I had never tried a French pastry called canele (canelé) until just just a couple of months ago, and I realized that I’d been missing out big time. These little morsels are nothing like anything else I’ve ever tried. Rich, moist and custardy interior is sealed into a thin, crispy, caramelized shell. As you bite into them you there is a distinct crackling sound, then your teeth sink into soft, sweet and custardy goodness. They are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat.
I have to tell you though, making canele proved to be one of the biggest culinary challenges I’d ever faced. I went through one canele recipe after another, making a dozen batches before I got the results that I would consider decent.
As I read various recipes and instructions on the Internet I concluded that it’s not the canele recipe that makes a great canele, it’s the process. Most canele recipes are fairly similar, to the point where they look practically identical. What differs is how you mix the ingredients and how you bake your caneles. I am convinced that the baking temperature was the biggest success factor for me.
The canele recipe that I posted below evolved from a few recipes that I came across during my quest – books, forums posts and blogs. It works perfectly for me.
Going for canele authenticity – using copper molds
From the get-go I decided to go for authenticity and the best possible results. This meant not wasting any money on silicone and aluminum molds and immediately going for the real deal – the copper canele molds. Pierre Hermé himself suggested that it is imperative to use copper molds, which ensure the ideal cooking. And who wants to settle for less than ideal?
Update on copper tin-lined canele molds – June 23, 2016
I read through various reviews and ended up buying eight 2-inch Matfer Bourgeat canele molds. They cost me a small fortune but I absolutely love them. Mauviel M’Passion canele molds are very similar. Both brands are very popular and make excellent quality canele molds, so I would go with the cheaper ones you can find.
These molds are by no means cheap, they typically sell for about $20-25 a piece. However, I noticed that recently Amazon started having some really good deals on these, such as this one:
This is half the price per mold than what I paid when I purchased my first eight canele molds. These are neither Matfer nor Mauviel but they look like the real deal. Here is what I think: I recently got additional 12 canele molds that came from Bordeaux, France. They were no-brand, generic tin-lined copper molds from Bordeaux, but they look identical to the 8 Matfer molds I got here. The molds in the link above are also said to have come from Bordeaux and look very much like mine.
Coating canele molds with beeswax and butter mix
To get beautiful, shiny exterior you absolutely must use beeswax and butter mix to coat the inside of the molds. You may want to go with organic beeswax, but I went with regular one due to significant price difference. You can get it from any health food store or on Amazon. In any case, you want pure beeswax, with no additives, like the one below.
A simple and effective way to apply beeswax to molds
I’ve seen some very complicated methods for how to apply beeswax/butter mix to the molds, but through experimentation I realized it was not necessary. My very simple method involves heating beeswax and butter in a microwave until liquid, then pouring the mix into molds and immediately pouring back to the original container. This way I get full coverage and a very thin and even coat throughout.
Brushing turned out a bad idea as the wax hardens quickly on the brush resulting in pure mess. Cleaning the brush afterwards was something else too. I mean, you could preheat the molds and then brush, it would probably work too, but that’s just another extra step and you have to target the proper temperature, and wear mittens. Who wants that? And you need to clean the brush anyway.
After pouring the mix back, I placed the molds upside down on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath to let excess drip down.I would then chill the molds in a freezer for about 10 minutes, fill them with batter to about 3/8 inch from the top.
The problem of canele ‘mushrooming’
My biggest challenge in the way of getting a decent caneles was that they would rise out out of the molds, grow a big mushroom head and never sink back in. They would look unsightly and grotesque. There would be no beautiful sheen, and the bottoms would be white and under-cooked. A number of bloggers on the internet suggested that this puffing up was the result of too much air being introduced during mixing of the batter. I tried no mixing at all, pushing all the ingredients through a sieve following suggestions, a very laborious and messy task, but the end result was all but the same. Then I also watched a few videos and some French bakers don’t seem to care about air, vigorously whisking their batter away.
Possible solutions
Some authors suggest watching caneles closely for the first 30 minutes and taking them out of the oven as soon as they start to rise of the molds and keeping them out until they would sink back in. Hm… I tried that, but it’s too complicated and laborious for my liking. Frankly, it did not work too well either. As soon as you put them back in, they would start rising again. You need to repeat this step multiple times to get them finally not to mushroom, and that was just not for me. I wanted a perfect canelé without all that nonsense and trouble.
