Canelés de Bordeaux
Vanilla custard cakes
Bordeaux's dark-crusted custard cakes with vanilla (canelés)
Small, fluted and almost black on the outside, canelés are the signature cake of Bordeaux, sold in pâtisseries all over the city and eaten with morning coffee or at teatime. The thick, caramelised crust cracks to reveal a soft, custardy centre scented with vanilla. The batter traditionally includes dark rum; this version gives it as an option and uses extra vanilla and a little orange zest instead, so it can be made alcohol-free. Copper moulds are traditional, but silicone canelé moulds work well at home. Chef's tip: rest the batter for at least 24 hours in the fridge; fresh batter puffs up like a soufflé and the cakes lose their shape.
- Total time
- 1500 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 ¾ oz unsalted butter
- 1 vanilla podsplit, or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz icing sugar
- 3 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp orange zestfinely grated, for the alcohol-free version
- 3 tbsp dark rum (optional)traditional, leave out for alcohol-free
- 1 oz buttermelted, for the moulds
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Heat 2 cups whole milk, 1 ¾ oz unsalted butter and 1 vanilla pod in a pan until the butter melts and the milk just reaches the boil. Take off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
12 minStep 2: Sift 8 oz icing sugar, 3 ½ oz plain flour and 1 pinch salt into a bowl. Whisk 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks together lightly in another bowl.
Step 3: Pour the eggs into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula, then pour in the warm milk gradually, stirring gently, until it looks like thin crêpe batter. Common mistake: whisking hard, which beats in air and makes the canelés rise and crack.
5 minStep 4: Stir in ½ tsp orange zest and 3 tbsp dark rum if using. Cover and chill for 24–48 hours.
1440 minStep 5: Heat the oven to 475°F (450°F fan) with a baking tray inside. Brush 16 small canelé moulds generously with 1 oz butter and stand them in the freezer for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 6: Take the vanilla pod out of the batter and stir gently to bring it back together. Fill each mould to 1 cm from the top.
Step 7: Set the moulds on the hot tray and bake for 12 minutes, then lower the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and bake for 45–50 minutes more, until the crusts are a deep mahogany brown, almost black at the ridges. If they rise out of the moulds, take them out, tap them back down, and return them.
60 minStep 8: Turn out onto a rack straight away and cool for at least an hour. The crust crisps as they cool; eat them on the day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does canelés de Bordeaux take?
- About 1500 minutes in total: 1440 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of unsalted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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