Canelés
Photo by Jennifer May
MAKES
about 16 canelés, depending on the size of your mold
TAKES
Prep time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total: 4 hours 30 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
Canelé - the incredibly decadent French sweet featuring a deeply caramelized outer crust and a soft, custardy center. While the batter is easy to make, canelés are traditionally a bit complicated. Traditional methods call for individual copper molds that are coated in an edible beeswax, and I wanted to try to find a simplified process. Full disclosure: you still need a special mold to pull these off, but I’ve formulated my recipe to be made in easy, breezy (did I mention inexpensive and easy to clean) silicone (see Note), with nothing but soft butter to aid the process.
INGREDIENTS
484 g / 2 cups whole milk
60 g / ¼ cup heavy cream
28 g / 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
248 g / 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
150 g / 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
113 g / 2 large eggs
54 g / 2 large egg yolks
30 g / 2 tablespoons dark rum
15 g / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
softened unsalted butter, as needed for greasing the mold
More Baking Tips This Way:
METHOD
1. The day before you want to make the canelés, combine the milk, cream, butter, and 50 g / 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, in a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the remaining 198 g / 1 cup sugar and the flour to combine. When the milk is about to simmer, add the eggs, yolks, rum, and vanilla to the bowl (with the sugar/flour mixture) and whisk to combine.
3. Pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until the batter is smooth; take care not to incorporate too much air.
4. Strain the batter into a storage container, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours.
5. The next day, set the batter out to warm to room temperature for 1 hour—you can work with it in batches if necessary. (I only have one mold with 8 cavities, so I make two batches.)
6. Preheat the oven to 450°F / 235°C with the oven rack in the center. Rub the cavities of a silicone canelé mold generously with soft butter. Place the mold on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, transfer the batter to a container with a spout, such as a large liquid measure.
7. When the mold (on the baking sheet) is hot, pour the batter into the molds, filling each three-quarters full (my mold has 8 cavities that each hold 75 g / ⅓ cup batter. If your molds are larger/smaller you may need more/less). Immediately return the mold and baking sheet to the oven and bake until the canelés puff up and begin to brown, 30-32 minutes. (Resist the urge to open the oven door during baking other than the following steps—the pastries are more likely to bake properly with a consistent oven temperature!)
8. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F / 205°C and bake the canelés for 30-32 minutes more; the surface should be very golden.
9. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a small offset spatula to loosen each pastry gently from the mold and flip it over inside the mold (this will help brown the pastries evenly all over). Return the canelés to the oven and bake until the tops are deeply golden, 12-15 minutes more.
10. Let the canelés cool completely in the mold before unmolding and serving.
NOTES
Here’s a silicone pan like the one I use to bake these!
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
