Explore our ultimate guide to expat baking in France, with a detailed breakdown of French vs American baking ingredients from a French-trained American pastry chef.

When I first moved to France from the United States, I was a pastry student at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and while everything was provided for baking at school, in the grocery stores, I was pretty lost! The cocoa powder was in the drink section and the baking soda in the cleaning aisle? It was a bit of a transition! 

Not only are the units of measurement different (cups and tablespoons in America vs grams in French recipes), but many of the ingredients vary too. Throw in a language barrier, and even baking classic chocolate chip cookies can feel complicated.

That’s why I put together this ultimate guide to expat baking in France. Whether you’re visiting and want to try baking with French ingredients, or you’re moving to France and need to adjust to the French style of baking (without packing all your favorite American ingredients!), this post is packed with all the information you need to make your favorite treats (and, of course, try some new ones).

Understanding French vs. American Baking

Before we dive into ingredients and conversions, let’s zoom out and talk about the cultural aspect of baking in France vs. the US. Here’s what you can expect when you start baking like a local.

Differing Sweetness Levels

One of the biggest differences between American vs French desserts? French treats are not that sweet. French pastries are all about balance, so sweetness is paired with other complex flavors like browned butter, toasted nuts, or tart fruits.

Units of Measurement

French baking is all about precision. You’ll almost never see a recipe that says “a heaping cup” or “a pinch” of anything. Everything is weighed to the gram (the equivalent of the weight of a paper clip!).. American recipes, on the other hand, are typically written with volume measurements (cups, teaspoons, etc) and may allow for a bit more wiggle room.

Ingredients and Equipment

French baking recipes also work with a different pantry and toolkit than American ones. The baking pans are different (if they even call for an exact one in the recipe!). And of course the ingredients are different, as they are in all countries. I remember it being nearly impossible to find brown sugar in the regular grocery store when I first moved here! 

It might take a little getting used to, but expat baking in France is truly a joy! Learn more about the most common ingredient differences in French vs American baking below and get prepared to make both American and French treats in your new home (or home away from home).

Essential French vs American Baking Ingredients

Get to know the French versions of common baking ingredients and you’ll feel more prepared for expat baking in France. After all, even just knowing the names of ingredients in French can be helpful when navigating the grocery store!

French vs American Flour

The biggest difference between French flour vs American flour is that French flour is typically classified by its ash content. Ash content refers to the weight of the ash left after burning the flour at high temperatures. In the United States, on the other hand, flour is usually categorized more generally based on its uses (such as all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and cake flour).

French flour also has less gluten than American flour, which can make pastries baked with this flour lighter and easier to digest, and can also impact the texture of the pastries.

When buying flour, take a look at the bag for the following ash count classifications (T45, etc). The lower the number, the finer the flour! The higher the number, the more protein and the sturdier the flour.

French vs American Flour Equivalents

• T45 = Cake/Pastry Flour: This is a fine, white flour with a low ash content. In France, it is the most commonly used flour and the easiest to find in stores.
• T55 = All-Purpose Flour: This is similar to all-purpose flour in the U.S. It has a slightly higher ash content than T45. 
• T65 = Bread Flour: This flour has a higher ash content and therefore a higher protein content than all-purpose flour.
• T80, T110, T150 = Whole Grain Flour: These flours have increasingly higher ash contents and contain more whole grain. T150, for instance, is a whole wheat flour. 

I most often use T45 when making pastries (like tart crust and cakes), and T55 when making things like cookies, pie crust, and pate a choux.

Learn more about the differences between French vs American flour in our full guide.

French vs American Sugar

Finding the right type of sugar as an expat in France can be challenging. Not only are the names different (and deceiving!!) they can look and work quite differently, too. Here are the most important differences between sugar in France and the United States.

Granulated Sugar (U.S.) vs. Sucre en Poudre (France)

In the United States, granulated sugar is fine, dry, and dissolves easily into batters and doughs. It is by far the most common sweetener in most baking recipes. 

