Many of these sauces are based on fruit, in the form of a purée, jelly, etc. and many of them flavoured with vanilla or alcohol. Custard cream are preparations with the consistency and appearance of cream. Creams and custards have various flavours and are popular dessert sauces usually served with puddings, fruit pies, etc.

Sauces based on sugar are usually very simple to make and they have distinct family branches similar to those of their unsweetened counterparts. The main things to remember are, do not over beat cream based sauces. Cook egg sauces over, not in boiling water. Be sure to cook sauces thickened with flour or cornstarch free of lumps and raw starchy taste. If making a simple syrup do not allow sugaring to happen. Wash down the sides of the pot being used with a pastry brush and fresh water, during cooking.

Sugar Cooking: The ideal proportion of sugar to water is three parts sugar to one part water. This should be placed in a copper or stainless steel pot and stirred until the mass comes to a boil.

The sides of the pot may be brushed with water to clear them of any sugar crystals. Or the pot may be covered while the syrup is boiling, allowing the steam to wash down the sides. This is an important step in the early stages of the cooking.

"Animalized" biscuits were also made. These were flat cakes containing meat juices and thought to be very nourishing. Vitamin biscuits appeared during World War II and these were distributed in schools in France. nowadays, some special diet products are presented as vitamin-enriched biscuits with different flavours.

Biscuits were also a staple item in explorer's provisions. In his record of his adventures in the New World, Chateaubriand wrote: "Reduced to a solitary existence, I dened on ship's biscuits, a little sugar and lemon".

"Traveler's biscuits", in the 19th century, were hard pastries or cakes wrapped in tin foil, which kept very well. They were known as "beauvillers" and were a rich nourishing cake made of crushed almonds and sugar mixed with butter, eggs and a lot of flour (wheat flour and rice flour).

Cookies today, for the most part should be small and delicate and baked in a preheated oven on a greased baking sheet with no sides so that the heat is more even. Place the cookie dough at least one inch apart from each other, unless it is other wise indicated by the recipe.

Generally speaking there are two types of dessert pies: single crust and double crust. The single crust pie consists of just a bottom crust, whereas the double crust pie contains both the bottom and a top crust. In both types of pies the important feature is a good tender crust. It is the tenderness or toughness of the crust on which the opinion of any pie is based. The filling may be of excellent quality, but if a tough crust is present the whole recipe will be a failure.

The filling must meet the same high standards as the crust if the pie is to be considered as a successful product. The filling should be thickened to just the right consistency, it should also be made from the best ingredients and flavoured or seasoned properly. The appearance of the filling is also important because sight comes before the bite and if a starchy, pasty, heavy filling is sighted the bite may never take place. The fillings for dessert pies are usually divided into four types: fruit filling, cream filling, chiffon filling and soft filling. There are other fillings used such as ice cream and nesselrode (type of fruit filling flavoured with rum); however, these pies are considered as specialty pies and are not included in the group that are known as the common pie

The classic dessert pies are apple pie and plum pie, but almost any type of fruit can be used, as well as pears, blackcurrants, redcurrants, blackberries, gooseberries and rhubarb. American specialties include some ingredients such as pecans, berries, custards, pumpkin, apple, etc. Also some other items are used in the preparation of pies. They can also be thickened by using tapioca, flour, cornstarch or arrowroot. The dessert pies are traditionally served garnished with custard or fresh cream.

The word "cake" by itself is used in France for several types of rich fruit cake. However, in Britian, the United states and Canada the word is used more generally and can include different kinds of gâteaux (sponge cahes, iced cakes, chocolate cakes, Christmas cakes, etc.).

The word "gâtwau" is derived from the Old French waste meaning "food". The first gâteaux were simply plain flat round cakes made with flour and water, but over the centuries these were enriched with honey, eggs, spices, butter, cream and milk. From the earliest times, a large number of French provinces have produced cakes for which they are noted. A number of foreign cakes are also well known in France (strudel, fruit cake, baklava, vatrushki, linzertorte, panettone, etc.).

Many cakes have a ceremonial or symbolic significance and can be oven ready in a short time. For all cakes use, high quality materials. Pay very close attention to the, measurements and proportions used, the temperature of the ingredients and the heat of the oven. Most recipes call for the ingredients to be at room temperature (70°F). Also pay attention to the physical state of the product you are working with during certain procedures as stirring, creaming and folding. The "proper look" of well-creamed butter and eggs, of batter ready for the oven and other critical stages in cake making you will learn to recongnize through practice and experience.

A simple but effective way to test cakes for doneness, is to insert a wire cake tester or a unused wooden toothpick into the center. If it emerges perfectly clean, the cake is done. It should be lightly browned and beginning to shrink from the sides of the pan. If pressed lightly with your finger the cake should spring back into shape at once, except with very rich and chocolate cakes, which mat dent slightly and still be done.

Pastry is made with flour, fat, salt and a binding agent. The French have the following varieties: pât brisée (shortcrust pastry, basic pie dough), pâte sablée and pâste sucrée (rich sweetened shortcrust pastries) and pâte feuillette (puff pastry). French shortcrust pastry is dry and light. Made quickly and set aside to rest before use, it is the classic base for tarts, pâtés en croûte, pies, etc. Pâte sablée, which is reserved for fine pâtisserie, is very crumbly and is used to make biscuits (cookies) or pastry bases that are to be kept for some time and filled or decorated at the last moment. Puff pastry, which is richer in fat than the other types, takes longer to make but can be prepared in advance. It uses are very varied, both in baking and pâtisserie.

All pastries are seasoned with a little salt to bring out the flavour. Wheat flour, which is the basis to most pastry, has gluten and starch, which ensure the cohesion of the finished product. The water or milk disperses the starch, dissolves the salt and sugar when present and enables the raising agent to work. (An effect similar to that of the raising agent is sometimes obtained by adding beer, especially when making pancakes or brioches) Fat gives the pastry its final texture, flaky or crumbly. Eggs facilitate the emulsification of the fat and also increase the richness, whipped egg whites makes it lighter and egg yolks color it golden brown after baking. Baking powder and flour are sieved together so that they are thoroughly mixed. Dried yeast must be dissolved first in water.