Canelé de Bordeaux

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No need to book a flight to France or pay a tiny mortgage at a speciality bakery, the perfect homemade canelés are well within your reach and for a fraction of the price! This authentic Canelé recipe will produce those irresistibly unique and delicious French pastries so famous for their crispy caramelized exterior and soft, custard-like interior. And I’m including all the pro tips you need to ensure your success!

What is a Canelé?

Also known as canelés (plural) or alternatively spelled cannelé or cannelés, a canelé is a French pastry made with eggs, butter, milk and flour, flavored with vanilla and rum, and baked in a special fluted cylindrical molds roughly 2 inches tall. They are baked at high heat for much longer than a typical pastry, resulting in their hallmark crunchy, caramelized exterior while maintaining a soft and custard-like interior.

Traditionally the molds were brushed with beeswax but most contemporary today use butter. I’ll discuss these options in more below. Likewise copper molds were traditionally used and are still used in some high-end Parisian bakeries, but non-copper molds have become the more commonly used choice because of their much lower price point and because they produce very similar if not the same results. I’ll also discuss mold option below in more detail.

If you’ve never tried a canelé I can tell you that it’s unlike anything you’ve ever eaten before. In a word, they are exquisite. They are known to be a little temperamental and on the finicky side, but just follow my tips and directions and you’ll be rewarded with success.

Where Did Cannelés de Bordeaux Originate?

As their name suggests, cannelés are speciality of the Bordeaux region of France. Their origin isn’t entirely clear but they are thought to have originated several centuries ago in one of the city’s convents, possibly the Couvent des Annonciades, though they would gone by a different name as the term Canelé is a more recent one. In fact, their popularity didn’t really take off until the mid-1980’s around which time they also became registered with the National Institute of Industrial Property of France Bordeaux.

Equipment

Let’s talk about what equipment you’ll need to make cannelés.

• Molds: Copper molds are the traditional molds of choice because of their even heat distribution.  However, they are exorbitantly expensive and I can confidently say from experience that using alternative metal molds will produce results that none but the most discerning of French pastry chefs would notice.  And even then I’m not so sure. I use this canele mold pan.  For around $30 it makes 12 caneles at one time.  Compare that to paying $30+ for ONE copper caneles mold.  Purists may argue, and they’re free to do that, but I stand firm on my position that you can make absolutely stunning, flavorful and perfectly-textured caneles without using copper molds. And that’s coming from someone who loves and collects copper cookware and bakeware from France and England. If you decide you want to splurge, you can get a set of four made in France copper molds for a “deal” of around $100 (at least at the time of writing this post).

Now, all that said, not all baking materials are created equal and you absolutely do NOT want to use silicone baking molds for caneles.  Don’t do it.  Silicone canele molds will not produce the dark, deeply caramelized and crunchy exteriors that are the hallmark of canelés.

• Beeswax: Do you need to use it to make cannelés? NO.  In fact, I don’t recommend it (plug ears for screams from the purists).  Some sources claim that the beeswax helps the cannéles hold their shape while baking. Nonsense – the molds help them keep their shape. Another claim is that the beeswax gives them a glossier coating but the reality is that butter will do the same thing. And though traditionally beeswax was used to brush the molds before baking to prevent sticking, butter does an equally if not better job. I have made canelé both ways (with beeswax and butter), and find that the beeswax actually inhibits that glorious crispy-crunchy exterior rather than helping to extend the crunch longer as some sources claim. It also leaves a residue that is, as you would expect, waxy.  And while beeswax smells heavenly when you’re melting it, the flavor of the canelé largely overpowers any subtle flavor it might otherwise contribute. If you want to try it and compare it for yourself, be sure to use food grade beeswax as most beeswax on the market is only cosmetic grade (these beeswax bars can be grated using a box grater to make it easier to melt). There are numerous YouTube tutorials on how to coat canele molds with beeswax.

In all of the pictures in this post, I used butter, not beeswax, to coat the molds. And the results simpler don’t get any better.

Techniques

Two techniques that are emphasized as being critical (they’re not) in a lot of canneles recipes are to 1) avoid over-whisking the batter and to 2) strain the batter. Let’s take a look at these along with a technique that does matter:

• Over-whisking: Some sources claim that minimal whisking should be used to avoid getting too much air into the batter. That is not true for a canelé batter. Whisk away, get all those lumps out.
• To strain or not to strain:  There’s no right or wrong to this but straining the batter it is an extra step that I have found really doesn’t make a significant difference. These are pastries, not a Cremè Anglaise that requires a silky smooth texture. If you choose not to strain it your canneles will be perfectly fine, but I’m including it in my instructions below just to ensure as smooth a texture as possible.
• Scalding the milk: This is a technique weakens the whey in the milk and it is used to give yeast breads a lighter texture and to make sponge cakes springier and it likewise contributes a better and more refined texture to canelés.