Another ‘trick’ I tried was to do with the temperature. Some canele recipes suggested starting the bake at a higher temperature for the caneles to form a hard surface which would prevent mushrooming. Some start at 450F, some at 500F. I tried both and it did not work for me. Still mushrooming like crazy and never sink back in. Using convection function kind of worked, but tops turned out too burnt.
The solution that resulted in a perfect canele
Then, it finally all clicked into place. I visited a French forum (thank you Google for the ‘translate’ feature) and noticed that practically every canele recipe there calls for starting temperature of 270C to 290C, that’s 520F to 550F. Some even go as high as 300C! Maybe that was my problem? That my oven wasn’t hot enough for the outer shell to form quick enough and prevent mushrooming? I pre-heated the oven to 550F and baked caneles at this temperature for 10 minutes. Below is what I saw – some rising but no crazy mushrooming. Yet. I turned the heat down to 375F and let caneles bake for another 50 minutes.
They came out perfect. Hooray!!! Finally!!! I did it!!! They sank back in and came out exactly how I wanted them.
Occasional ‘white butt’ problem
I tried the method described above several times afterwards and it worked perfectly well every time. At the very least, it works with my oven. Sometimes one or two little buggers don’t sink back in all the way and you get what French call the ‘white butt’ problem – caneles that come out with white bottoms. You can see a couple of those on the picture below.
It seems that it happens when you fill the molds a tad too much causing caneles to expand at the top during earlier baking stages which prevents them from dropping all they way back down and touch the bottom of the mold at a later stage. How much is a little too much? It’s more than what you see on the picture below.
Cannelés (Canelés) de Bordeaux Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 vanilla beans (preferably Madagascan)
- 500 ml milk (cold)
- 200 g cane sugar (250 g if you want more sweetness following traditional recipes; I use 200 g)
- 100 g all-purpose flour (you can also use bread flour)
- 50 g butter (melted)
- 2 eggs (large)
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 Tbsp dark rum
For the mold coating:
- 40 g beeswax
- 60 g butter
Instructions
- Pierre Hermé recommends that before you use your copper canele molds for the first time, clean them, and then season them by coating them with butter and placing them for 20 minutes in a hot oven - 250° C (500° F) or more. Remove them from the oven, clean them with a paper towel while they’re still hot, and allow them to cool before using. Never wash the molds, simply wipe with a dry cloth or a paper towel after each use.
- Slit the vanilla beans lengthwise, and scrape the seeds from them with a small knife. Put the seeds, vanilla pods, and milk in a saucepan and bring them to a gentle simmer, and then turn off the heat and let sit for two minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, eggs and egg yolks. Add melted butter and whisk more until combined.
- Remove the pods from the milk. Add 1/4 of the hot milk into egg mixture and mix well. Add flour and continue mixing until combined. Then slowly add the remaining milk while continuing to mix until all ingredients are mixed well. Add rum and mix. This way you will avoid lumps and will end up with the perfect consistency of the batter. (Note: this step is very important. Adding hot milk to egg mixture will temper the eggs and create custard which will ensure perfect consistency of your caneles).
- Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. This is non-negotiable. The texture and flavor improves dramatically by the second day and third day. So, 24 hour rest is mandatory. 48 hours if you want amazing canele. The batter may be kept in a fridge for up to 4 days. Each time you use the batter, stir it well and work it at least 2 minutes with a whisk.
- For a smooth, shiny surface that accentuates the dark brown color of the caneles coat the molds with a mix of 40 g beeswax and 60 g butter melted together. For this, melt the beeswax and butter together, quickly pour the mix into a mold and then back out into the original container. Turn upside down on a cooling rack with paper towel underneath to catch drippings. Once cooled down, chill in a freezer or a refrigerator until ready to bake.
- Preheat oven to 550F. Fill the molds with batter to 3/8 inch (1 cm) from the top. Place on a foil lined backing sheet and bake the caneles at 550F for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven, drop the temperature to 375F and continue baking for another 45-50 minutes. Every oven is different, so your baking times may need to be adjusted.
- Remove caneles from the oven. Quickly remove caneles from the molds and place on a cooling rack upside down. Caneles usually slide right out of their molds, but if they don't, turn the mold upside down and knock on a hard surface, such as a cutting board.
- Let cool for 2 hours at room temperature. Caneles must be eaten on the day they are baked.
