Bonjour Les Pates aux Choux, watercolor, 9" x 11" 
Who isn't captivated by the sheer beauty of French pastry?
But it's what's inside that really counts.
Are you persuaded by just a pretty face?
Any patissiere worth his pates aux choux is very much obsessed by what's inside. Top Parisien patissiere, Carl Marletti shows a luscious cross-section of a religieuse and shares the ingredients in quite an innovative way. Do visit.
The innards of a macaron from Patisserie des Reves' chef Pierre Conticini's cookbook, Sensations. Who knew what mysteries lurked within?
A page from a guide to Pierre Herme's L'Ecole Ferrandi. Herme mentions many times that he'd like to be an architect - but he is, isn't he?
A cross section of a piece of cake at Des Gateaux et du Pain. 
In my mad pursuit to paint French pastry I nearly fell over in a faint when I discovered this FAB book, called I think, Encyclopedia of pastry dough - 100 kinds of pastry dough and petit gateau (旭屋出版MOOK) Essential reading for professionals and pastry artists. 
If only I knew a bit more Japanese besides 'Arigato'/thank you.
Wouldn't it be lovely to know the French names of all these yummy ingredients. Any volunteer translators out there? 
Second best to knowing what's inside... 
Would be a proper knife to cleanly cut through the pastries. A PBer mentioned Kyocera ceramic knives are the best and I'm getting one today. It's Japanese.
Yellow Bird tells me if I had a proper knife I wouldn't make such an awful mess. Hmmm...(makes a French shrug)
c'est la vie
BONJOUR Inner Life of Pastry!