In France, the closest equivalent is sucre en poudre, (not to be confused with powdered sugar!!) but it’s slightly coarser. It doesn’t melt quite the same way, which can throw off recipes that depend on a smooth texture (like meringues).

For best results, look for sucre semoule if you can find it. This sugar is closer in texture to American granulated sugar. I’ve honestly found though that sucre en poudre is a great substitute for granulated sugar in the US and works in just about all recipes. If you need a more fine version – you’ll sometimes see versions noted as “fine”.

Brown Sugar in France

Brown sugar is a common American baking staple. In France, you used to only find it in Health food shops like Naturalia or BioCoop, but now you can find it in most larger supermarkets like Monoprix. 

Here’s what you’re looking for:

• Cassonade Sugar: This is a light golden raw sugar with large crystals and a slight molasses taste. It’s not moist, however, so it won’t provide the same texture as American brown sugar. This is a great substitute for raw or turbinado sugar.

• Vergeoise Sugar: This type of sugar is more common in northern France. It comes in blonde (light) and brune (dark) versions, and it’s soft and moist, making it a great stand-in for American brown sugar. 
• Muscovado Sugar: If you find it and need a dark brown sugar, this is the ULTIMATE brown sugar in my eyes. It’s rich, full of flavor, and absolutely delicious!! Essentially when they make white sugar, they remove all the molasses from the sugar and then slowly add it back in to make brown sugars. For Muscovado, they left all that molasses goodness in!!

Powdered Sugar vs Sucre Glace

Powdered sugar in France is called sucre glace. It’s usually interchangeable with American powdered sugar, but always sift it – some brands clump more than what you’re used to.

French vs American Butter

Butter in France can be very different from the average butter in an American grocery store. And I like to think it’s different in a good way! (I love French butter so much, in fact, that I wrote an article about it for Taste France Magazine).

European-style butter typically has a fat content of at least 82%, which is higher than most American butter, which comes in at 80%. French butter also usually has a lower water content, which makes it easier to work with when cold and less likely to melt quickly when mixed into dough. This is part of why French butter is a much better choice for delicate pastries like croissants and pie crusts.

Unlike most American butter, French butter is also commonly made with cultured cream, which gives it a stronger, more complex flavor. 

French vs American Leavening Agents

Baking powder (levure chimique) and baking soda (bicarbonate de soude alimentaire) are both easy to find in France. Baking powder is typically sold in pink sachets, not in a can and baking soda may be found in the cleaning aisle or the pharmacy.

Yeast is also another easy-to-find ingredient in France, although it’s important to know the names of the different types so you get the one you need. Levure du boulanger is active-dry yeast and can be found in the baking aisle of any French supermarket. If you want instant yeast, look for levure instantanée. 

One of the best options for yeast in France, however, is fresh yeast – levure boulanger fraîche. This type of yeast is common in France and provides a great flavor to breads and other baked goods. 

French vs American Cream

Cream is one of those sneaky ingredients that seems simple – until you try to make whipped cream in France and fail. This really hit me when I moved here!! Cream was so easy to whip up in the States but in France, the land of butter!, it was near impossible!

In the U.S., you’re probably used to grabbing a carton of heavy cream or whipping cream and calling it a day. In France, though, the dairy aisle is a little more complicated.

This is probably what you’re used to seeing in your American grocery store:

• Heavy cream: ~36–38% fat, whips beautifully, stable in sauces.
• Whipping cream: ~30–35% fat, still whips but not quite as thick.
• Half-and-half: ~10–12% fat, used for coffee or creamy soups.
• Sour cream: Tangy, thickened cream, used in baking or dolloped onto everything.

The types of cream in France are a little different:

• Crème liquide entière: This and crème fleurette are my go-to for most recipes calling for heavy cream. Make sure the cream has at least 30% fat or it won’t whip. Anything labeled légère (light) only has 15% fat and won’t work.
  
