The easiest Canelé recipe for the notoriously difficult pastry to achieve! These French Canelés de Bordeaux have been an obsession of mine for a few years now. Nothing compares to their dark caramelised crust and incredibly moist middle! Furthermore, this recipe is without rum, so is great for both adults and children alike!
Ever since I tasted my first Canelé from a small French patisserie, I was on a mission to develop the best (but easy enough) Canelé recipe, so I can enjoy them anytime I wanted. A few years later, I am now ready to share this recipe.
How to make the best Canelés?
I highly recommend using whole milk and 100% butter in this Canelé recipe as the fat content in the milk really helps to keep these pastries most during lengthy baking. Pour your milk into a pan, add the butter and vanilla paste (I use Neilsen Massey)/ split vanilla pod and heat gently just until the butter melts. Do not let it boil.
In the meantime, whisk an egg and an egg yolk together with caster sugar. Caster sugar has smaller finer grains compared to granulated sugar and, therefore, dissolves easier and makes your Canelés de Bordeaux lighter. Once your eggs and sugar are pale and fluffy, sift in the flour and beat together.
TIP:
For this Canelé recipe, I tend to do everything in a measuring jug, because it then allows me to pour the mixture into the moulds easier (and saves washing up).
The next step is important. Before you pour your buttery milk into the eggs, make sure it’s not too hot. Otherwise your egg mixture will scramble. Have a whisk handy and as soon as you pour your milk in, whisk vigorously to avoid scrambling or any lumps forming. The mix will be quite thin – it’s supposed to be that way.
Cover your bowl (or measuring jug with cling film and put it in the fridge for at least 24 hours (up to 56 hours). Without giving the Canelé mix this time, the texture will not be the same, so patience pays off here.
Silicone Mould vs. Copper Mould for Canelés
You can use either silicone or copper moulds for this recipe. Although many claim that Canelés can only be made crunchy and caramelised in copper using beeswax, I disagree. I personally use a silicone mould that is 8 x 70ml capacity (here’s the link to the one I have) and is great for the quantities in this recipe. My crusts are just as dark, caramelised and crispy. The beauty of a silicone mould is that your Canelés never stick and you can wash it in your dishwasher. Not to mention it is A LOT cheaper than copper moulds.
When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 230 C Fan and take your batter out of the fridge. Your mix will have a thick layer formed on top, so whisk it together again to make it even consistency. When the oven reaches the temperature, pour your Canelé mix into the mould leaving some space for them to rise. Since I use a “floppy” silicone mould, I tend to fill them halfway and put them in the oven. Then top them up to avoid any spillage. Alternatively, you may want to use a tray underneath the silicone mould, but make sure it’s hot before you put the moulds on top, or your canelés won’t have crispy tops.
Don’t fill your mould before your oven preheats, as the flour will rise to the top again and your Canelés will be uneven consistency when baked.
Bake at high temperature (230 C) for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180 C and bake for a further 45 minutes. No matter how tempting, don’t open the oven for the first 40 minutes.
Your Canelés de Bordeaux will be dark in colour, crispy to touch and puffed up slightly when you take them out of the oven. Leave them in the moulds for at least 10 minutes before you attempt to remove them. Just flip them upside down onto a large chopping board. Then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make sure you let them cool completely before you eat them (I personally find this a huge challenge). They will firm up and won’t feel doughy in the middle. Canelés are best enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee!
If you made this lovely French Canelé recipe, you may have one egg white left. Why not try one of our other recipes to it up:
Canelés de Bordeaux
Equipment
- Silicone Canelé moulds (8 x 70ml)
Ingredients
- 250 ml whole milk
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 50 g plain flour
- 100 g caster sugar
- 25 g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or 1 vanilla pod
- pinch of salt
Instructions
DAY 1:
- Pour milk in a pan and add a teaspoon of vanilla paste to it (or split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the inside), and add the butter. Heat it on low heat until butter belts and then take it off the heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together caster sugar, whole egg and a yolk. Then sift in the flour and add a pinch of salt incorporating into the egg and sugar mix.
- Pour the lukewarm milk into the egg mixture. Whisk continuously until you get a smooth mix without any lumps. The batter will be quite thin, resembling a pancake mix.
- Cover with cling film and leave the mixture to rest overnight in the fridge.
DAY 2:
- When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 230°C.
- If you are using copper moulds, you might need to grease them. Silicone moulds don’t need buttering.
- Remove canelés mix from the fridge and give it a good stir before pouring into the moulds, but make sure to leave ½cm from the top unfilled, as your pastries will rise a little
- Bake in the oven at 230°C for 10 minutes only, then lower the temperature to 180°C for a further 45 mins.
- Remove from the oven when the tops or canelés are dark brown and crispy. Leave to cool down for at least 15 minutes before attempting to remove them from their moulds.
I used your recipe a few times now and these turn out great every time! Definitely worth the wait!
Patience is definitely key with Canele batter. But by the time they’re baking, I’ve run out of patience and can never wait for them to fully cool down before I dig in!