Notes
Nutrition
Updated on March 19, 2019
Pauline
I just made this in a baking tin, it came out really well. Great recipe. The only think I would add a sprinkle of salt in the recipe to enhance the sweet
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Glad it worked out for you using a baking tin. Happy baking!
Tatjana
great recipe and most of all, very very useful tips and tricks without which I don’t think I would have ever managed to do canele! thank you for the generous sharing of what must have been hours, days of trying out until figuring it out. thank you!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome!
Mavis
Wow, thank you for the detailed explanation!
Sara H.
Great recipe! Is there any way this can be made without alcohol, will it affect the texture?-I would like it to have that custard center.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Sara, you can omit alcohol, the texture won’t be affected, at least not in a noticeable way. Most of the alcohol will evaporate during cooking anyway…
Jeff
I purchased about 10 of the copper molds years ago in France but didn’t have access to them. I recently purchased the tray mold that makes 12 at a time along with the beeswax from Amazon. After my purchase I read of the difficulty in coating the tray type mold because of there being 12 and it being difficult to get a thin coating inside all. I also read that the 4 molds in the center don’t receive as much heat as they are shielded. Sooo, I placed the tray in the oven as it preheated, heated my butter and wax in the microwave. I used a silicone brush and lightly coated the 2 outside rows. The wax mix pooled in the bottom of the molds but I continually dipped into that to fill the others. I followed the recipe baking them at 475 for 15 min ( the pan says it can be heated safely to 450 because it is coated, I went slightly over) and then reduced it to 375 for 45 more min. They easily came out of the molds. The outside was crisp and the inside custardy. I paid less for the tray mold than 1 copper mold and I was able to do 8 at once. They are a delicious pastry and I recommend trying them.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Jeff, thanks for your feedback on an alternative type of molds. Glad you had success with them.
Bea
I’ve been using Pascal Rigo’s recipe for almost 20 years with perfect . results. It’s so easy & I’ve never heard of white butts or mushrooming at all , lol..I now know in case it happens. I do let my batter rest in fridge for 12 hours that’s it. Let me know if you’d like the recipe. I bake at 425°f for 50 minutes.
Missy
Thank you so much for such a thorough and thoughtful recipe! I have wanted to make these for years having tasted them in a bakery in Portland once upon a time. I bought the french copper mouldes when in Amsterdam 4 years ago. They and the beeswax the shop owner gifted me have been sitting in a drawer not touched all this time and this year for my birthday, it felt like time. I try to bake almost exclusively with Einkorn flour and I felt like this recipe would work well with the quirks of Einkorn because of the custard consistency and the 48+hour refrigeration. First batch mushroomed over a bit and then had lighter tops when turned out. Second batch, I switched from convection to regular oven and filled a little less and they came out perfectly! This recipe will be saved forever. Once again, thank you so much for experimenting and sharing your experiences– it really made a difference in understanding how these work and what makes them so divine!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Missy, I am very happy to hear about your success. It must have been wonderful to re-discover some forgotten tools in your pantry and create something as wonderful as caneles with them. Happy baking!
Carole
What is the best way to keep them, to last about 5 days?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
These are best consumed the day they are baked and, unfortunately, there isn’t a good way to keep them as good as the time they come out of the oven for more than a few hours. I’ve tried cooling them down and storing and in an air-tight container as well as refrigerating them. Mine don’t last more than 2 days so I can’t commend on 5 days but I’d say refrigerating them would be a better method though you will lose more of that crunch.
Cactus GR
Thank you for an excellent recipe and steps/tips. The Canneles came out so good. Chewy crispy outside and custard soft inside. I used copper moulds that I bought on France website https://www.laboetgato.fr. I also bought the slider greasing agent for canneles from the same website. It really save a lot of work instead of using new wax and butter. I wish I can upload some pictures and show you how beautiful these Canneles are. Thank you again!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome. Happy to hear about your success. I tried the slider grease from that place out of curiosity some time ago but did not like the results with it, at least not as much as I do with the beeswax/butter mix. Just my personal take on it. But I agree, it’s easier to use.
Mahshid
Can you use again leftover of beeswax and butter mixture?
I made canele for first time. It turned great👌🏼.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I do it all the time. No problem with that. Keep refrigerated though. Happy to hear that your canele turned out great.
Hoyt Neumeister
Awesome 🙂
Carol
Hello again,
I tried your recipe today and I think for my first time they turned out great. ( even though I didn’t see your reply about the seasoning till now.) I will wash the molds again and season them.
