If you are interested in French cooking or if you are traveling in France, you may find yourself confused by the proliferation of crmes in French desserts. You will find crme anglaise, crme patissire, crme brul, crme frangipane, and crme fraiche to name just a few.

Here's a short list to help you tell those different crmes apart so so that you will know what you are getting when you order dessert.

Crme anglaise - This translates literally as English cream. It is made by heating milk, adding it to beaten eggs, and than reheating the whole mixture until it thickens. It is frequently flavored with vanilla although other flavorings are possible. The result is a a fairly liquid dessert cream that is served cold, usually as an accompaniment to other things. A classic use of crme anglaise is in the confection of Ile Flottante (Floating Island) where you'll find islands of meringue floating on crme anglaise.

Crme Brul - Arguably the most delicious of all French desserts, crme brul is a symphony of contrasts. The cold, smooth, sweet crme, which is similar to a custard, sits under a crackling, hot, almost bitter caramelized topping.

Crme Caramel - The crme portion of this desert is very similar to a crme brul. Here, however, the caramel is cold and liquid. If the caramel is on top of the custard, it is also known as a crme renverse.

Crme Patissire - This translates as pastry cream. You will find it used in all sorts of fashions in French desserts: as a layer in a cake, on the bottom of a fruit tart, or as the filling in puff pastry. Crme patissire is made in a fashion similar to crme anglaise, but flour or corn starch is added to the crme, so the result is considerably stiffer. This is basically what we call custard in English.

Creme d'Amandes - This is made from butter, powdered almonds, sugar, eggs and flour. It can be flavored with rum. It is used as a filling in various French desserts, notably a Pithiviers, which is a puff pastry pie.

Crme Frangipane - This is a mixture of crme d'amandes and crme patissire. It is used to fill various cakes and tarts, most famously the Galette des Rois, which is a cake eaten on and around Epiphany in France. Note the distinction between a pithiviers and a galette des rois.

Crme Fraiche - This is considerably different from the other crmes I have mentioned, as it is a specific milk product used as an ingredient in many French desserts as well as other French recipes. Crme fraiche is obtained by skimming off the cream that naturally forms on the top of milk. It has a wonderful feel in the mouth and a taste that you might describe as nutty.

Crme Glac - You know this as ice cream. The French make the distinction between glace, which is ice cream made from milk, and crme glac which is ice cream made from cream.

Ready for dessert? I know I am! You can find simple French dessert recipes on my website if you want to get started.