Baking Ingredients
French baking ingredients are the small packets that make home pâtisserie work: raising agents, vanilla sugar, gelatine, cooking chocolate, ground almonds and decorations. Epicerie Corner gathers them from Vahiné, Alsa, Nestlé Dessert, Lindt, Poulain, Bio Village and more, so you can follow a French recipe to the letter, with delivery across the UK.
Why Use French Baking Ingredients?
French recipes are written around French products. A recipe that asks for un sachet de levure chimique or un sachet de sucre vanillé assumes a standard sachet of a known size, and one for a chocolate fondant usually means a 200g bar of chocolat pâtissier. British equivalents exist, but quantities, strengths and textures are not always the same, which is why many French bakers in the UK prefer the original packets.
The French supermarket baking aisle is also organised by function rather than by brand: raising agents, setting agents, chocolate, flavourings, nuts and dried fruit, toppings and decorations. This guide follows the same order, so you can find what a recipe needs and understand what each ingredient does.
Types of Baking Ingredients in Our Range
Raising Agents: Levure Chimique and Levure de Boulanger
Levure chimique, often translated as "chemical yeast", is baking powder: a mix of bicarbonate, an acid and starch that releases gas when wet and heated. It comes in 11g sachets from Vahiné and Alsa, in organic versions from Vahiné and Bio Village, and from Tablier Blanc. Levure de boulanger is baker's yeast, a living organism for bread and brioche, sold dried by Vahiné, Alsa Briochin and Tablier Blanc.
Setting Agents
For mousses, bavarois and charlottes there are gelatine sheets from Vahiné (including an organic version) and Tablier Blanc, and Vahiné powdered gelatine; the Tablier Blanc sheets are of pork origin. Vahiné Agar-agar is a plant-based gelling agent, Alsa Vitpris helps home-made jam set, and Vahiné Chantifix keeps whipped cream firm.
Cooking Chocolate and Chocolate Chips
Chocolat pâtissier is chocolate designed to melt smoothly into cakes, ganaches and mousses. Choose from the Nestlé Dessert range (dark, Noir Absolu, milk, white, caramel and praliné), Lindt Dessert in 51% and 70% cocoa, Poulain Pralinoise, Menier, a white chocolate baking bar and organic dark chocolate from Bio Village. For cookies and muffins there are Vahiné pépites (chips) in dark, milk and organic versions, plus chunks.
Vanilla, Sugars and Flavourings
Vanilla comes in every form: whole Madagascar vanilla pods, vanilla powder, natural Bourbon vanilla flavouring and vanilla sugar sachets from Vahiné, Alsa and Bio Village. Vahiné also offers bitter almond and lemon flavourings and orange blossom water, used in brioches and crêpes. Sugars include Daddy icing sugar in a shaker and Alter Eco organic muscovado.
Nuts, Coconut and Dried Fruit
Ground almonds, the base of financiers, macarons and frangipane, come from Vahiné and Couleurs Vives, alongside ground hazelnuts, slivered and whole almonds, walnut kernels, pine nuts, desiccated coconut, crushed praline, candied fruit and dried cranberries.
Toppings, Decorations and Dessert Helpers
Vahiné nappages (dessert sauces) come in caramel, chocolate, red fruits and mango-passion fruit. To decorate, there is sugar paste, almond paste, food colours, multicoloured pearls, meringue decorations and birthday candles. Nestlé sweetened condensed milk, Imperial pudding powders and Croustipate pain au chocolat dough round off the range. For complete cake mixes, see Preparation Kits for Cakes and Dessert.
How to Choose Baking Ingredients
- Read the recipe's French term: levure chimique means baking powder and levure de boulanger means yeast; they are not interchangeable.
- Cocoa percentage: around 50% gives a rounder, sweeter chocolate cake, while 70% gives a more intense, less sweet result.
- Vanillé or vanilliné: sucre vanillé is flavoured with natural vanilla, while sucre vanilliné uses vanillin flavouring; check the name on the sachet.
- Animal or plant gelling agent: gelatine is made from animal collagen, while agar-agar comes from seaweed and suits vegetarian desserts.
