Both crispy and creamy in texture, this French cake is traditionally made with almond or hazelnut meringue sponge cake separated with layers of whipped cream or buttercream. The cake takes its name from the French word dacquois, meaning from Dax, referring to a town located in southwestern France, but the term dacquoise itself has come to signify any dessert with layers of nut meringue sponge cake.

The cake is believed to have originated in the 17th century, when it was invented as a luxurious dessert for the people of the French court. The recipe later became very popular in England, after numerous French chefs moved there to cook for the upper class. 

Kouign-amann is a cake that originated in the 1800s in the French region of Bretagne. Its name is derived from the Breton words for cake (kouign) and butter (amann). The cake consists of layers of butter and sugar that are folded into a dough.

Bretons claim that the cake is "the fattiest pastry in the world", due to its flaky yellow dough that is mixed with large amounts of sugar and butter. Although there are many theories about the origin of the cake, the most popular one says that it was invented by accident, when a 19th-century baker from Douarnenez wanted to save a failed batch of dough, so he added butter and sugar to the mix, creating the delicacy that we know today.

Fraisier is a French cake, its name derived from the word fraise, meaning strawberry. Traditionally, the cake consists of layers of genoise sponge, vanilla-flavored créme mousselline, marzipan, and lines of fresh, sliced strawberries.

Originally, fraisier was invented as a tribute to strawberries, since the only available strawberries in France before the 19th century were tiny wild strawberries, similar in size to blueberries. In the 1930s, new types of strawberries became available in France and the rest of Europe for use in desserts, and a new cake was created.

A thousand crêpes cake—as translated in English—is a classic French dessert consisting of crêpes stacked on top of each other and layered with, most typically, a thin coating of either icing sugar or pastry cream, while the top of the cake is covered in a thin layer of caramelized sugar.

This dense and creamy cake can be prepared with all kinds of different fillings and enjoyed with various fruits, whipped cream, or even ice cream.

This classic French dessert is usually associated with northern and central France regions and belongs to the wide group of king cakes that are prepared and enjoyed on Epiphany—a Christian holiday celebrated on January 6, commemorating the arrival of Three Wise Men to Bethlehem.

The cake is assembled with a thick layer of frangipane—almond-based pastry cream—that is sandwiched between two layers of buttery puff pastry. Tradition suggests to hide fève (a porcelain or plastic lucky charm) inside the frangipane, and whoever is lucky enough to find it will become a queen or a king for the day. 

This classic Basque cake consists of two layers of shortcrust pastry and either a filling made with black cherry preserve or, more often, vanilla-flavored pastry cream. If made with black cherries, the top of the cake is usually decorated with the Basque cross (lauburu), while the version with pastry cream typically comes with a crosshatch pattern.

Apart from vanilla, common flavorings may also include lemon zest, rum, or almond extract. Although it is traditionally associated with the entire French Basque Country, it is believed that the cake originated in the former French province of Labourd.

Madeleines are the perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea - these buttery sponge cakes (often mistaken for cookies because of their small size) are slightly browned and crispy on the outside while remaining soft and tender on the inside. A typical dessert of the Lorraine region, madeleines are said to have originated in Commercy.

They are supposedly named after Madeleine Paulmier, the 18th-century pastry chef who first made them for Stanisław Leszczyński, the Duke of Lorraine. Later on, his daughter Marie Leszczyńska introduced madeleines to the court in Versailles, and they attained countrywide popularity soon afterward. 

In its original form, gâteau opera combines coffee-flavored buttercream, chocolate ganache, and layers of biscuit Joconde—a light almond sponge that is infused with coffee syrup or Grand Marnier liqueur. Each cake is topped with a thin layer of chocolate ganache and is usually decorated with a symbol of a note, musical instruments, or merely the word opera written in chocolate.

Although there are many conflicting stories of its origin, it is believed that the cake was invented at the Parisian patisserie Dalloyau by a pastry chef named Cyrique Gavillon. At the time, this sophisticated dessert was considered a novelty, compared to the lavishly decorated classics that were popular at the time.

Royal is a classic French dessert that is also known as trianon. The base of the cake is made from dacquoise—the crispy almond meringue that's topped with crunchy praline cream, usually consisting of melted chocolate, thin and crispy crêpe dentelle biscuits, and praline paste.

The cake is then topped with a thick layer of chocolate mousse. Finally, it can be dusted with cocoa or coated in a chocolate glaze. Not much is known about the origin of gâteau royal, but the dessert is found in many French pastry shops. The cake comes in a round or rectangular form.