Tonton Frometon

Traditional French Pastry Recipes

1. Basics

Creams

CAP base + Grolet enriched — vanilla, chocolate, coffee — 20 min — 500g batch — Easy

Base (500g)

  • 500 g whole milk
  • 80 g egg yolks
  • 90 g sugar
  • 30 g plain flour
  • 30 g cornstarch
  • 1 vanilla pod

Method

  1. Infuse milk with vanilla 10 min. Whisk yolks, sugar, flour, starch. Temper with hot milk.
  2. Return to pan, whisk on heat until thick. Boil 1 full minute. Cool: plastic wrap on surface, 40 min in freezer.

Crème Diplomate

Recipe coming soon.

Chantilly Mascarpone

Recipe coming soon.

Crèmeux

Recipe coming soon.

Meringues

French Meringue

Recipe coming soon.

Italian Meringue

Recipe coming soon.

Swiss Meringue

Recipe coming soon.

Doughs & Batters

Grolet crémage method — one 20cm tart shell — 30 min (+ 4h rest) — Intermediate

  • 115 g butter, softened
  • 70 g icing sugar
  • 25 g almond or hazelnut powder
  • 45 g eggs
  • 190 g flour T65
  • 60 g potato starch

Crémage

  1. Paddle butter with icing sugar, almond powder, salt. Emulsify with egg. Add flour + starch, mix until just homogeneous.
  2. Rest 4h minimum in fridge. Roll 3mm. Line ring, freeze 2h minimum. Blind bake 165°C 30min.

Pâte Brisée

Recipe coming soon.

Pâte Feuilletée

Recipe coming soon.

Pâte à Choux

Recipe coming soon.

Brioche Dough

Recipe coming soon.

Biscuits & Sponge Bases

Dacquoise

Recipe coming soon.

Joconde

Recipe coming soon.

Financier

Recipe coming soon.

Génoise

Recipe coming soon.

Almond Creams

Almond cream base — tant-pour-tant method — 10 min — Easy

  • 1 egg (weigh it — defines all quantities)
  • same weight butter, sugar, almond powder

Method

  1. Beat butter + sugar. Add almond powder. Add egg gradually. Smooth, not airy. Pipe at room temperature.

Spreads & Inserts

Confit (Strawberry, Fig…)

Recipe coming soon.

Praliné

Recipe coming soon.

Gianduja

Recipe coming soon.

Pâte de Pistache

Recipe coming soon.

Caramel onctueux

Caramel sauce with glucose — spreadable, room temperature stable — 30 min — ~500g — Intermediate

  • 90 g each glucose syrup, caster sugar
  • 30 g water
  • 230 g cream (35%)
  • 70 g butter
  • 10 g gelatin mass (2g powder + 13g water)
  • 50 g condensed milk

Method

  1. Bring cream to a boil, cover to keep warm. Cook sugar, glucose, and water to 185°C (light caramel). Pour hot cream over caramel, cook back to 103°C.
  2. Add gelatin mass and condensed milk, emulsify. Cool to 35°C, add softened butter, blend. Rest 12h at room temperature before using.

2. Tarts

Tarte aux Fraises

Pâte sucrée, crème d'amande, crème diplomate, fresh strawberries

Method

  1. Blind bake shell. Pipe crème d'amande, bake 12–15min at 165°C. Cool.
  2. Pipe crème diplomate. Arrange strawberry segments. Glaze with strawberry gel or neutral nappage.

Pâte sucrée, crème d'amande, fig confit, fresh figs — 2h (+ 4h rest) — 20cm — Intermediate

Fig confit

  • 400 g figs, 100g sugar, 8g pectin NH

Crème d'amande — → Crème d'Amande

  • 65 g each butter, sugar, almond, egg

Pâte sucrée — → Pâte Sucrée

  • 1 20cm shell, blind-baked

Method

  1. Blind bake pâte sucrée. Pipe crème d'amande. Spread cold fig confit over the cream. Bake 165°C 12–15min.
  2. Arrange mi-cooked fig halves on top. Glaze with vanilla nappage.

Upside-down caramelised apple — puff pastry — 1h — 6–8 portions — Intermediate

  • 10–11 apples
  • 150 g butter (demi-sel)
  • 150 g sugar
  • 1 puff pastry round

Method

  1. Make caramel in the pan. Confit apple quarters in butter + sugar until just tender. Arrange in the caramel.
  2. Cover with pastry, tuck edges. Bake 45min at 170°C. Unmould hot.

