French Canneles Recipe

This decadent recipe for a French pastry flavored with rum and vanilla with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust is something I have been wanting to try for a long time. So, I ordered my cannele pan and researched a hundred recipes. There are so many variations out there.
Next time I am going to make an espresso version adding 1 Tablespoon of espresso powder to the warm mix and butter mixture. I’ll report back when I do!
Just a side note, I think this batter should make up 16-18 canneles, but I spilled my bowl of batter getting it out of the fridge and lost some… I almost cried.
So, the result, tasting these scrumptious treats was even more delightful after mourning the loss of the batter.
Enjoy!

Erin

This ChefMade Mould can be bought here.

Refrigerate batter overnight.

Drop pad of butter in and grease the sides with more butter.

Fill up to 1 cm from top of tin.

Bake until canneles turn a bronze caramel color.

French Cannele Recipe

Makes 16-18, depending on mold size

​INGREDIENTS

​2 cups whole milk
3 ½ Tablespoons unsalted butter for the batter
¾ Cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
2 Cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup rum – optional
1 stick of soften butter for greasing the insides of the moulds.
 
DIRECTIONS
Place the milk and 3 ½ tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan and bring to the boil until butter is melted. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool a little.
Place the flour, powdered sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Place the eggs and egg yolks into a separate bowl and beat lightly, be sure to not whip too much air into the eggs.
Pour the warm milk and eggs into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk everything together gently until you have a smooth batter.
Strain the batter into a clean bowl, and press through any lumps in the sieve.
Stir in the rum, if using, and vanilla into the batter.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for overnight or longer to rest.
 
If using copper or nonstick moulds:
 
Preheat convection oven to 435°F. (I feel that using the convection setting helps to bake the pastries evenly on all sides.) Heat to 460°F if using regular bake setting.
Note: I entered in 460 on my oven and pressed convection, it then automatically sets heat at 435.
Place 1 tsp of butter in each mold. Using fingers, generously grease the insides of the moulds with soft butter. Place in the oven and heat the moulds for 2-3 minutes to melt the butter.
Remove the batter from the fridge and give it a gentle mix, remembering not to whisk too much air into the batter.
Pour the batter into the mould, leaving a 1 cm border from the top.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350°F, still on convection or (375°F on regular bake), and bake for a further 40 minutes (if using silicone mould, continue to bake for 55-60 minutes) until the cakes have achieved a golden, bronze color.
The best part of these cakes is the crisp, caramelized coating. To achieve this, the cakes will need to be baked until quite brown and golden, but not so much that they are burnt. Check the color after the specified time in the recipe and, if you need to bake them for longer, keep checking at 5-minute intervals.
 
Remove the cakes immediately from the mould and leave them to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Enjoy!