• Crème fleurette: A slightly sweet, unfermented cream that whips beautifully. This is often used in pâtisserie.
  
• Crème épaisse: This is a thick, spoonable cultured cream (kind of like a mix between sour cream and crème fraîche). This works great in sauces, but it won’t whip.
  
• Crème fraîche: This is fermented cream with a tangy flavor and usually around 30% fat. It can be used for baking, dolloping, or mixing into quiche, but it’s not a direct replacement for sour cream or heavy cream.

Bonus Tips for Buying Cream in France

• Not all crème liquide is created equal, so make sure to double-check the fat content. You’ll see it noted as MG (mat grasse, ie. fat percentage) then 30% or 15% on just about all packages..
• Many creams in France are UHT (ultra-pasteurized) and shelf-stable until opened. This is normal! But if you’re whipping cream, make sure to chill it well before beating, at least several hours or even better overnight.
  
• French cream often has fewer stabilizers, so it might behave a little differently in ganache or fillings than American heavy cream. It’s not a bad thing – just different.
• Sometimes you’ll see a star grading system on the side of the package saying what the cream can be used for. 
• My best recommendation for whipping cream is to buy the professional grade whipping cream, which is closer to the fat percentages you’ll find in the US at 35%. You’ll often find this at fromageries (cheese shops!). 

BONUS TIP: Elle & Vire sells a crème a fouetter (whipping cream) that has mascarpone in it. It whips up great! Or use my trick and recreate this at home by adding a big spoonful of cream cheese, mascarpone, or even crème fraiche or crème épaisse to your cream to increase the fat content and help it more easily whip up and stay more stable!

French vs American Cream Cheese

Cream cheese is a popular ingredient for baking in the United States (think cream cheese swirled brownies and cream cheese frosting), but you’ll quickly find out that it’s not quite the same in France. You will find the brand Philadelphia, but just like the cream, it has less fat content in it and while it will work for things like cheesecake, it won’t thicken up in a cream cheese frosting. 

Something that is often recommended as a replacement is Saint Moret. I personally haven’t used it as I have been able to get my hands on Philadelphia, but it should work! It’s known to be more subtle in flavor than Philadelphia cream cheese. 

Another fun substitute is using fresh goat cheese. My carrot cake with goat cheese frosting is a great example of this. Goat cheese gives baked goods a stronger, tangier flavor but can also be a bit more crumbly than cream cheese, so I recommend adding a bit of cream along with it.

French vs American Baking Chocolate

France is home to some really delicious chocolate! Honestly, you are going to love it!!

For starters, traditional American chocolate chips are hard to come by. You might find pépites de chocolat in some grocery stores, but they’re often smaller, more irregular, and less melty. Instead, do what I and French bakers do! Use chopped bars of chocolate in your cookies and other baked goods. While this is a little bit more work upfront, you get to have fun choosing which chocolate you want to use from the massive wall of chocolate bars at the supermarket and the variety of pieces in the cookies are SO good. 

Unsweetened Chocolate in France

In the U.S., it’s common to find baker’s chocolate in grocery stores, which is unsweetened and contains 100% cocoa solids. In France, however, this is harder to find. Most dark chocolate is about 70% cocoa solids, so if your recipe calls for unsweetened chocolate, the easiest is to use the darkest you can find and reduce the overall sugar content a touch.

Cocoa Powder in France

French grocery stores typically stock Dutch-processed cocoa (cacao en poudre), which is darker and has a richer flavor than the cocoa powder found in most American grocery stores. Psst – you’ll more often find this in the tea and coffee area, not the baking section! Make sure it is unsweetened – aka non sucre. The most popular brand is Van Houten. If you can find it, Valrhona, while expensive, is so worth it!

French vs American Vanilla Extract

Vanilla is a very popular ingredient in American baking but in French baking it’s only used when the main ingredient is vanilla and even then, the preference is to use a whole vanilla bean instead of extract. 