Poached pear, crème d'amande — Grolet brioche feuilletée base — 2h — 20cm — Intermediate

  • 4 pears, poached in vanilla syrup
  • 1 batch crème d'amande — → Crème d'Amande
  • 1 brioche feuilletée base

Method

  1. Blind bake brioche feuilletée base. Pipe crème d'amande. Slice poached pears thinly and fan into the cream.
  2. Bake 170°C 10–15min. Brush with vanilla nappage.

Lemon crémeux, Italian meringue — Sweety and CAP versions — 2h — 18–22cm — Intermediate

Crémeux citron

  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g sugar
  • 120 g lemon juice
  • 80 g cold butter

Method

  1. Cook eggs, sugar, lemon juice to a gentle thickening — no boil. Blend with cold butter. Pour into shell, rest 2h.
  2. Pipe Italian meringue (118°C syrup), torch or broil to colour.

3. Choux

Chouquettes

Recipe coming soon.

Choux à la Crème

Recipe coming soon.

Chocolate and coffee — pâte à choux, pastry cream, fondant glaze — 1 h 30 min — 10–12 éclairs — Intermediate

Choux

  • 250 g water
  • 100 g butter
  • 150 g flour T55
  • 200–250 g eggs, beaten
  • 5 g salt

Pastry cream — → Crème Pâtissière

  • 500 g base batch

Choux

  1. Boil water, butter, salt. Add all flour at once, stir dry on heat until dough pulls from pan.
  2. Beat off steam in mixer, add eggs gradually until ribbon falls slow and folds back on itself.
  3. Pipe éclairs. Bake 45 min at 180°C, or 60 min at 130°C then 30 min at 150°C.

Pastry cream

  1. Infuse milk with vanilla. Whisk yolks, sugar, flour, cornstarch. Pour hot milk over, return to pan, whisk until thick. Cool in freezer 40 min.
  2. Chocolate: fold in 200 g dark chocolate 70% off heat. Coffee: whisk in 30 g butter + 36 ml espresso.

Fill & glaze

  1. Pierce base with large nozzle, fill. Warm fondant to 35–40°C, add cocoa or espresso. Dip tops.

Choux ring, praline mousseline, caramelised hazelnuts — 2h — 6 pieces — Advanced

Mousseline — → Crème Pâtissière

  • 250 g pastry cream
  • 150 g butter, softened
  • 150 g praline noisette

Craquelin

  • 100 g each brown sugar, butter, flour

Choux + assemble

  1. Pipe 80mm rings. Top with frozen craquelin discs. Bake 170°C 35–40min. No oven opening for 25min.
  2. Split rings. Pipe mousseline in large rosettes. Add caramelised hazelnuts. Place lid, dust icing sugar.

Saint-Honoré

Recipe coming soon.

Profiteroles

Recipe coming soon.

Choux, coffee crémeux, mascarpone mousse, ladyfinger sponge — 3h — 8–10 pieces — Advanced

Coffee crémeux

  • 200 g milk, 20g instant coffee
  • 160 g yolks + 180g whole eggs
  • 160 g sugar, 160g butter

Mascarpone mousse

  • 500 g mascarpone
  • 100 g yolks, 75g whites, 75g sugar
  • 15 g amaretto

Method

  1. Bake choux fully dry (45min at 180°C). Make coffee crémeux and mascarpone mousse. Bake and soak ladyfinger sponge discs.
  2. Fill each choux: ladyfinger base → coffee crémeux → mascarpone mousse. Replace lid. Dust cocoa. Rest 1h in fridge.

4. Cakes & Entremets

Mille-feuille

Recipe coming soon.

Joconde sponge, mousseline cream, fresh strawberries — 2 h (+ chilling) — 8 portions — Advanced

Joconde — → Joconde

  • 2 discs cut to ring size

Mousseline

Assembly

  • 500 g fresh strawberries
  • soaking syrup

Joconde

  1. Whip egg whites stiff, reserve. Beat whole eggs + almond powder + icing sugar until pale. Fold in flour, melted butter, then whites. Bake thin at 200°C, 8–10 min.
  2. Cut two discs with the ring mould before assembling.

Mousseline

  1. Beat softened butter until very pale. Add pastry cream in ~10 small additions, beating between each. Use immediately.

Assembly

  1. Line ring with rhodoid. First disc, soak with syrup. Halved strawberries cut-side against rhodoid, mousseline in centre, whole strawberries.
  2. Second layer of mousseline, second disc, soak, finish with mousseline or mirror glaze. Refrigerate until set. Unmould at last moment.

