How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (2024)

When it comes to pastry, you cannot get more "classic French" than cannelés (pronounced "can-eh-lay"), also spelled canelés. They come from the Bordeaux region of France, where they are a regional pride. And rightly so, because they are absolutely delicious accompaniments to tea, breakfast, or as a dessert.

They are surprisingly simple pastries, needing only basic ingredients–milk, flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla. But baking them at high heat in ridged fluted molds transforms them from a liquid batter to deep golden brown treasures. The outer shell is crunchy and crisp while the inside is delicious custard.

For reasons that escape me, Cannelés are still rather rare outside of France unless you are lucky enough to have a bakery around that sells them. The task is left up to passionate home bakers to make them. I make them quite often. Cannelés are one of my favorite pastries, a privilege they don't share with many others. I highly recommend giving them a try.

Ingredients

Makes about 18 medium-sized cannelés

Cannelés

500 grams whole milk (17.6 ounces, 2 cups)
50 grams butter (1.7 ounces, 3.5 tablespoons)
185 grams white granulated sugar (6.5 ounces, 3/4 cup)
150 grams bread flour (5.3 ounces, ~1 cup)
3 egg yolks (100 grams, 3.5 ounces)
3 grams salt (0.1 ounce, 1 large pinch)
1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50 grams cognac or dark rum (1.7 ounces, ~1/4 cup)

I personally prefer cognac for cannelés, though rum is the traditional liquor. It has a unique aroma and taste which give the cannelés more character. Rum tends to be a little more bland in the final product. You want to use a medium quality liquor for cannelés as a cheap one will come through and the nuances of a very premium liquor will be lost in baking anyway. This is true of most pastries.

Special Equipment

Cannelés Molds

You will need some special molds in order to make cannelés. Copper molds will yield the best result, but they come at a high cost ($20 - $30 a piece) for French brands. Copper is a highly conductive metal, which will transfer the oven heat to the batter quickly and consistently to form a dark brown crust. The most affordable molds I've found are these copper Darware molds made in India for a set of 4 (roughly $8 each).

Other metals will have a similar effect, though neither aluminum nor steel come even remotely close to the conductivity in copper. The inexpensive alternative is silicone. Silicone molds work well enough, but will never yield a perfect canelé. They also require some extra time in the oven for an uneven result; the middle of the sides will always be less cooked than the top or bottom. If you can afford them, spring for the copper.

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (1)

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (2)

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (3)

Additional Equipment

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (5)

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (6)

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (7)

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (8)

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux (Canelés recipe and technique) (9)

You can skip the beeswax in favor of butter or even nonstick spray, but it's not recommended. Beeswax seals the cannelés for a longer shelf life and forms a crust for a crisp shell. And while there is no added flavor, it does give a nice mouthfeel.

Preparation

Heat the milk, butter, and vanilla to a rolling boil then turn off the heat. Allow the vanilla to steep while you prepare the other steps.

At this point, the batter will be very liquid. Finally, whisk in the cognac.

The cannelés will rise in their molds like a soufflé before collapsing back into their molds, so be sure there is a pan below to catch the excess butter that will drip out. You might have to take the cannelés out to slightly cool if they rise too high over the top. This quick-rise period at high heat will help to start the browning process for the crunchy outer shell. It will continue to crisp at the lower heat while forming a custard inside.

You want a very dark brown color. When they look brown ready to come out, let them bake for 10 minutes longer. Cannelés bake to a very deep brown, much more than you are used to with other pastries. If you are worried they are starting to burn, you can always unmold one to check. You might be surprised by a blonde interior, especially if using silicone molds.

It's extremely important to unmold the cannelés while they are still hot from the oven. The heat will drive out steam and keep the exterior nice and crisp.

Enjoy your cannelés the day-of when they are crispiest. If you used beeswax, they will last a bit longer. Do not cover or refrigerate them or they will lose their crunchy shell.

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FAQs

Make the canelés: Mix flour, sugar, egg yolks, rum, vanilla, and salt together in a mixing bowl with a spatula, smearing until a smooth paste forms. Continue mixing until flour is fully incorporated. Combine milk and 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

A canelé is a small French pastry containing a mix of vanilla, rum, egg, butter, sugar, and flour. They're quite challenging to make, requiring patience, practice, attentiveness, and perseverance.

To make "white oil": Place 1 ounce round of bee's wax in a 1 pint glass measuring cup; melt in a microwave; while still warm, gradually stir in enough safflower oil to make a whitened mixture, light enough to coat the back of a spoon); cool to room temperature; store in the glass container at room temperature.

Produced in numerous sizes, they can be consumed for breakfast, for snacks, and as a dessert depending in some measure on size. Canelés can be paired with red wine and many other beverages. Traditionally, "canelés" or "cannelés of Bordeaux" are generally sold in bunches of 8 or 16.

Traditional cannelé molds are made from tin-lined copper that's relatively thick for the size of the mold, to promote even heating and good caramelization. But the copper molds are expensive, and bakers now have the option of cheaper silicone ones.

A canelé is best enjoyed on the day it is made. That is when you get the best contrast between the crisp, caramalised crust and soft middle. However, some people find this texture too crispy and prefer to wait a day until the canelé is more soft. They will last for 5 days in the fridge.

The dessert comes from Bordeaux, a top wine producing region, where they used egg whites to seal the wine barrels. Finding themselves with too many egg yolks, this dessert was created! And since it was a port town, rum and vanilla were later added to the mix.

Beeswax, according to Paula Wolfert's cannelé recipe in her cookbook 'The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen' is one of the secrets to creating that glossy, dark crust. Melted, combined with safflower oil and brushed in a very fine film onto metal cannelé molds, the 'white oil' helps in the caramelization process.

White oil is among the safest and most effective organic ways of controlling many sap sucking and leaf chewing pests in the garden.

White oils and waxes are chemically very inert substances. What is thus used for instance, in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical or food contact, are highly refined specialty products derived from petroleum. The use of these highly refined products has a very long history and enjoys an impeccable human safety record.

White oil recipe

Label it and store this in a cool, dry place and it should last about three months.

To obtain your bonafide certificate, you need to submit a written request to the head of your school or institution. Along with the request, you should include an identity proof document, such as a school ID card or a fee receipt.

These little morsels are nothing like anything else I've ever tried. Rich, moist, custardy interior is sealed into a thin, crispy, caramelized shell. As you bite into them, there is a distinct crackling sound; then your teeth sink into soft, sweet, and custardy goodness.

Rum and Vanilla - Rum and vanilla are the two main aromas of the canelé. You can omit or just use one or the other. If you are not using rum, replace it with the same amount of milk.