Canelés

I feel like I say this about a lot of things, but canelés are one of my all time favorite pastries. For real! They’re not too sweet, the crunchy shell is to die for, and the rum and vanilla flavors are classic and need no changing. I love baking these for friends! These crunchy rummy pastries originally come from Bordeaux, France, where an original recipe is closely guarded and kept in production by a group of pro pâtissiers. Wish I was cool enough to be a part of that club! But since I’m not, I’ll keep making this formula at home, which comes straight from Pierre Hermé’s hard-to-find cookbook Secrets Gourmands. It’s pretty simple, and if you do a quick search you’ll find this is the standard recipe basically everyone uses. The only real variances are some use egg yolks only, some choose not to use beeswax at home (I say do), and some use powdered sugar instead of granulated.

I do suggest you get copper canelé molds or you will not be able to obtain the super dark and crunchy signature crust… You can get the flavors and a rough version from a silicon mold, but I wouldn’t waste my time. I got my first six copper molds from E Dehellerin in Paris, and I just found a great online source directly in France via Etsy to order more from! French Copper Kitchen by Paul Simmons is based in Bordeaux. I ordered eight 1.75” molds to match my other 6, and they arrived super fast and are good quality. I like using smaller molds so I can eat more canelé! Hehe.

Another suggestion, use beeswax for the crispiest and shiniest final product. When buying beeswax, search for “food grade” and/or “organic” white beeswax pellets. These are easiest to melt. I’ve also gotten bars of it from the farmers’ market honey stand. The clean up job can be difficult after your pot is coated in wax, so use a pot with a handle that is oven safe, and a utensil for stirring that you don’t mind getting dirty. I melt the remaining wax off of my pot by inverting it on a sheet pan and baking it for a few minutes.

Recipe Notes: The batter performs best after resting at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours, and ideally 48 hours. I have made some about 4 hours before baking, and gotten decent results… but please just make it at least the night before and even more ahead if possible. When baking, make sure you have some good ventilation and the windows open. Your first few times making these you are more than likely going to set off the fire alarm. It’s part of the process, but an easy way to avoid it is to make sure you have a very thin coating of wax + butter in the molds. I do this by briefly heating the molds till they are almost too hot to touch, then filling with warmed “white oil” (butter + wax) and pouring it back into the pot, and finally draining the canelé molds upside down on a paper towel. Good luck!

canelés

makes about 24 small canelé (in 1.75” molds)

500g whole milk
100g butter, unsalted
250g granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 yolks
Pinch salt
1 scraped vanilla beans (or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)
100g all purpose flour
3 tablespoons rum

For the white oil:
180g butter (clarified)
120g beeswax

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a small pot, then pour in the milk and heat just until warm.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar, half the flour, a pinch of salt, and vanilla bean (or paste/extract) until smooth.

3. Whisk in about half of the flour mixture, then about half of the warm milk and butter mixture. Add the remaining flour and whisk it in, followed by the remaining milk and butter. Lastly, whisk in the rum. Pour the batter into a container, pop a lid on it and chill it in the fridge overnight.

4. The next day, take out the batter and allow it to come to around room temperature. Preheat the oven to 525º F and place an oven rack on the lower middle half of the oven. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

5. To grease the molds, melt 180g clarified butter in a small pot over medium heat, then stir in 120g beeswax and keep heating until fully melted. Keep on low heat to keep the oil hot. Place the molds on the baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 1 minute, just to warm them through. Remove from the oven and, working with one at a time, fill the canelé mold completely with white oil. Pour it back into the pot and invert the mold on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Repeat with the remaining molds, warming them again if needed and keeping the oil on low heat. This takes a while, but getting a thin coating is best and takes practice.

6. Whisk or blend the batter together right before baking — I whizz mine with my immersion blender. Fill the oiled canelé molds with batter, leaving just about 1/8” of room at the top for them to grow (reference photo at end of recipe). Bake for 20 minutes on 500º, then turn the oven down to 375º and bake a further 30-35 minutes. Note: if using larger molds, expect more bake time. Bake until they’re dark golden brown all over, maybe 10-15 additional minutes.

7. When the bake time is up, take the canelés from the oven and immediately remove them from their pans and place onto a wire rack to cool — this is when they will become crisp. I use tongs for this step. Eat the canelés the day they’re baked for best texture! If I ever have any leftover, I refresh them at 400º for about 7 minutes and let them cool again, which comes petty close just baked freshness.

Help! My canelés are blonde on top!

• This could be because they’re rising out of the molds during baking. Check if they have “mushroomed” out of their molds about halfway through the total bake time. If they have, I’ve found some success removing them from the molds and placing them back in the pan — they’ll usually shrink back in.

• I like to put a large cast iron pan or a heavy sheet pan in the bottom of the oven to preheat. This helps to fully cook the tops and usually works for me every time!

Updated Dec 10, 2021

I use aluminum foil to make the clean up easier after baking. This is how high I fill my molds! You can also see the thin layer of beeswax near the edge.