36 french cake recipes

Yule log cake (buche de Noel) is the classic French rolled sponge cake for Christmas, made from a delicate whole-egg genoise baked thin, filled, rolled, and decorated to look like a wintry wooden log.

Classic French almond meringue that pipes into elegant shapes and bakes crisp. Light, nutty pastry component perfect for layered cakes, decorations, or cookies.

Elegant French layer cake with genoise, fresh strawberries, buttercream, and crème fraîche whipped cream. This show-stopping dacquoise is soaked with Framboise liqueur.

Caramel-orange Bûche de Noël assembly with Grand Marnier buttercream, almond sponge, and pastry cream filling. The classic French Yule log cake for Christmas.

A show-stopping layered meringue cake with toasted almond dacquoise, caramel-orange buttercream filling, and glazed orange slices. A French patisserie masterpiece for special occasions.

Alsatian apple cake with four pounds of Golden Delicious apples, honey, rum, and a caramelized egg-butter-brown sugar topping. A rustic French apple dessert.

French-style prune and Armagnac cake with a cornmeal crumb, yogurt for moisture, and a boozy glaze from the prune soaking liquid. Rustic and elegant.

Layers of delicate almond-chocolate cake soaked in amaretto and stacked with rich chocolate parfait create a stunning French dessert that's worth every minute of effort.

Strawberry lemon trifle with homemade genoise cake, lemon curd cream filling, kirsch-strawberry syrup, toasted almonds, and piped whipped cream. A showpiece French-style layered dessert.

Elodie's chocolate cake is a French-style dense bake with 10 oz bittersweet chocolate and just 5 tablespoons of flour - intensely fudgy, rich, and make-ahead friendly.

A rich French Breton-style apple pie with buttery, egg-yolk dough scented with dark rum and vanilla. Golden, dense, and somewhere between a cake and a tart. Utterly irresistible.

Genoise mousseline is a classic French sponge cake made with whole eggs, extra yolks, and no butter, warmed over a bain-marie and whipped to airy volume for a tender crumb.

Pommes Anna with tarragon: thin-sliced Yukon Gold potatoes layered with herb butter, baked tender, then broiled to a crisp golden top. An elegant French potato cake from a handful of ingredients.

Rich flourless bittersweet chocolate cakes molded in heart shapes, served on a silky pistachio custard sauce. An elegant make-ahead French-inspired dessert that chills for 24 hours before its grand reveal.

Savarin aux fruits, a classic French rum-soaked yeast ring cake. A light, beaten dough is baked, then drenched in flavored syrup until saturated and filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit. An elegant patisserie dessert.

Quiche Nicoise is a Provençal savory tart with slow-cooked tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and herbes de Provence baked into an egg custard. Southern French cafe flavors in one slice.