I’ve never made canelés until recently. Beeswaxing individual, copper molds, preferably antique, filling them with batter and somehow balancing them into and out of the oven never appealed to me. I was also fortunate to have Shannon Grochowski nearby at La Châtelaine Chocolate. They make, and sell, delicious canelés.
Katherine Burns, @rue.dauphine.paris on Instagram, shared her recipe for canelés and the pan she uses back in October. I put it on my Christmas list and my daughter surprised me with the pretty Champagne-gold version. We’ve made them twice since then and I’ve begun to stock up on dark run and vanilla beans. The only tricky part is that you need to plan ahead—the batter must rest for a minimum of 24 hours (up to 48 hours) in the refrigerator and the pan must be buttered and frozen for at least a couple hours. But they are ohhhh, so worth it!
Canelés de Bordeaux
adapted from Katherine Burns @rue.dauphine.paris; makes one dozen full-sized canelés
Ingredients
Batter (must be refrigerated 24–48 hours before baking)
- 2 cups whole milk or sub 1¾ cup 2% + ¼ cup cream
- 4-inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- ⅛ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar can reduce to 1 cup for less sweet version
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted 43 grams
- ¼ cup dark rum 60 ml.
2 tablespoons butter for preparing the pan (pan must be frozen for at least 2 hours or up to overnight)
Instructions
Prepare the pan (must be frozen for at least 2 hours)
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Generously brush the mold interiors with melted butter. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in freezer until ready to fill and bake.
Batter (must be refrigerated for 24 to 48 hours)
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In a saucepan, bring just to a gentle simmer the milk and vanilla bean. Immediately remove from heat, add the vanilla extract, cover, and let cool a few minutes. Remove the vanilla bean, scrape seeds, and return them to the milk.
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Whisk the sugar and flour into the milk then add the egg yolks, melted butter, and rum. Strain into a glass 4-cup measure or bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
Baking
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Preheat oven to 435°F. Whisk batter and pour into prepared molds, filling each about ¾ full. Bake for 15 minutes then lower heat to 375° and continue to bake for 40 minutes until the sides look dark and bubbly. Let cool for 10 minutes before tipping out onto a cooling rack. Rest canelés for 1 hour before eating so that the center sets. Bon Appétit!
