TABELIA

AUTHENTIC RECIPE

Canelé de BordeauxBordeaux Canelés

Bordeaux Canelés
Difficulty★★★★☆ Prep25 min Cook1 hr 5 min Rest25 hr servings4

Originating in a Bordeaux convent, these pastries use a crêpe-like rum-and-vanilla batter rested for 24 hours, then baked in fluted molds in 2 stages, at high and lower temperatures. An almost black mahogany-colored crisp shell surrounds a golden, chewy, honeycombed interior. This dramatic contrast comes entirely from resting the batter and controlling baking temperatures: the timing skills of pastry making condensed into a small cake.

Recipe developed and reviewed by the Tabelia Editorial TeamUpdated
100/ 100

AUTHENTICITY SCORE

Authenticity Score

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Ingredients (4 servings)

  • Whole milkWarm with butter and vanilla500 ml
  • Unsalted butter (for batter)Melt together with the milk40 g
  • Vanilla beanSplit lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and add both seeds and pod to the milk1 piece
  • Cake flour100 g
  • Granulated sugarThe generous sugar content creates the caramelized outer shell220 g
  • Whole egg1 piece
  • Egg yolksCombine with the whole egg for richness2 pieces
  • Dark rumA defining aroma of canelés; the alcohol evaporates during baking40 ml
  • Unsalted butter (for the molds)Melt and brush inside the molds20 g

Method

16 min
Warm the vanilla milk

Warm the vanilla milk

  • 1 Split 1/2 vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife.
  • 2 Put 500 ml milk, 40 g batter butter, the vanilla seeds and pod in a saucepan over medium heat. Turn off the heat just before boiling, when the butter has melted and small bubbles appear around the edge.
220 min
Cool the milk to body temperature

Cool the milk to body temperature

  • 1 Let the warmed milk cool to about body temperature.

Ready when

Proceed when it has reached around 36°C and does not feel hot when a finger is dipped in it.

Caution

Continuing while it is hot will cook the eggs.

310 min
Make the canelé batter

Make the canelé batter

  • 1 Mix 100 g cake flour and 220 g granulated sugar in a bowl.
  • 2 Beat 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks in a separate container, add to the flour bowl and mix roughly.
  • 3 Gradually pour in the milk cooled to body temperature through a strainer to loosen the mixture, then add 40 ml rum. Stop mixing when it is lump-free and fluid like crêpe batter. Kneading-like mixing develops gluten and makes the baked cakes tough.
424 hr
Rest the batter for 24 hours

Rest the batter for 24 hours

  • 1 Strain the batter into a container, press plastic wrap against its surface and mature in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
  • 2 This resting relaxes the gluten and prevents collapse and excessive rising during baking.
  • 3 The canelé’s texture is created by this waiting time.
510 min
Fill the molds

Fill the molds

  • 1 Start preheating the oven to 230°C.
  • 2 Meanwhile(While the oven heats) melt 20 g mold butter and brush evenly inside 8 canelé molds.
  • 3 Remove the batter from the refrigerator, gently stir from the bottom to reincorporate settled flour and fill the molds to 8/10 of their height.
61 hr 5 min
Bake at high and lower temperatures

Bake at high and lower temperatures

  • 1 Bake at 230°C for 15 minutes, then lower to 180°C without opening the door and bake for another 45–50 minutes.
  • 2 They are baked when the entire surface is a very dark, almost black mahogany and the canelés move inside the molds when tilted gently.
  • 3 Taking them out while pale makes the shell quickly become damp.

Caution

The right color is dark enough to make you wonder whether they are burnt. Stopping at golden brown will not create the characteristic contrast between a crisp shell and chewy center.

71 hr
Unmold and firm the shells

Unmold and firm the shells

  • 1 Immediately after baking, invert the molds to release the canelés and cool on a rack for 1 hour.
  • 2 They taste best eaten on the day of baking, before the shells become damp.

Ready when

The outer shell firms and becomes crisp as it cools.

A view of Place du Parlement, Bordeaux
Place du Parlement, BordeauxFrance Photo: Marc Ryckaert (MJJR) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (resized; display cropped)

About this dish

Bordeaux is a wine capital in southwestern France, spread along the Garonne. Canelés are said to have originated at the city’s Annonciades convent, with an early version already being baked in the 18th century.

Bordeaux winemaking has long used large amounts of egg whites for collage, or fining, to settle sediment and clarify wine. According to tradition, the leftover yolks were delivered to the convent and used for canelé batter, a story that reveals the pastry’s bond with the wine city.

Today specialist canelé shops line the streets throughout Bordeaux, and the pastries are woven into daily life, from a single cake with morning coffee to boxed assortments as souvenirs. Even the shape of their little fluted molds is part of their enduring identity as a beloved symbol of Bordeaux.

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