- Organic: Vahiné and Bio Village offer organic raising agents, vanilla, nuts and chocolate.
Baking the French Way at Home
A few French classics use only ingredients from this collection plus flour, eggs, butter and sugar. A gâteau au yaourt needs one sachet of baking powder and one of vanilla sugar. A chocolate fondant uses a 200g bar of dessert chocolate such as Nestlé Dessert Noir. A bavarois or charlotte is set with a few gelatine sheets, soaked in cold water and dissolved in warm cream. Melt chocolate gently, over a bain-marie or in short bursts in the microwave, and never let water get into it. Store opened sachets and nuts in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. For flour and yeast, browse Flour and Yeast, and for the full brand range see Vahiné.
Baking Ingredients FAQs
What is levure chimique in English?
Levure chimique is baking powder. Despite the name, which translates literally as "chemical yeast", it contains no yeast: it is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, an acid and starch that releases carbon dioxide once wet and heated, so cakes rise in the oven without proving. A standard French sachet weighs around 11g, which is what most French cake recipes mean by "un sachet".
Can I use agar-agar instead of gelatine?
Yes, but not weight for weight. Agar-agar sets much more strongly than gelatine, so you need far less, and it has to be brought to the boil and simmered for a minute or two to activate. It also sets at room temperature and gives a firmer texture. Follow the dosage on the pack and test a small batch first, especially with acidic fruit.
What is the difference between dessert chocolate and eating chocolate?
Dessert chocolate (chocolat pâtissier) is formulated to melt smoothly and blend into batters, mousses and ganaches, and it is sold in larger bars sized for recipes. Eating chocolate is designed for snacking and can melt less evenly in some recipes. You can bake with either, but dessert chocolate makes results more consistent.
How much vanilla sugar is in a sachet?
French vanilla sugar sachets usually hold 7.5g, and most recipes call for one or two sachets. In our range, Vahiné, Alsa and Bio Village all sell 7.5g sachets. If you are using vanilla extract instead, a few drops of concentrated flavouring is usually enough; check the dosage on the bottle.
Baking Ingredients
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More About Baking Ingredients
French baking ingredients are the small packets that make home pâtisserie work: raising agents, vanilla sugar, gelatine, cooking chocolate, ground almonds and decorations. Epicerie Corner gathers them from Vahiné, Alsa, Nestlé Dessert, Lindt, Poulain, Bio Village and more, so you can follow a French recipe to the letter, with delivery across the UK.
Why Use French Baking Ingredients?
French recipes are written around French products. A recipe that asks for un sachet de levure chimique or un sachet de sucre vanillé assumes a standard sachet of a known size, and one for a chocolate fondant usually means a 200g bar of chocolat pâtissier. British equivalents exist, but quantities, strengths and textures are not always the same, which is why many French bakers in the UK prefer the original packets.
The French supermarket baking aisle is also organised by function rather than by brand: raising agents, setting agents, chocolate, flavourings, nuts and dried fruit, toppings and decorations. This guide follows the same order, so you can find what a recipe needs and understand what each ingredient does.
Types of Baking Ingredients in Our Range
Raising Agents: Levure Chimique and Levure de Boulanger
Levure chimique, often translated as "chemical yeast", is baking powder: a mix of bicarbonate, an acid and starch that releases gas when wet and heated. It comes in 11g sachets from Vahiné and Alsa, in organic versions from Vahiné and Bio Village, and from Tablier Blanc. Levure de boulanger is baker's yeast, a living organism for bread and brioche, sold dried by Vahiné, Alsa Briochin and Tablier Blanc.
Setting Agents
For mousses, bavarois and charlottes there are gelatine sheets from Vahiné (including an organic version) and Tablier Blanc, and Vahiné powdered gelatine; the Tablier Blanc sheets are of pork origin. Vahiné Agar-agar is a plant-based gelling agent, Alsa Vitpris helps home-made jam set, and Vahiné Chantifix keeps whipped cream firm.
