Canelé
Ingredients
- 500 ml whole milk
- 1 vanilla pod, split
- 50 g butter, plus extra for the molds
- 3 egg yolks, 1 whole egg
- 250 g sugar
- 100 g flour
- 50 g cornstarch (or all flour, per some versions)
- 50 ml dark rum
- pinch of salt
The canelé de Bordeaux is a small custard cake with a thick, dark, almost bitter caramelized crust and a soft, eggy, rum-and-vanilla-scented interior. The batter is a thin crepe-like mixture that must rest at least a day in the fridge before baking, and it's traditionally baked in small tinned-copper molds — prized for their high heat conductivity, which is what gives canelés their deeply browned shell.
Method
Heat the milk with the split vanilla pod and butter until just below a boil; set aside to infuse.
Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt, then whisk in the flour and cornstarch until smooth.
Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
Stir in the rum, strain the batter, cover, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours (this rest is essential to the texture).
Butter the copper molds generously and chill them.
Fill the molds nearly to the top with the cold batter.
Bake at a high temperature (around 275°C/525°F) for about 15 minutes to set the dark crust, then lower the oven to around 200°C (390°F) and continue baking for about 35 minutes more.
Unmold immediately while hot, tipping the canelés out onto a rack to cool.
