Canelé recipes (or cannelés)

Although the origins of the cannelé are uncertain, history tells that the nuns of the Annonciades convent in Bordeaux made them for the poor. They used as ingredients the wheat they found on the quays, fallen from the ship holds or from torn sacks, and the egg yolks that were discarded to clarify the wine, since only the whites were used in the cellars. Thanks to the ships that arrived at the Port of the Moon, they obtained vanilla and rum to enrich their recipe.

With the closure of the convent, the recipe fell into disuse until, in the 1980s, some pastry chefs from the city revised and corrected it, making these delicious little cakes with a caramelized, crunchy exterior and a soft, aromatic interior, a culinary emblem of Bordeaux. They even came to have their own guild, which decided to drop one of the "n" from cannelé in 1985. That is why we find its name written both ways. And whether we bite into a canelé or into a cannelé, we'll touch the sky!

This little cake gets its name from its cylindrical shape with fluted or grooved edges, like a canelet (or canelón in its original language, Gascon). Traditionally they were baked in copper molds that were coated with a layer of beeswax to get that delicious outer crust. Its ingredients, in addition to flour, egg yolks, rum and vanilla, are white sugar and butter.

Today we can find many recipes for surprising and delicious cannelés, baked in molds that, while not copper, allow us to achieve the same wonderful result, such as the Le Creuset nonstick cannelé mold.

And so you can enjoy your Le Creuset cannelé mold, in this post I bring you:

• three cannelé recipes: chocolate canelé, the traditional canelé and a delicious pink almond drink canelé.
• the recommendations so the result is almost perfect and every bite transports you to Bordeaux (you'll see them at the end of this post)
• a reminder about the mold that will surely interest you

Whether you have a sweet tooth or prefer savory bites, you can't miss making these. Let's go!

1) Chocolate Canelé Recipe

Ingredients for 12 cannelés

For the cannelé batter:

• 500 ml whole milk
• 125 g flour
• 250 g white sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla pod
• 20 g unsweetened cocoa powder

For decoration:

• 30 g cocoa powder

Le Creuset Nonstick Canelé Mold

Preparation

1. Put the milk in a saucepan and bring it to a boil with the vanilla pod. Cover the pan and let it cool to room temperature.
2. In a bowl add the flour, the sugar and the cocoa powder and pour in the milk, stirring to mix well.
3. Add the egg yolks and, with a spatula, stir until fully incorporated.
4. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for between 12 and 24 hours. This step is important and one of the secrets of cannelés.
5. After 12 to 24 hours, take the mixture out of the fridge 60 minutes before baking and divide it into your Le Creuset nonstick cannelé mold.
6. Preheat the oven to 220º C.
7. When the oven is at 220º C, put the mold in and bake for 10 minutes at 220º C and for 50 minutes at 180º C.
8. After that time, check the color of the cannelés and if you see the batter is still pale, bake for another 5 minutes.
9. Remove the mold from the oven and let it cool on your Le Creuset cooling and baking rack for about 10 minutes.
10. Unmold the cannelés and place them on the rack to give them the finishing touch.
11. Generously dust them with cocoa powder.
12. Arrange them on a tray and enjoy their delicious flavor.

Le Creuset Nonstick Canelé Mold

2) Traditional Bordeaux Canelé Recipe

Ingredients for 12 cannelés

For the cannelé batter:

• 500 ml whole milk
• 125 g flour
• 250 g white sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla pod
  
• 60 g dark rum

Preparation

1. Bring the milk to a boil with the seeds from the vanilla pod. To extract them, cut the pod lengthwise with the tip of a knife (without cutting through). Using the blunt edge of the knife, scrape the pod from top to bottom and immediately add the seeds to the milk.
2. Cover the pan and let it cool to room temperature.
3. In a bowl add the flour and the sugar and pour in the milk, stirring constantly so it mixes well.
4. Add the egg yolks and the rum and, with a spatula, stir until fully incorporated.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for between 12 and 24 hours. Ideally, prepare the batter one day and leave it in the fridge until the next day. This step is important and one of the secrets of cannelés.
6. Take the mixture out of the fridge 60 minutes before baking and divide it into your Le Creuset nonstick cannelé mold.
7. Preheat the oven to 220º C.
8. When the oven is at 220º C, put the mold in and bake for 10 minutes at 220º C and for 50 minutes at 180º C.
9. After that time, check the color of the cannelés and if you see the batter is still pale, bake for another 5 minutes.
10. Remove the mold from the oven, set it on your Le Creuset cooling and baking rack and let the cannelés cool inside,
    
11. Once they have cooled, you can unmold them. Remove the cannelés, and enjoy this wonderful little cake!

Le Creuset Nonstick Canelé Mold

3) Pink Almond Drink Canelé Recipe

Ingredients for 12 cannelés

For the cannelé batter:

• 500 ml almond drink
• 125 g flour
• 250 g white sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 grated tonka bean
  

For decoration:

• 100 g white chocolate
• 5 drops red food coloring
  
• Strawberries or raspberries

Preparation

1. Put the almond drink in a saucepan and bring it to a boil with the grated half tonka bean. Cover the pan and let it cool to room temperature.
2. In a bowl add the flour and the sugar and pour in the almond drink, stirring to mix well.
3. Add the egg yolks and, with a spatula, stir until fully incorporated.
4. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for between 12 and 24 hours. This step is important and one of the secrets of cannelés.
5. After 12 to 24 hours, take the mixture out of the fridge 60 minutes before baking and divide it into your Le Creuset nonstick cannelé mold.
6. Preheat the oven to 220º C.
7. When the oven is at 220º C, put the mold in and bake for 10 minutes at 220º C and for 50 minutes at 180º C.
8. After that time, check the color of the cannelés and if you see the batter is still pale, bake for another 5 minutes.
9. Remove the mold from the oven and let it cool on your Le Creuset cooling and baking rack for about 10 minutes.
10. Unmold the cannelés and place them on the rack.
11. Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie and add the drops of red food coloring, stirring until the chocolate has a uniform pink color.
    
12. Spread the melted chocolate into the 12 cavities of the mold to glaze them.
13. Put the 12 cannelés back into the mold and place the mold in the refrigerator for 60 minutes.
14. Take the mold out of the fridge and remove the cannelés.
15. Decorate them to your liking with strawberries or raspberries and enjoy!

Le Creuset Nonstick Canelé Mold

Recommendations for preparing cannelés

• When preparing sweet cannelés, it is important that the batter rests for at least 12 to 24 hours in a cool place so it settles. Ideally prepare the mixture, leave it in the fridge and bake the cannelés the next day.
• Once the batter has rested, we must take it out of the fridge at least one hour before baking so it enters the oven at room temperature. This will achieve the most perfect possible baking.
• When mixing the ingredients we should not beat the mixture, so as not to incorporate air into the batter. If we beat it, when baked the cannelés would rise and overflow from the molds.

If, like me, these sweets have captivated you, you can't miss this other delicious traditional cannelé recipe that we have on the blog. Will you dare to make it?

Final note

There is one more thing you should know: the Le Creuset cannelé mold is, after all, a nonstick small cake mold with a special shape for these beautiful creations, but it is also a nonstick mold. So you can use it to bake your cupcake or cake recipes, or make flans, puddings or panna cottas in it. Will you try it for a thousand and one things that will look beautiful with the delicate cannelé shape?