Levure chimique is baking powder (a French sachet is 11 g), sucre vanillé is vanilla sugar (a 7.5 g sachet ≈ 1½ tsp sugar + ½ tsp vanilla), sucre en poudre is plain granulated sugar, and crème liquide entière is heavy cream. The table lists 30 French baking ingredients with the US product to buy.
| French | US equivalent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| levure chimique | baking powder | A French sachet is 11 g, about 2¾ teaspoons. French baking powder is single-acting; US double-acting works the same in cakes. |
| bicarbonate de soude | baking soda | |
| levure de boulanger (fraîche) | fresh yeast | Use a third of the weight in instant yeast: 21 g fresh = 7 g instant. |
| levure de boulanger sèche | active dry or instant yeast | Check the packet weight in the recipe; use the same weight of instant yeast. |
| sucre vanillé | vanilla sugar | A sachet is about 7.5 g. Replace with 1½ teaspoons sugar plus ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. |
| sucre en poudre / sucre semoule | granulated sugar | “Sucre en poudre” is granulated sugar, not powdered sugar. |
| sucre glace | powdered (confectioners’) sugar | |
| cassonade / sucre roux | light brown or turbinado sugar | French cassonade is drier than US brown sugar; turbinado (raw) sugar is the closer match for texture. |
| crème fraîche épaisse | crème fraîche (or sour cream) | Sour cream is tangier and can split when boiled; crème fraîche does not. |
| crème liquide entière (30-35%) | heavy cream (36%+) or whipping cream | Both whip. Do not use “crème légère” (12-15%) for whipping. |
| fromage blanc | fromage blanc, or Greek yogurt / blended cottage cheese | |
| beurre doux | unsalted butter | French recipes assume unsalted unless they say “demi-sel”. |
| beurre demi-sel | salted butter | Salted butter (about 0.5-3% salt). |
| farine de blé | all-purpose flour | See French flour types. |
| fécule de maïs / Maïzena | cornstarch | |
| fécule de pomme de terre | potato starch | |
| poudre d’amande | almond flour (blanched) | |
| chocolat pâtissier | baking chocolate, 50-60% cacao | Use a semisweet or bittersweet bar, not chips. |
| chocolat noir 70% | bittersweet chocolate, 70% | |
| cacao en poudre non sucré | unsweetened cocoa powder | French cocoa is usually Dutch-processed. |
| pâte à tartiner | chocolate-hazelnut spread | |
| œufs | eggs | French recipes usually assume medium eggs (53-63 g in the shell); US large eggs (about 57 g) are a good match. |
| lait entier | whole milk | |
| lait demi-écrémé | 2% (reduced-fat) milk | The default milk in France. |
| rhum brun | dark rum | |
| fleur d’oranger | orange flower water | |
| gélatine en feuilles | sheet (leaf) gelatin | 2 g sheets are standard in France. 1 sheet (2 g) ≈ ⅔ teaspoon powdered gelatin; check your brand. |
| pralin / praliné | praline paste (hazelnut or almond) | |
| pâte feuilletée | puff pastry | Choose all-butter (“pur beurre”) puff pastry. |
| pâte brisée | pie dough (shortcrust) |
Sachet weights are the common French retail sizes (baking powder 11 g, vanilla sugar 7.5 g); check the recipe if it names a brand. Weights per cup: grams to cups chart.
Questions people ask
What is levure chimique in English?
Baking powder. One French sachet is 11 g, about 2¾ teaspoons.
Is sucre en poudre powdered sugar?
No. Sucre en poudre is granulated sugar. Powdered sugar is sucre glace.
What can I use instead of crème fraîche?
Sour cream in cold uses and baking; heavy cream with a spoon of buttermilk left overnight to thicken if it will be boiled.
Cite this page: Mangez Moi, “French Baking Ingredients and Their US Equivalents,” mangezmoi.com, updated October 6, 2026, https://mangezmoi.com/french-baking-ingredients/. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit and a link.