Pâte

The pastries of France are many. They are used as serving dishes for nonsweet foods and as the base of sweet desserts.

Pâte Feuilletée, the puff pastry that makes Napoleons, is likewise essential to a vol-au-vent, or crust casserole, used to contain such elegant foods as sweetbreads and truffled sole. Feuilletée dough also makes tart shells, cakes, and cookies.

Pâte Brisée is used as a wrap for ham and beef fillets. It also makes timbales, a type of crust casserole in which sauced foods are presented. When sugar is added to the Brisée dough it becomes Pâte Sucrée. In this sweetened form it is used for tart and pie shells as well as for cookies.