#28 - Pâtisserie vs. Viennoiserie

Pâtisserie or viennoiserie?  The primary English translation for both is "pastry."  WordReference.com also suggests "cake" for pâtisserie and "viennoiserie" for viennoiserie--but that's not very helpful, is it?

As usual, I think it's best to let pictures do the talking.  Let's try a little quiz, shall we?

Viennoiserie or pâtisserie?

1.

That lovely trio--croissant (bottom), pain au chocolat (right), and pain aux raisins (left).

2.

Millefeuille 
(literally, "thousand leaves")

3.

Chouquettes!!!

4.

The éclair
(literally, "lightning" or "flash"!)

5.

Chausson aux pommes
 (literally, "apple slippers")

6.

Tarte au citron

And the answers are...


 1, 3, & 5 are viennoiseries, and 2, 4, and 6 are pâtisseries!

The difference is clear enough to French people, but the line between the two can seem a little fuzzy to everyone else.  Normally, a viennoiserie can be eaten for breakfast, while a pâtisserie is a dessert; however, that doesn't stop them from putting plenty of sugar in some of their viennoiseries, like the pain au chocolat.  Even the chausson aux pommes and the pain aux raisins are plenty sweet; and éclairs--though most definitely a dessert--are not really what we would call "cakes."  They're still pastries.  It's the appearance that makes the biggest difference though. Viennoiseries enjoy a plain, homey look:

But pâtisseries like to go out in style!

Nom!

Stay tuned next week for the follow-up article for my French friends: What's the difference between a "pastry" and "cake"?  (And also, what do French people actually mean when they use the English word cake in French?)