaves. While I love collecting bread baking toys, I do not have one of these, so I rigged up a large round deep dish pizza pan with a small inverted bowl in the center, and I lined the contraption with floured tea towels.

Petit Pains - Julia Child's French Bread Rolls - Happy birthday Julia!

These Petit Pains, inspired by Julia Child, are wonderfully crusty and flavorful.

These Petit Pains take about 7 hours to make. That does not mean you are active the whole time. It just means that the dough gets lots of extra time to develop flavor. In fact, the dough for these rolls requires very little attention from you. If you need even more time, you can actually slow down the rising time by placing the dough in the refrigerator for each rise. The longer the dough takes to rise, the more developed the flavor.