How to Scald Milk

As mentioned above, scalding milk is a technique that’s used in baking things like sponge cakes and yeast breads. The process weakens the whey in the milk and this results in a springier and lighter texture in the baked goods. To scald milk, place the milk in a wide, shallow pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tiny bubbles begin to appear around the outer perimeter (an instant read thermometer will read 180 to 185 F). Do not let it boil. Remove it from the heat and let it cool before using.

Can I Omit the Rum?

Rum is a central flavor in traditional canelés. Don’t worry, the flavor is very mild in the final baked good. But if you prefer to omit the rum you can simply replace it with the same quantity of milk.

Can Canelés Be Made in Advance?

The cannelé batter lends itself well for advance preparation (see below about how long to let the batter rest), but you shouldn’t bake the cannelés in advance. Bake them the same day you plan to eat them to ensure they are nice and crispy. 

How Long Should Canelé Batter Rest?

At minimum let the batter rest in the fridge for 24 hours, but I have found that 48 hours will give you the best flavor results. Here’s why:

• A minimum of 24 hours is necessary for the flour to have adequate time to absorb the liquid and hydrate. This is critical, otherwise the exterior of the caneles will burn before the full cooking time is up, which means less caramelization, a burnt exterior, and an interior that will be dry instead of custardy. So 24 hours is necessary for optimal TEXTURE. Will the texture continue to improve beyond 24 hours? No. But what will improve is the FLAVOR.
• After 48 hours the flavor will be fully and optimally developed.
• After 72 hours the flavor will not have improved significantly. I have conducted taste tests at the 24, 48, and 72 hours marks and have found that 48 hours is the sweet spot.

How Long Can You Store Canelé Batter?

I recommend storing your batter in the fridge for no more than 3 days, maybe 4. Author Paula Wolfert says that cannelé batter can also be frozen for up to 2 weeks and then defrosted, brought to room temp and then baked, but I have not tried this.

Canelé Recipe

Scald the milk:  Place the milk in a wide, shallow pan.  Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tiny bubbles begin to appear around the outer perimeter (an instant read thermometer will read 180 to 185 F).  Do not let it boil.  Remove it from the heat, add the butter and stir until the butter is melted.  Cover, set aside and let it cool to room temperature before using.

Place the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. 

Add the eggs and egg yolks and use a fork or whisk to combine until no lumps remain. 

Gradually add the cooled milk mixture, whisking until combined and smooth. 

Stir in the vanilla bean paste/extract and rum.  Stir to combine.

I really like to use either vanilla bean paste or scrape the inside of a vanilla pod to make canneles. The flavor is more concentrated and you also get those nice vanilla bean flecks that give them that more upscale/legit look.

I have not found that this makes a significant difference, but to ensure an optimally smooth texture you can strain the batter through a fine mesh strainer. 

Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least 24 hours but for the best flavor I strongly recommend letting it chill for a full 48 hours.  The batter can be chilled for up to 72 hours but the flavor does not improve much beyond 48 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 F / 240 C (without fan/convection) for a full hour.

While the oven is preheating remove the batter from the fridge to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Brush the inside of the molds with butter. Give the batter a good stir and then pour it into the molds almost to the top, leaving about a 1/4 inch space from the top. It’s easiest if you transfer the batter to a measuring cup with a pouring spout.

Place the canele molds on a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven and bake them for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan and decrease the oven temperature to 350 F / 175 C and continue baking for another 40-50 minutes or until they are very dark brown but not burnt. Watch closely during the last 10 minutes of baking to ensure they don’t burn.

When you bake them they’ll initially puff up quite a bit above the lip of the mold but by the time they’re done baking they’ll shrink back down to the level of the mold or slightly lower.

Remove the caneles from the oven and immediately place them on a cooling rack upside down to un-mold them.

Note: If the tops are still pale or the color is uneven, you can place the caneles back inside the molds and bake longer. et them cool completely.

Allow the caneles to cool completely.

They are best eaten the same day while the exterior shell is nice and crispy.

Enjoy!

For more favorite traditional French recipes be sure to try my:

• Nonnettes
• Cherry Clafoutis
• Pot de Crème
• French Almond Plum Cake
• Gugelhupf
• French Almond Cake with Lavender Lemon Glaze
• Blackberry Clafoutis
• Rough Puff Pastry