Cooking Chocolate and Chocolate Chips
Chocolat pâtissier is chocolate designed to melt smoothly into cakes, ganaches and mousses. Choose from the Nestlé Dessert range (dark, Noir Absolu, milk, white, caramel and praliné), Lindt Dessert in 51% and 70% cocoa, Poulain Pralinoise, Menier, a white chocolate baking bar and organic dark chocolate from Bio Village. For cookies and muffins there are Vahiné pépites (chips) in dark, milk and organic versions, plus chunks.
Vanilla, Sugars and Flavourings
Vanilla comes in every form: whole Madagascar vanilla pods, vanilla powder, natural Bourbon vanilla flavouring and vanilla sugar sachets from Vahiné, Alsa and Bio Village. Vahiné also offers bitter almond and lemon flavourings and orange blossom water, used in brioches and crêpes. Sugars include Daddy icing sugar in a shaker and Alter Eco organic muscovado.
Nuts, Coconut and Dried Fruit
Ground almonds, the base of financiers, macarons and frangipane, come from Vahiné and Couleurs Vives, alongside ground hazelnuts, slivered and whole almonds, walnut kernels, pine nuts, desiccated coconut, crushed praline, candied fruit and dried cranberries.
Toppings, Decorations and Dessert Helpers
Vahiné nappages (dessert sauces) come in caramel, chocolate, red fruits and mango-passion fruit. To decorate, there is sugar paste, almond paste, food colours, multicoloured pearls, meringue decorations and birthday candles. Nestlé sweetened condensed milk, Imperial pudding powders and Croustipate pain au chocolat dough round off the range. For complete cake mixes, see Preparation Kits for Cakes and Dessert.
How to Choose Baking Ingredients
- Read the recipe's French term: levure chimique means baking powder and levure de boulanger means yeast; they are not interchangeable.
- Cocoa percentage: around 50% gives a rounder, sweeter chocolate cake, while 70% gives a more intense, less sweet result.
- Vanillé or vanilliné: sucre vanillé is flavoured with natural vanilla, while sucre vanilliné uses vanillin flavouring; check the name on the sachet.
- Animal or plant gelling agent: gelatine is made from animal collagen, while agar-agar comes from seaweed and suits vegetarian desserts.
- Organic: Vahiné and Bio Village offer organic raising agents, vanilla, nuts and chocolate.
Baking the French Way at Home
A few French classics use only ingredients from this collection plus flour, eggs, butter and sugar. A gâteau au yaourt needs one sachet of baking powder and one of vanilla sugar. A chocolate fondant uses a 200g bar of dessert chocolate such as Nestlé Dessert Noir. A bavarois or charlotte is set with a few gelatine sheets, soaked in cold water and dissolved in warm cream. Melt chocolate gently, over a bain-marie or in short bursts in the microwave, and never let water get into it. Store opened sachets and nuts in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. For flour and yeast, browse Flour and Yeast, and for the full brand range see Vahiné.
Baking Ingredients FAQs
What is levure chimique in English?
Levure chimique is baking powder. Despite the name, which translates literally as "chemical yeast", it contains no yeast: it is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, an acid and starch that releases carbon dioxide once wet and heated, so cakes rise in the oven without proving. A standard French sachet weighs around 11g, which is what most French cake recipes mean by "un sachet".
Can I use agar-agar instead of gelatine?
Yes, but not weight for weight. Agar-agar sets much more strongly than gelatine, so you need far less, and it has to be brought to the boil and simmered for a minute or two to activate. It also sets at room temperature and gives a firmer texture. Follow the dosage on the pack and test a small batch first, especially with acidic fruit.
What is the difference between dessert chocolate and eating chocolate?
Dessert chocolate (chocolat pâtissier) is formulated to melt smoothly and blend into batters, mousses and ganaches, and it is sold in larger bars sized for recipes. Eating chocolate is designed for snacking and can melt less evenly in some recipes. You can bake with either, but dessert chocolate makes results more consistent.
How much vanilla sugar is in a sachet?
French vanilla sugar sachets usually hold 7.5g, and most recipes call for one or two sachets. In our range, Vahiné, Alsa and Bio Village all sell 7.5g sachets. If you are using vanilla extract instead, a few drops of concentrated flavouring is usually enough; check the dosage on the bottle.