Pet de Soeur Pastries, AKA Nun's Farts

As far as pastries go, these win for having the least appetizing-sounding English translation. Pet de Soeurs, which literally mean "sister's, or nun's, farts," are cinnamon roll-resembling pastries that were originally created in French Canada. It's basically just flaky pie crust rolled up with a gooey paste of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

So, why a flatulence reference for such a delicious pastry? There are a few theories. One points to the noise that doughnuts make while being fried. Another explains that a nun farted in a kitchen causing another nun to crack up so hard, she dropped some pastry in hot oil and hey whaddyaknow, it tasted pretty good.

The photographed pastries are from Em Café in Montreal, some of the best in the city, but can be easily whipped up at home: just take some leftover pie crust dough, spread it with butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon, roll it up tight, slice into pinwheel rounds, and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes. "The farts are done!" Yeah, that should get people running into the kitchen.

Note: Pet de soeurs are also also commonly found throughout France and at European bakeries, but are a little different—deep-fried puffs kind of like beignets instead of these rolls.