Comparison and Contrast: Pastry

There are many kinds of pastry out in the world, from French croissants, to Italian panettone, to American "donuts." They all stem from the same basic ingredients; flour, sugar, eggs. Most baked goods are quite sweet, especially that of the American variety. These desserts, like "eclairs" and doughnuts are the descendants of real bakery goods from Europe. Pastries from Europe are really much more similar to each other than they are similar to North American pastries, but European pastries are still quite individual in their own respects.  For example, butter tarts and lemon tarts of the North American variety differ quite drastically from the flaky, savoury croissants from France, and the crunchy Italian biscotti.