Authentic French Caneles
Crunchy and caramelized on the outside and soft and custardy on the inside. This French caneles recipe is authentic and simply to die for with their characteristic flavors of rum and vanilla.
What is a French Canele?
One of the better French desserts and my absolute favorite pastry! I was introduced to French caneles working at my first restaurant out of college. While we never made them super authentic with the beeswax or in the copper molds, the flavor was still all there. Traditional French caneles defining characteristics include rum and vanilla flavors with a crunchy and caramelized exterior and soft and custardy interior that’s coated in beeswax and baked in a wood fired oven in copper molds. This canele recipe is without beesewax (it’s a mess!) but is still very authentic and perfect to have with your coffee.
History of French Caneles
Canelé is French for “fluted”, but no one knows how the specific molding came to be. French caneles come from the Bordeaux region of France which is particular for wine making. Winemakers used to use egg whites in wine making, so they would have plenty of leftover egg yolks. These egg yolks were given to nuns who would make pastries for poor children. Many different recipes and version of this pastry were created so in 1985, 88 different French pastry chefs got together and created a standard recipe to protect this sacred pastry. That recipe is locked up in a vault to be passed down to future generations. Read a little bit more on the subject here!
French Canele Ingredients
- Rum: A dark rum works better than a light rum for this boozy bake. Can exclude if wanting to make alcohol free and can sub for brandy or cognac if you’re not a rum kind of person.
- Vanilla beans: Any type of vanilla beans will do, but you can substitute with 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. 10/10 would recommend the vanilla beans.
- Egg yolks: This canele recipe uses up several egg yolks so check out these recipes to use up those leftover egg whites!
Major Allergens Present: Gluten, eggs, flour, alcohol
Equipment Needed
No mixer needed for this traditional French caneles recipe!
- Copper canele molds: Caneles defining shape and crispy exterior comes from the mold. I have used silicon ones however it does not get crispy on the outside. If you’re in it with caneles, I suggest splurging on the copper molds or copper coated molds.
How to Make French Caneles:
What is a Canele Pastry Made Out Of?
A canele pastry is a French pastry made with thin batter of mostly whole milk, egg yolks, and flour. This canele recipe uses whole vanilla beans which contain more flavor than extract or paste would, however, they are good substitutes in a pinch. Caneles also contain rum as one of the main flavor components. Enjoy these same day to make the most out of the caramelized exterior and especially with some coffee.
Make the French canele batter:
The first step is warming the milk with the sugar, rum, and vanilla, to steep those rum and vanilla flavors which are so crucial to French caneles. After the milk is flavorful, allow to cool until lukewarm if not already and add in the rest of the ingredients. We do not want too much air incorporated, so it is important to strain to get any air bubbles out. Also, let the batter sit and stir every 15 minutes or so. A crusty layer (gross) tends to form on top and stirring while it is cooling helps prevent. Allow to rest in the fridge definitely overnight but preferably over 2 nights to get in all that flavor.
Bake in copper molds:
Give it a stir and strain again to get out any air bubbles causes them to mushrooming in the oven which we do not want. Spray the heck out of the molds because caneles just love sticking to the mold. Pour until about 1/4 from the top. Start baking at a high temperature to bake the outside quickly then reduce the temperature so slow bake the rest. You will know when they are done when the bottoms are a medium-light golden brown. What do copper molds do? They help get that crunchy, caramelized exterior that’s what. I use copper coated which is not cheap but also not expensive. It’s a good compromise. I have also used silicon which were terrible.
Remove French caneles from mold and enjoy:
These can be a pain to remove, so see my tips below for removing. You want to remove them fresh out of the oven, so grab an oven mitt, and first lightly bang the mold once on a cooling rack. If it doesn’t fall out immediately then move on. For those that do stick, wait for them to cool a bit, and if you have a blow torch, torch the mold. If you have a gas stove, heat it over the flame carefully, or use the broiler. Once you’ve torched the outside, give it another bang on the table. These are best same day. After they sit, the outside is no longer crunchy but they’re still delicious.
Help Making Traditional French Caneles
How to Split Vanilla Beans:
- I usually have a container with my vanilla beans with some water. This will allow the beans to soak up some water and plump them up which make it much easier to split and scrape.
- Use a small cutting board and a small, sharp paring knife. Dig into the top of one side but only split one side. Place your finger above the incision and drag your knife down the length of the bean splitting it open. Peel the two sides apart and scrape the seeds out of both sides dragging the knife down.
How to Remove French Caneles from the Molds:
- Your first attempt should be to bang once on the wire rack or table. Try one more time. If still stuck set aside.
- Do not continue to keep slamming on the table to remove while the whole thing is still warm. Since the inside is still warm and not entirely set, it will fall right out! Wait until it is cool then heat just the outside.
- Carefully, heat the mold with a flame from a blowtorch or a gas stove. Attempt to slam on the table again and again until it falls out.
- If it still doesn’t fall out, then you are stuck with scraping and scrubbing it out.
How to Store and Freeze This French Canele Recipe
- Store the batter in the fridge for up to 5 days. Do not freeze.
- Keep in bag or airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge or freeze.
Troubleshooting French Caneles:
- My batter grew a weird crusty layer on top! That is just sugar crystallizing! Carefully heat up the mixture stirring constantly to remove and allow to cool before baking. In the future, stir every 15 or 30 minutes before placing in the fridge.
- My French caneles are mushrooming in the oven! Too much air in the batter! Make sure to strain more than once and allow to sit for at least 16 hours before baking.
- They won’t come out of the molds! You didn’t spray enough! I wasn’t kidding when I say to spray the heck out them. Read my tips above for removing stickers.
Something else going wrong? Reach out and we will troubleshoot together!
French Caneles
Equipment
- 12 ea Canelé molds I use copper coated
Ingredients
- 1 ea Vanilla bean
- 570 g Whole milk
- 1½ Tbs Dark rum Light rum works fine too
- 195 g Granulated sugar
- 2½ Tbs Butter
- 125 g AP flour
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- 5 ea Egg yolks
Instructions
- Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean and combine with milk in a medium pot. Include the vanilla bean pod.
- Add in the rum and sugar and steep over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is flavorful.
- Whisk in the butter until melted and allow to cool until lukewarm.
- Whisk in the flour and salt followed by the egg yolks.
- Allow mixture to cool to room temperature while stirring every 15-30 minutes.
- Strain into a container and allow to sit for 2 nights or overnight at a minimum.
- Preheat the oven to 525°F and heavily spray the canele molds with pan spray.
- Stir the batter and strain one more time.
- Fill the heavily sprayed canelé molds almost to the top leaving about a quarter inch from the top.
- Bake at 525°F for 10 minutes then reduce to 450°F. Bake for another 40-45 minutes or until the bottom is a medium-light golden brown.
- Immediately attempt to remove from the molds very carefully. Give it one slam on a wire rack. If that does not work, try one more time before moving on. Allow the stuck ones to cool before heating over a flame and attempting to slam it out of the molds. Read my tips for more help removing.
Nutrition
I confess I did not actually make these. I obtained them from 12 kitchens for a holiday dinner. Fabulous crispy outside with a sweet almost creamy/spongy inside. Small enough to pop them in your mouth like potato chips. Yummy! If you’re an adventurous baker, you must try these.