The Canele de Bordeaux is a specialty treat from Bordeaux, France, and much enjoyed by the French. It is a hidden gem not found easily elsewhere. The intermediate baker or beginner ready to learn can make this delicious gem at home and discover what is, in my opinion, the most delicious French patisserie of all.
The Detailed Recipe for the Canele de Bordeaux technique, ingredients and equipment is here
Canele (de Bordeaux), perhaps the most delicious French patisserie treat
Canele de Bordeaux is a regionally specific French patisserie that is well known to the French as one of the most delicious treats there is. Not well known outside France, it is a hidden gem that you simply must try. Now make it at home from simple pantry ingredients. A detailed process elevates simple ingredients into a delicious sugar crusted custard cake with a unique, complex flavor. The processes are approachable, so recipe is good for intermediate bakers or beginning bakers with a thirst to learn more. Invented by nuns in a convent as early as 1400s the delicious recipe uses egg yolks for extra richness and bakes a sugar crust until it just turns bittersweet, reminiscient of a creme brulee. From the French Bordeaux region, well known to wine aficionados, add the rich and subtle flavors from dark rum or fruit flavored brandy for the full flavor experience. You will make it over and over again.
Equipment
- Canele molds
- Mini muffin mold (alternative to canele mold)
- Sauce pans
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk
- 1 vanilla bean
- 25 g butter, softened
- 100 g granulated or caster sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 large egg
- 25 ml Dark Rum or Fruit Brandy such as Poire WIlliams
- 60 g all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Scorch milk and infuse vanilla
- Bring milk to a boil, quickly on high heat in small saucepan (copper or heavy to retain heat)
- At point of boiling, milk is scorched, take immediately off heat
- Add vanilla bean, split lengthwise, and add scraped out seeds – allow to infuse at least 10 minutes
Cream butter and surround flour with fat molecules
- Place mixing bowl over sauce pan filled with 3 cm / 1 inch simmering to boiling water
- Add butter, whisking until melted and creamy, allowing bowl to get nice and hot
- Take bowl off the double boiler, put mixing bowl onto stand mixer (or whisk rapidly by hand or with hand mixer / electric whisk)
- Add sugar, whisk butter-sugar mixture until light in color and very creamy
- With whisk going, add egg and additional egg yolk, fully combine
- Add dark rum / fruit brandy, fully combine
- Whisk in flour and salt until fully combined, but do not over mix (will make batter tough) and avoid making bubbles on surface of batter (you are looking for a silky texture)
Make tempered custard batter
- Remove vanilla bean from scorched milk; save and set aside vanilla bean
- Whisking continuously, pour a quarter of the milk into the batter – temper the egg mixture beginning to cook eggs (whisking to avoid uneven cooking creating lumps)
- Once combined, pour additional quarter of the milk into the batter, still whisking continuously
- Add rest of milk into mixture, whisk until liquid fully combined
Hydrate batter through resting
- Pour batter into mixing cup or pitcher with a pouring lip; add back the vanilla bean
- Place in refridgerator and allow to rest and hydrate the flour fully. Ideal is 48 hours; but minimum of 12 hours and maximum of 60 hours
Prepare canele molds and oven
- Melt or use very soft butter to fully cover the molds. French patisseries would pour butter (infused with bees wax) into each mold to the top, and pour out, then allow mold to drain.
- Bees wax is excellent to add to give shiny appearance. For the home baker, this may not be practical, and is totally fine to leave out using butter only to fully grease molds
- As important as it is to fully butter molds, it is equally important not to over butter. Over buttering will pool butter in the bottom of the mold and not properly cook the top of the canele (French patissieres rudly calling these "white bottoms" because they are not cooked on top)
- Chill buttered molds (at least 15 minutes in fridge, so mold is cool and not warmed at all from melted butter)
- Preheat oven to 220 C / 425 F – making sure the oven is very hot before beginning baking(Some french patissieres would even preheat to 500 F then turn down the oven to 425 / 400 F after 10 minutes of baking)Setting the crust and levening the custard is the goal here
Bake to mahogany brulee
- Remove vanilla bean from rested batter
- Gently mix rested batter to ensure mixture is same consistency throughout
- Fill canele molds just below the top of the mold – about ⅙ inch or ½ cm below top of moldBatter will expand to fill mold without going over the top
- Place in the oven immediately, minimizing length of time the oven door is open, to ensure hot oven temperature at from the start
- Bake 30 to 45 minutesTop will be dark mahogany with blackening around edges. If center is not dark mahogany yet, do not remove from oven as the caneles are not fully baked through.Don't be afraid of the dark brulee color, as the slight "burn" adds a bittersweet flavor and crunchy exterior that is characteristic of the canele, and balances the sweet, silky custardy interior
Cool to perfect temperature
- Turn out immediately onto a wire cooling rackFully cooked caneles should drop out of the molds or be easily coaxed out by tugging gently with a toothpick around the edges
- Allow to cool to room temperature
Enjoy! Ideally eat within 1 hour of coming to room temperature for most delicious texture
- Eat at room temperature, ideally freshly baked within a couple hours of being removed from the oven
- To refresh, they can be placed in a hot oven for 5 minutes, later that same dayThe texture is delicate and should be eaten soon after being baked on the that same day
Video
Notes
“Cannele” means “fluted” in French. Ideally use the specific canele mold for best results as the nooks and crannies of the flutes provide an undeniably exceptional texture. The size is also standardized, so easiest to ensure the right balance of brûlée exterior and cooked custard center.
But if you are not ready to invest in canele molds, try the recipe using mini muffin tins. Do not use tin liners, but follow all instructions about buttering the mini muffin molds.
Enjoy! Share with friends. Expand the knowledge about these hidden secret gems.
Nutrition
Serving: 8cakesCalories: 141kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 58mgPotassium: 62mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 227IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 1mg
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