MEEKS' EATS': I canelé, I love this French pastry
A pastry with it all — crunchy, spongey, sweet... but not TOO sweet 😘
I canelé, I can’t!
These lil’ guys have been on my radar for a long time. They’re basically a fun custard — a couple extra ingredients, a super spesh pan, and a long ass bake. 😮💨
My favourite part is how the custard bakes differently, making a couple of different textures. It’s got a lil’ crunch, a lil’ bounce, a lil’ fluff, and big flavour. Like food magic, the batter will caramelize on the outside to make a crispy shell, while the inside stays light and airy.
I’ve made these a handful of times now, and love them every time. I’m not a pastry chef nor am I a French cuisineaux, but I do like to bake and I’d like to think I bake these pretty great.
Now, there are a lot of great recipes online. I started out by trying both recipes from Taste of Artisan and Serious Eats, but had to figure out what works best for my oven and equipment. I don’t own the copper molds, but I did get this carbon steel canelé pan for the price of about 2 copper molds. I’m sure that the copper ones would elevate my canelé to the next level, but this pan works great. I mean, I can cook a ton at a time, which I love.
I also don’t use vanilla beans here — I’m a convert to the tonka bean. These lil’ nasties are illegal in the USA, but here in Canada they’re at most spice stores. The tonka bean is CRAZY DELISH. It produces a sweet, creamy fragrance, and similar taste as vanilla, but with a darker, cinnamon-y, wheat-y undertone. Just trust me on this.
Anyway, read ‘til the end for some post-canelé thots!
Xo, Meeks
Makes ~20 canelé (smaller size than copper molds)
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