Ah.. le Canelé, doux petit gâteau au goût de rhum et de vanille avec sa croûte caramélisée, c'est un vrai délice !
Rich... moist and custardy is the interior of the famous French pastry Canele's who find its origin in the region of Boredaux.
They are sealed into a thin, crispy, caramelized shell and as you bite into them there is a distinct crackling sound before sinking your teeth into that soft, sweet and custardy goodness.
They are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat.
The story tells that it was in the 17th century in the heart of Bordeaux that the first canauliers made the canaules, ancestors of Canelés. The recipe was simple: flour and egg yolks. They were so popular that there were 39 canauliers in 1785 !
It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that an inspired pastry chef gave it the typical Doric shape of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux columns! He created the 12-flute mould and improved the recipe by adding rum and vanilla.
The canaules then became the Canelés that we know today with their distinguishable brown colour obtained by the caramelisation effect of the dough in contact with the mould.
Since the 1980s, the Canelé has become one of the symbols of Bordeaux's delicacies and it can be found in the best pastry shops in Bordeaux. (source Aquitaine Spécialité)
Ingredients
2 vanilla beans
500 ml cold milk
200 g cane sugar
100 g flour
50 g melted butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
4 tbsp dark rum
Preparation
Slit the vanilla beans lengthwise, and scrape the seeds from them with a small knife. Put the seeds, vanilla pods and milk in a saucepan and bring them to a gentle simmer. Turn off the heat and let infuse for 15 minutes with the lid on the pan.
Whisk the sugar, eggs and egg yolks and add the melted butter while whisking.
Remove the pods from the milk. Add 1/4 of the hot milk into the egg mixture and mix well. Add flour and continue mixing until combined. Slowly add the remaining milk while continuing to mix until all ingredients are mixed well. Add rum and mix well so you will avoid lumps and will have the perfect consistency of the batter. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. This is very important because the flavor improves dramatically by the second day and third day.
When you use the batter, stir it well and work it at least 2 minutes with a whisk.
Preheat oven to 280°C. Fill the molds with the batter to 1 cm from the top and bake the caneles for 10 minutes. Drop the temperature to 190°C without opening the oven and continue baking for another 45-50 minutes. Remove them from the oven and take the caneles out of the molds and place them on a cooling rack upside down. Let cool down for 1 hours at a normal temperature and eat them on the day they are baked.