Who can resist a luxurious pastry from a French pâtisserie to accompany their café au lait? Buttery, rich and flaky, what is it that prompts those sighs of anticipation and delight? Perhaps it’s that puff of excess powdered sugar, the drip of chocolate filling, the sticky fingers that simply must be licked, one by one… While many may consider France to be the epicentre of pastry perfection, almost every country at each corner of the globe has its own version of a signature pastry delicacy, a national favourite that is recognised as a trademark of sorts.
Of course, possibly the most recognised pastry would be the croissant. And far from being of French origin, it had its beginnings in Austria in the 1600s, who were celebrating a battle victory over the Ottoman Empire at the time. This celebratory confection supposedly mimicked the crescent moon found on the Ottoman flag. Who knew?
The Argentine take on that traditional croissant, would be medialunas; slightly smaller and a bit sweeter, they are ideally accompanied by a strong cup of coffee, or a steaming pot of Argentine yerba mate.
Pastry in Great Britain? Truly no roast dinner would be complete without the soft and puffy Yorkshire pudding, which in fact, is not a pudding at all, but a pastry! Tender and slightly chewy, Yorkshires are baked very hot, rise tall, and have a crisp outer shell, making them the perfect receptacle for floods of flavoursome gravy.
For a Greek or Turkish touch, we have baklava. With layers of crispy phyllo dough, honey and nuts, it’s melt-in-your-mouth delicious, with a touch of the exotic.
No list of Italian pastries would be complete without the classic cannoli. Possibly Italy’s most famous pastry, cannoli can be eaten at any time of day, even for breakfast. With cylinder-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, cannoli are filled with a sweet, creamy filling that usually contains ricotta. The ends of cannoli are sometimes sprinkled with chocolate, candied fruit or nuts. (Fun fact – cannoli is actually the plural. If you’re ordering just one, it’s a cannolo.)
Ask any Canadian what their national pastry is, and you are likely to get one of two answers. The older generation will point to the butter tart, a ubiquitous and truly Canadian treat, with a rich and sweet filling. Younger Canadians are likely to give glowing testimonials to the beaver tail. Far from being the hinder parts of the national emblem, beaver tails are flat, oval pastries, made to resemble the long, flat tail of a beaver, topped with endless varieties of sweet toppings, from apples with cinnamon, to Nutella and bananas.
Deep in the American South, it is impossible to visit New Orleans without tasting the iconic beignet. These delicate, square-shaped pieces of dough are deep fried and generously sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. When a visitor is served a beignet with steaming hot café
au lait, (in the French Quarter, no less!), it’s not hard to see the connection back through the centuries, to France!
In the 1700s, French Canadian colonists were driven from their homes in Nova Scotia by victorious British troops, and forcibly resettled in the French-occupied southern area called Louisiana. Fortunately for future generations of Americans, they brought their pâtisserie recipes with them, and we can now enjoy a touch of French cuisine virtually anywhere.
And with that, we just may have to honour France with the distinction of having the unsullied reputation for the finest pastries in the world. From the croquembouche, to the flaky mille feuilles, from éclairs to caneles, madeleines and macarons, croissants and petit-pain au chocolat. These world-renowned French pastries are truly an art form, to be entirely enjoyed the world over. To which we can say, merci et bon appétit
