Canele (Canelé de Bordeaux)

The first recipe this year in 2023 is Canelé de Bordeaux. If you’ve never had the French pastry canele (a specialty of the Bordeaux region of France), this is your sign to start looking into it! The dark, almost black crispy caramelized shell with a soft and chewy custard inside is a perfect dessert. I’m afraid to say I like it better than my all-time favorite macarons. Much like macarons, canele requires very few ingredients so the trick is to follow the recipe closely. I’ve tried to simplify this otherwise slightly complicated recipe with usually multiple steps, so as to make it less intimidating. Do try it and let me know if you like it. They really taste as wonderful as they look! @sarchakra

PREP TIME: 15 mins plus resting overnight up to 48 hours

COOK TIME: 60 mins

YIELDS: Makes 18

Ingredients

Milk (cold) 500 ml
Cane sugar 250g
All purpose flour 100 g
Vanilla extract 2 tsp
Rum extract 2 tsp
Unsalted butter 50 g, melted
Eggs 2
Egg yolks 2
Butter to grease the Canele molds generously

Method

In a large bowl whisk cane sugar, eggs and egg yolks.
Add the melted butter. Whisk till combined.
In a pan add the milk and bring to a gentle simmer.
Add half of the milk into the mixture in the bowl. To this, add the flour. Mix till combined.
Add the rest of the milk, the vanilla extract and the rum extract.
Whisk till there are no lumps and the batter is smooth. It will be a thin crepe like batter.
Cover the bowl tightly with cling film and refrigerate the mixture for 24 to 48 hours.
When ready to bake, whisk the mixture for two minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Brush the inside of the Canele molds with butter very generously. This step is very important.
Fill the molds with the batter ¾ way to the top.
Bake at 450°F for 15 mins.
Lower the temperature to 350°F. Bake for a further 45 mins till the Canele is golden.
Remove the Canele from the oven. Take them out of the molds by tapping it upside down. Use a plastic knife to help loosen the sides if needed.
Cool on a cooling rack upside down.

Notes

Remember to start prepping at least 24 hours and preferably 48 hours before you need to bake the Canele.

Eat on the day the Canele is baked. They stay crispy for 6-8 hours.

Store any leftover Canele in an airtight container in the fridge.

If you have pure vanilla beans, its an even better option.

Pierre Hermé himself suggested that it is imperative to use copper molds, which ensure ideal cooking. I have however used a carbon steel pan that worked fine. I do plan to get some copper molds in the near future though because I love Canele!

Traditionally food grade beeswax is recommended for greasing the molds but they are difficult to find. Most of the beeswax sold online are in fact not food grade, so use extra caution when purchasing beeswax online.

Some people use silicone molds but in my opinion that does not work at all. It completely fails to give that quintessential crunchy caramelized exterior.

Refrigerating the mixture for 24 to 48 hours ensures the canele develops the depth and flavor and doesn’t rise up too much during the cooking process.

Use a digital scale to measure the exact amount of ingredients.

Traditionally rum is used but I don’t really drink much at all (except a very rare mojito, Baileys or Malibu- literally the only three things I’ve ever had ) so we never have any alcohol in the house. I used rum extract to get that flavor but feel free to use rum if you have any.

The ‘white butt’ (the fluted top that comes out white) is sometimes frowned upon but honestly I don’t mind it at all! They taste so good.

Did you know?

Canele was first made in a convent in Bordeaux by nuns before the French Revolution. They wanted to make something new with the egg yolks that were donated by the local winemakers who used the egg whites to clarify their wines.

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