French cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Canelés de Bordeaux

Small rum cakes from Bordeaux with a dark caramelized crust and a soft vanilla center.

Ingredients · for 8 servings

• 500 ml whole milk
• 50 g butter
• 1 vanilla pod
• 250 g sugar
• 120 g flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 pinch salt
• 5 tbsp dark rum
• 20 g soft butter

Instructions

1. Split the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and bring both to a boil with the whole milk and 50 g butter; remove from heat and let steep covered for 15 min. - the batter must then rest for at least 12 hours, so plan a day ahead.
2. Mix sugar, flour and salt in a bowl, add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk only briefly into a thick paste, so the batter doesn't become airy.
3. Stir in the still-warm vanilla milk in a thin stream, add the rum, pass the batter through a fine sieve and chill covered for at least 12 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 240 °C top/bottom heat and thinly brush the canelé molds with the soft butter; stir the cold batter and fill the molds three-quarters full.
5. Bake the canelés for 15 min. at 240 °C, then lower the temperature to 180 °C and bake for another 45-50 min. until the crust is almost black-brown and the center still soft.
6. Turn out immediately from the molds onto a rack, let cool for 1 hour and serve the same day - only then is the crust crisp and the center custard-like.