It’s not difficult to find vanilla extract in French supermarkets, but they really aren’t the best! The jars are tiny and usually it’s not “real” vanilla and has a lot of sugar in it. This might be one of those ingredients that if you’re dying to have it, you bring back from the US. We LOVE Vain Vanilla for this.

You’ll likely also see some other vanilla options, including sucre vanillé (vanilla sugar), which can work very well in cookies. You might even find vanilla powder (ground-up vanilla beans). I love using this as a great economical option instead of vanilla beans for things like custards or creams. I use ¼ of what is called for in the recipe. 

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use the vanilla beans to make your own extract with my recipe.

Other Common Pantry Differences

Here’s a breakdown of a few more baking basics that are different in France:

Cornstarch

This one’s easy: it exists! Just under a different name: fécule de maïs. Look for Maïzena, the most common brand, in the baking or flour section.

Corn Syrup

This is not a thing in France. You might find glucose syrup at a specialty store, but otherwise, your best substitutes are:

• Golden syrup
  
• Honey
  
• Maple syrup
  

These alternatives are not great for making American-style marshmallows, but I do love a pecan pie made with maple syrup! It might be one of those ingredients to bring from home (or get it shipped) if you think you’ll need it.

Canned Pumpkin

It may be a staple around Thanksgiving in the U.S., but it’s almost unheard of in France. Sweet things made with pumpkin are a sure way to surprise and confuse Frenchies! 😀 If you’re craving pumpkin pie, you’ll need to roast and purée your own. Or hoard a few cans of Libby’s in your suitcase every fall.

I have been able to find it at American food shops in Paris in the fall and online at My American Shop, the Bon Marche, or the grocery delivery services La Belle Vie (in Paris and surrounding areas. Oh psst – on La Belle Vie you can find fresh jalapenos and good corn tortillas – I linked my code too, so you can get 10€ off your first purchase. Love them!

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is pretty easy to find in France now, but don’t expect to find a full shelf of options like in the U.S. You’ll usually find one or two small jars, and they tend to be natural-style with less sugar.

Marshmallows

French grocery stores do carry marshmallows (guimauves), but they’re often fruit-flavored, pastel-colored, and meant for snacking, not baking or s’mores.

Molasses

This is extremely rare in French grocery stores. You’ll need to bring your own or get it shipped if you’re planning on making gingerbread cookies as an expat baking in France.

French Baking Staples to Embrace

While the differences between French vs American baking ingredients may be long, there’s lots of love in the world of expat baking in France! Here are some of my favorite ingredients to keep stocked in my pastry atelier:

• Beurre demi-sel: Lightly salted French butter that is creamier, richer, and often used in pastries, cookies, and caramels for an extra flavor boost.
• Pâte feuilletée: Ready-made puff pastry that’s miles flakier than most U.S. versions. A lifesaver for quick tarts, turnovers, and millefeuille. This brand is FANTASTIC.
• Poudre d’amandes: Finely ground almonds used in everything from macarons to frangipane. Adds moisture, richness, and is a classic French flavor in baked goods.
• Noisettes (Hazelnuts): A French pantry favorite, often toasted and chopped for texture in cookies or ground into nut flour for cakes and tarts.
• Fleur de sel: Hand-harvested sea salt with delicate crystals – sprinkle it on cookies, caramels, or ganache for that perfect salty-sweet finish.
• Purée de Pistache: Pistachio paste is delicious to add to cakes, cookies, or even toast.

Prepare for Expat Baking in France

Study this guide to feel more confident when shopping in French grocery stores for your favorite baking products. And if you need more help with French baking, one of the best things to do is to learn from a local! 

Join a French baking Facebook group or find a course online or in person. I love to host expats and visitors in my pastry atelier for Versailles pastry classes! And my French Pastry for Beginners online program is a fantastic way to learn French baking wherever you are in the world.