The 2 Best Homemade Vegan French Desserts You'll Ever Have

Food is universally a noun symbolizing comfort. No matter your background or culture, food is what brings people together. In our household, some foods were a way for us kids to stay connected to our French roots. One of those foods was crêpes, one of my all-time favorite French desserts.

I remember my Grandmother visiting us one year and I volunteered to be her little helper, stirring the batter while she heated the stove. I adored my Grandma and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. And let me tell you, there's nothing better than Grandma's homemade crêpes!

The recipes featured in this article are very special to me as they hold memories with both my mother and grandmother. I hope you will enjoy them.

 Mom's Tarte Au Riz Recipe

When we visited my Grandma to celebrate both of our birthdays in fall 2019, she bought this scrumptious pie dish that had rice filling. I remember getting a very quick but fleeting memory of eating something with a similar taste, only to be told later that my mom used to make it for us when we were young.

Now I don't have any memory of this but apparently, none of us liked it so she stopped making it. As a grown-up, I'm mad at my younger self for passing up such deliciousness!

The dish is called Tarte Au Riz or Rice Pudding Pie in English. The literal meaning is "rice pie with milk." It is one of the best comfort dessert foods you will ever have, along with the homemade crêpes! 

We make both the traditional riz au lait and the Tarte au riz. Both versions are delicious but the pie version is my absolute favorite. I can literally sit at the table and eat it by myself, and almost did when I visited my Grandma!

Though my family is French, and most of them are still living in France, my mother was raised in Belgium. While doing some research, I found that the Tarte au riz is part of Belgian cuisine while the riz au lait seems to be more French cuisine. So you can say, I had the best of both worlds!

One thing to know about both my mother and Grandmère is that they do everything from memory, so getting written instructions can be quite difficult. In particular, this recipe is a mashup from my mother's memory and a recipe she found online, and unfortunately can't remember where. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 Gallon of milk - Use almond milk for more sweetness or coconut milk for more richness.
• 3/4 cup of Uncooked Rice (medium or short grain)
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/3 - 2/3 cup of Sugar
• A little bit of vanilla

Preparation

1. Rinse rice at least twice before putting it in a pot. Cook the rice in milk with salt on medium heat. Keep stirring so the milk doesn't stick to the bottom.

2. Add sugar and cook all together.

3. Place the mixture in a baking dish, then bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. 

4. Take the baking dish out, add a little vanilla, and then it's ready to eat.

5. To make it look extra pretty, sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top of the pie.

Note: You can choose to use an already made pie crust or make your own. Just remember you want a shortcrust pastry or pâte brisée.

Grandmère's Crêpe Recipe

Crêpes. What can I say about crêpes that haven't been said to death? If you've never had homemade ones, please stop what you're doing and raid your fridge and pantry for the ingredients. Because this dessert is all you're gonna want from now on. It's a pretty basic recipe; just eggs, milk, and flour to make the batter. However, today I'll be making the eggless version so it'll be vegan-friendly.

I can debate savory versus sweet crêpes all night long but you won't win! Not only do I prefer the dessert crêpes, but I also prefer putting simple filling as well. I'll either eat it plain, with jelly spread over, or with strawberry filling. But you can also add Nutella, chocolate, fruits, honey, or even whipped cream.

Every memory I have of cooking crêpes always involved my Grandmère at the stove while I assisted her. We ate crêpes for breakfast and sometimes as a midday snack. I don't have many memories when it comes to my extended family as they all live in different places, but those few times together were always remembered with fondness. 

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 or 1 2/3 cup of all-purpose or wholewheat flour
• 1 gallon of Milk - Soy or Oat Milk will do. Almond milk might make the batter too watery.
• Stick of Vegan Butter - You can use vegan butter or replace it with coconut or olive oil.
• Crêpe pan, regular, or Cast Iron Pan
• Sugar
• Salt (optional)

Preparation

1. In a bowl mix the flour and milk together, whisking it slowly so no lumps will remain. Make sure to pour milk slowly into the until the batter becomes thin. You won't be using the whole gallon of milk, stop once it has the thinnest consistency.

2. Heat the pan making sure to get it nice and hot so the butter or oil will melt evenly when poured.

3. Then grease the pan with butter or oil. (My Grandmère would usually take a napkin to grab a glob of butter and then grease the pan)

4. Next step is to pour the batter into the pan, make sure that it's a thin batter. Quickly spread the batter in the pan as you don't want it spread evenly.

5. Let the batter cook, you'll know to flip it over once it starts making a lot of bubbles.

6. Once the crêpe is fully cooked, transfer it to a plate, sprinkle some sugar in the middle then fold it into a triangle shape.

7. Repeat until all the batter is cooked. And voilà you have yummy crêpes to eat!

Note: The amount of flour you'll use is all dependent on what type of flour and the consistency of the batter. I would start with a smaller amount and add accordingly.

Making these traditional desserts was a way for me to feel connected to my non-American roots, and get a glimpse into my mother's childhood growing up in Belgium.

Growing up, I didn't take advantage of learning these recipes. It wasn't until adulthood that I realized how important it is to uphold traditions passed down from your elders. Whether I intend on having children in the future, I want to always keep these recipes in my heart.