Chocolate sponge, kirsch cherries, chantilly — 1 h 30 min — 8–10 portions — Intermediate

Génoise — → Génoise

  • 5 eggs
  • 125 g sugar
  • 80 g plain flour
  • 45 g cocoa powder

Chantilly

  • 600 ml heavy cream (35%)
  • 60 g icing sugar

Assembly

  • 1 tin cherries in syrup (475 g)
  • chocolate shavings

Génoise

  1. Whisk eggs and sugar over bain-marie until warm. Beat at high speed to ribbon stage. Fold in sifted flour + cocoa in 2–3 additions.
  2. Bake at 180°C for 20–25 min. Cool completely before slicing.

Assembly

  1. Slice génoise into 3 layers. Soak each with cherry syrup — generously.
  2. Layer 1: chantilly + cherries. Layer 2: repeat. Top with chantilly, cover sides, finish with chocolate shavings.

Dacquoise, praliné croustillant, mousse au chocolat — 3h + overnight — 24cm, 6 people — Advanced

  • 1 dacquoise noisette disc
  • 200 g praline + 100g milk choc + 80g feuilletine
  • 250 g dark choc (70%), 400g cream, 4 yolks

Assembly

  1. Bake dacquoise. Spread praliné croustillant on top. Pour chocolate mousse over. Freeze overnight.
  2. Unmould cold, temper 20min, dust cocoa.

Mont-Blanc

Recipe coming soon.

Pavlova

Recipe coming soon.

Bûche de Noël

Recipe coming soon.

5. Gâteaux de Voyage

Classic shell cakes with beurre noisette — Sweety and Couvreur versions — 25 min (+ 1h rest) — 14–16 pieces — Easy

  • 150 g each flour, sugar, beurre noisette
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 lemon, zest

Method

  1. Whisk eggs and sugar, fold in flour + baking powder, then cooled beurre noisette and zest. Rest 1h in fridge.
  2. Pipe into cold buttered tin. Bake 220°C 4min, reduce to 180°C 6–8min. Unmould immediately.

Browned butter almond cakes — 25 min — 12 pieces — Easy

  • 150 g icing sugar
  • 50 g almond powder
  • 50 g plain flour
  • 4 egg whites
  • 150 g butter

Batter

  1. Mix dry ingredients. Stir in egg whites until combined.
  2. Brown butter to a deep hazelnut colour. Pour hot into batter, mix well. Rest 1 h in the fridge.

Bake

  1. Fill buttered moulds ¾ full. Bake at 200°C for 10–12 min until edges are set and centre just done.

Bordeaux's custardy rum cakes with lacquered shells — 30 min (+ 48h rest) — 12 pieces — Intermediate

  • 500 ml whole milk
  • 2 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
  • 250 g sugar
  • 100 g plain flour
  • 50 g butter
  • 50 ml dark rum
  • 1 vanilla pod

Batter

  1. Heat milk with butter and vanilla. Whisk eggs and sugar, add flour, then pour in warm milk. Add rum. Rest 48 h in the fridge.

Molds & bake

  1. Season copper molds with beeswax. Fill cold batter to 5 mm from top.
  2. Bake at 250°C for 20 min, then 180°C for 40–50 min. Shell should be deeply lacquered.

Italian meringue shells — Mogador passion fruit ganache — 2h (+ 24h rest) — ~72 macarons — Advanced

Shells (tant-pour-tant)

  • 300 g each almond powder, icing sugar
  • 2 × 110 g egg whites
  • 300 g caster sugar, 100g water

Mogador ganache

  • 200 g milk chocolate (40%)
  • 100 g passion fruit purée

Method

  1. Cook sugar + water to 118°C. Whip whites to soft peaks, pour syrup in slowly. Beat to glossy meringue (50°C). Fold into tant-pour-tant — macaronage until batter flows like lava.
  2. Pipe 3.5cm rounds. Skin 30min. Bake 140°C 16min. Cool. Pipe ganache (rested 24h). Assemble. Rest 24h refrigerated before serving.

Crêpes

Recipe coming soon.

