Canelés De Bordeaux - French Rum and Vanilla Cakes

French Tart's Note:

Canelés de Bordeaux, also know as cannelé Bordelais, are magical French bakery confections, little fluted cakes with a rich rum and vanilla interior enclosed by a thin caramelised shell. This brilliant recipe was developed a long ago by an anonymous Bordeaux cook, whose innovation has been subjected to 300 years of refinements. Glossy and dark brown almost black at first sight, bittersweet at first bite, the crunchy burnt sugar canelé-shell makes an exquisite contrast to the smooth, sweet filling, fragrant with vanilla and rum. These little cakes have recently gained cachet after years of neglect, to the extent that they may one day rival the popularity of crème brûlée in the category of caramelized French desserts. Baked in special tin-lined copper moulds, these delicious dessert cakes are often served with Cognac and Wine if you partake of a local degustation! The copper moulds are quite hard to find even in France - if you cannot find them, then these cakes can be made in individiual dariol moulds, small pudding basins, or the silcon moulds which are quite easy to find. This recipe makes 12 to 16 canelés, depending on the size of your moulds. Traditionally beeswax is used to line the moulds, I have dispensed with this and have suggested a sprinkling of sugar inside the well buttered moulds.

• Total Time: 25 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 24 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 12 Canelé ...

• ½ liter milk
• 2 whole eggs , plus
• 2 egg yolks , beaten
• ½ vanilla beans or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 -4 tablespoons rum
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• butter , for greasing
• sugar , for sprinkling

Directions:

1. The day before: boil the milk with the vanilla and butter.
2. Take off the heat, allow to cool VERY slightly.
3. Mix the flour and sugar together, then add the eggs and egg yolks, pour this mixture in the hot milk.
4. Gently mix in order to obtain a fluid and smooth mixture, like a pancake batter, let it cool, then add the rum.
5. Place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours to 48 hours maximum.
6. When you are ready to bake the caneles: preheat the oven to 250C/495°F.
7. Butter the moulds liberally and then sprinkle some sugar in to the moulds.
8. Pour the batter in to the buttered and sugared caneles moulds, they should be 3/4 full - NO more.
9. Place the moulds on a baking sheet, and cook on high for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 175C/350F and continue cooking for 1 hour at least. (It depends on your oven, it can take up to 1 and a quarter hours!) The tops will have a brown crust when they are ready, and they should still be moist inside.
10. Carefully unmould them whilst they are still hot. Allow them to cool.
11. Serve with tea or coffee for breakfast, or with a glass of wine or cognac in the late afternoon or evening.

Reviews

[Mami J]

These are delicious. I baked them in silicone molds and they were perfect after 1 hour. The outside was perfectly caramelized and the inside was creamy and smooth. I used the least amount of rum so my children could enjoy the as well (they loved them). My only problem was they barely rose, I think it was because my eggs were kind of small. I would have used more, but I ran out. I will adjust the amount of eggs if necessary next time. These are so rich and easy, that I will make them again. Thank you for sharing FT!

[Queen Dana]

These were really interesting. First of all, I chilled my batter for 6 and half hours. I was really nervousness when baking these because I could smell the rum burning and there was a slight bit of smoke coming from the oven. I managed to stay calm and left them in the oven until done. The inside of these are almost custard like and wouldn't call the outside crunchy, for me the outside was almost like leather... maybe because of the large amount of butter I used when greasing my pan? I didn't have the appropriate pan but thought these would look great in my skull cupcake pan and that turned out well enough that I would make it again for a Halloween party.

[Kathy228]

October 9, 2008 --- I decided to cast my fate to the wind and, as Brak suggested, refrigerate for less time. So I chilled it for only five-hours. They weren't as high as they should have been, but the taste and texture was delicious. I loved the creaminess of the inside contrasted by the crispier outer crust. Also, I didn't have individual molds so I used a one-piece pan with individual molds in it. And it worked fine, but they are not as pretty as FT's. I will make these again only chill the batter for 24-hours. Oh...and this was so easy to make. Great recipe. --- May 9, 2009 --- I made them again this time using the canele molds and refrigerating the batter for 24-hours. That made a nice difference. The insides were airy yet creamy and the crust was crispy. I am trying to locate a convenient source for beeswax, but it's not that easy. I've read elsewhere that the wax does add another level of taste. Thanks again Karen!