Piège's crêpes, orange butter sauce, flambéed Grand Marnier — 45 min — 6 people — Intermediate

Crêpe batter

  • 240 g flour, 3 eggs, 600g milk
  • 60 g beurre noisette

Sauce Suzette

  • 120 g butter, 90g sugar
  • 150 ml orange juice + zest
  • 3–4 tbsp Grand Marnier

Method

  1. Make batter, rest 30min. Cook thin crêpes.
  2. Caramelise butter + sugar, add orange juice, simmer. Fold crêpes in sauce. Warm Grand Marnier, flambé.

6. Viennoiseries

Classic butter croissants, laminated the French way — 4 h (+ overnight) — 12 pieces — Advanced

For the dough

  • 500 g all-purpose flour
  • 140 ml cold water
  • 140 ml cold whole milk
  • 55 g sugar
  • 40 g unsalted butter, soft
  • 11 g instant yeast
  • 12 g fine salt

Butter layer

  • 280 g dry European butter

Egg wash

  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tbsp water

There is no finer demonstration of French baking than the butter croissant. These flaky, layered viennoiseries demand patience, precision, and butter of the highest quality. The key lies in the lamination: butter folded through a series of turns, creating hundreds of distinct layers.

Day 1 — The dough

  1. Combine flour, water, milk, sugar, butter, yeast, and salt in a stand mixer. Mix on low 3 min, then medium 5 min until smooth.
  2. Shape into a 2 cm thick rectangle, wrap, refrigerate overnight (8–12 h).

Day 2 — Butter block

  1. Beat cold butter between parchment into a 15 cm square, 1 cm thick. Keep cold and pliable.

Lamination

  1. Roll dough to 25 × 40 cm. Enclose butter block. Rotate 90°, roll to 20 × 60 cm, fold in thirds. Refrigerate 30 min. Repeat twice more.
  2. Rest in fridge at least 1 h after the final turn.

Shaping & baking

  1. Roll to 40 × 110 cm, 4 mm thick. Cut 12 triangles (10 cm base). Score, stretch, roll from base to tip.
  2. Proof at 24 °C, 2–3 h until doubled and jiggly. Preheat oven to 200 °C.
  3. Brush with egg wash. Bake 15–20 min until deep golden.

Pain au Chocolat

Recipe coming soon.

Escargot

Recipe coming soon.

Chausson aux Pommes

Recipe coming soon.

Danish

Recipe coming soon.

Enriched dough — Nanterre, tressed, à tête — 45 min (+ overnight) — 6–8 pieces — Intermediate

MDC base (500g flour)

  • 500 g flour T45
  • 300 g eggs (~6 eggs)
  • 250 g butter, room temperature
  • 50 g sugar, 10g salt, 20g fresh yeast

Method

  1. Mix to gluten, then add butter in 2–3 additions. Bulk 30min, fold, overnight in fridge.
  2. Shape. Proof 1h30–2h below 28°C with humidity. Egg wash, bake 180°C 16–25min.

Grolet brioche disc, orange pastry cream — 3h (+ overnight) — 18cm — Advanced

Brioche (Grolet)

  • 500 g flour T45, 325g eggs
  • 400 g butter, 27g fresh yeast
  • 70 g pearl sugar

Orange pastry cream

  • 450 g milk, 5 vanilla pods
  • 90 g yolks, 90g sugar
  • 30 g cocoa butter, 50g mascarpone
  • zest of 4 oranges

Method

  1. Make brioche dough overnight. Roll to 18cm disc, proof 2h, egg wash, pearl sugar, bake 180°C 20–25min. Cool completely.
  2. Make orange pastry cream (with cocoa butter + gelatin for set). Slice brioche in half. Pipe cream in large rosettes. Replace lid, dust icing sugar.

Special Variations

Crème d'amande, day-old croissants — two versions — 30 min — 6 pieces — Easy

Crème d'amande — → Crème d'Amande

  • 100 g each eggs, butter, sugar, almond powder
  • 10 g cornstarch (BPàP) or 50g rum + 15g flour (Cagnes)
  • 6 day-old croissants
  • sliced almonds, icing sugar

Method

  1. Make crème d'amande — dense, not airy. Pipe cold.
  2. Slice croissants in half. Pipe generously inside. Replace lid, pipe on top, press sliced almonds. Bake 160°C 18–20min. Dust icing sugar.

Cruffin

Recipe coming soon.

Crookie

Recipe coming soon.

Flan Parisien Feuilleté

Recipe coming soon.

7. Bread

Elaine Boddy master recipe, Tartine method — overnight + 1h bake — 1 loaf — Intermediate

  • 500 g bread flour
  • 350 g water, room temperature
  • 50 g active starter
  • 7 g salt

Method

  1. Mix, rest 1h. Stretch and fold 2–4 times over 2h. Ferment overnight 8–10h at 18–20°C.
  2. Shape, banneton, fridge 3–10h. Score. Bake in Dutch oven 230°C: 20min covered, 20–25min open.

Focaccia

Recipe coming soon.

Rolls

Recipe coming soon.

8. Ice Cream & Sorbets

Base Custard

Recipe coming soon.

Crème anglaise base — vanilla, coffee, matcha — 30 min (+ overnight) — ~500 ml — Intermediate

  • 500 ml whole milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 130 g sugar
  • 1 vanilla pod

Custard

  1. Heat milk with vanilla. Whisk yolks and sugar until pale. Pour hot milk over, return to pan.
  2. Cook on low, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon (82°C). Do not boil.

Churn

  1. Strain, cool, refrigerate overnight. Churn in ice cream maker until thick. Freeze 2 h before serving.

Dark Chocolate

Recipe coming soon.

Saffron & Pistachio

Recipe coming soon.

Sorbets

Recipe coming soon.

9. Seasonal & Special

Feuilletage inversé, frangipane — advanced and quick versions — 2–3 days or 1h — 4–6 people — Advanced / Easy

Frangipane

  • 275 g each butter, icing sugar, almond powder
  • 165 g eggs, 40g rum

Quick version

  • 2 rounds shop-bought puff pastry
  • 150 g almond powder, 125g sugar, 60g butter, 2 eggs

Method

  1. Make frangipane (add pastry cream for full frangipane). Spread on first pastry circle, 2cm border. Add fève. Cover, seal with water, refrigerate 30min.
  2. Egg wash, score pattern. Bake 170°C 40min until deeply golden.

Vanilla custard tart — Grolet, Thierry Marx versions — 1h + overnight cooling — 18–20cm — Intermediate

Grolet appareil

  • 500 g whole milk
  • 100 g whole eggs
  • 90 g sugar, 50g cornstarch
  • 50 g butter, 2 vanilla pods

Method

  1. Infuse milk. Whisk eggs, sugar, starch. Combine. Cook until thick. Whisk in butter. Pour into unbaked crust.
  2. Bake 220°C 10min, then 180°C 30–35min. Dark top is correct. Cool overnight before unmoulding.

Pâte sablée basque, crème d'amande, myrtille marmalade — 1h30 + 4h rest — 20cm — Intermediate

  • 250 g butter, 220g brown sugar
  • 310 g flour, 154g almond powder
  • 90 g eggs, 16g baking powder

Method

  1. Cream butter + brown sugar. Add eggs, dry ingredients. Rest 4h. Line tin with 5mm pastry.
  2. Fill with crème d'amande + blueberry marmalade (or cherry jam). Lid, seal, score. Bake 170°C 35–40min.

10. Everyday Bakes

Dense fudge — classic and 750g versions — 35 min — 9 pieces — Easy

  • 200 g dark chocolate (60–70%)
  • 150 g butter
  • 200 g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 80 g flour

Method

  1. Melt chocolate + butter. Whisk eggs + sugar until pale and airy. Fold in chocolate, then flour.
  2. Bake 170°C 15–18min. Centre should still jiggle. Cool completely before cutting.

Lemon curd, mascarpone cream, ladyfingers — 45 min (+ overnight) — 8 people — Easy

Lemon curd

  • 2 eggs, 100g sugar
  • 80 ml lemon juice, 70g butter

Mascarpone cream

  • 375 g mascarpone
  • 3 eggs separated, 80g sugar
  • 24–30 ladyfingers

Method

  1. Make lemon curd; cool completely. Beat yolks + half sugar, add mascarpone + lemon. Fold in whipped whites.
  2. Quick-dip ladyfingers in lemon syrup (2–3 sec). Layer: biscuit → cream → curd → biscuit → cream. Overnight in fridge.

Classic and chocolate versions — no crust, very high heat — 1h (+ 18–24h cooling) — 20cm — Easy

Classic (20cm)

  • 600 g full-fat cream cheese
  • 225 g sugar, 4 eggs
  • 300 g double cream, 40g flour

Method

  1. Beat cream cheese + sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add cream, flour, vanilla. Pour into parchment-lined tin (5cm overhang).
  2. Bake 200°C 50min — deeply dark top, wobbly centre. Cool 2h, refrigerate 18–24h minimum.