Thanks for a great recipe!
/Users/Carol/Desktop/115650298_2933008510160832_4084752230922784340_o.jpg
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome, Carol. Glad to hear that your pastries turned out great. Seasoning can be done at any time, it’s to prevent bits of pastry sticking to the molds. If you didn’t have any sticking and the pastries came out fine, the molds have got seasoned during baking.
Carol
I am excited to try your recipe and am going to bake them in the next day or two as I have already made the batter. I have my copper molds from France and I washed them with hot soapy water and was going to just coat them with the butter/beeswax combo but read below about someone needed to season them with vegetable oil. I’m now concerned that I would need to season them with oil before I use the beeswax/butter combo, is that correct?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Carol,
yes, you must season them before coating with wax/butter mix.
Liza Brickey
You have put all that needs to be said very well..Thank you for sharing..
Elena
Hi,
I think the batter turned out nice, but my oven is not good at all. Still learning how it works as it came with the kitchen and was left by the previous owners. So I ended up with canele mushrooms which are completely burnt((( Btw I used mini silicone molds and adjusted time accordingly, but the tops are burnt.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Elena, sorry to hear about your mushrooming problem. That’s the battle I fought initially too. Burnt tops can be fixed by lowering the rack. Silicone molds are not ideal but I’ve seen people have success with those, though the color was always pale and spotty instead of uniformly dark, almost black. Those still taste pretty darn good though. My first batches were quite sad looking compared to what I get now but we still enjoyed them a lot.
Mink
I haven’t actually tried making the canelés yet, but am very impressed by your instructions and comments. I love your level of detail and explanation, of of which is beautifully clear, so thank you!!!)
I make lots of sourdough bread, and, admiring an excellent bought canelé recently, decided that they must be a yeasted product, because of their holeyness, but your explanation of the 48 hour+ rest, makes sense to me for that texture.
Very much looking forward to having a go, having first tracked down the moulds!
(We have our own bees, so am excited at the idea of using some of our own beeswax!)
(Also, seeing question re: an oven that doesn’t go so high, neither does ours, but wondering if putting in pizza stones for a decent period of time might help increase temperature, as we find when making pizzas….)
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Thank you for the kind words, Mink. Own beeswax and honey… yum… To your question, yes, the stone may help. I use it to make Portuguese custard tarts. Stored heat of the stone(s) makes a difference for many baked goods.
Jenny
Hi, thanks for the recipe! What would you suggest if my oven only goes up to 260c/500f and I only have a concoction oven? Is there anything I can do to prevent mushrooming? I noticed someone say cover it in foil, but when do you do this?
Thanks.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Jenny, if your oven only goes to 500F than there isn’t much you can do but try baking at that temp and see if that works. You may be surprised. Everyone’s oven bakes differently. As far as covering with foil, I’ve never done that so I can’t provide informed advice on this.
Diana
Great!
How do you wax the base of the canele? This is the exposed part of the canele so how do you coat it throughly?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Sorry, Diana, but I can’t understand what you are asking. Perhaps you can ask your question differently. In general, you don’t wax the pasty itself, you coat the inside of canele molds before pouring in batter.
Nicole
I didn’t know beeswax is consumable ?? Do you get have to get a specific consumable version of it ? As here in France it’s impossible to find.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Yes, it’s consumable. I buy mine at a health food store. Amazon sells it too. Would have thought that it would be easily available in France…hm…
Denise
Will the batter hold long enough to bake half the batch at a time?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Sure, just put unsued one back in the fridge.
Anastasya Silvana
Hi Victor, im from Indonesia and i tried to make the perfect canele for my bakery shop. And i already read all your tips and tricks. But, everytime i use beeswax or beeswax butter, the dough of the canele when i oven it, the top of it rise become like a dome, like a small muffin. Can you help me why is it like that?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
The only thing I know that could be causing it is low initial temperature. As you’ve already read in my post, I too had this problem initially and solved it by starting at a very high temperature.
Tim
Hi Victor
I just did my first batch and the consistency was a bit wet and custard-like. My oven is a convection oven and the highest temp is 550F (285C). I followed your instructions and baked for 10 mins then dropped to 375 (190C) for 45 mins. The batter did not rise too much, certainly not above the rim of the mould. The outside did colour quite well with brown bottoms but the insides were not light and airy. Do you think using a pizza steel or stone under the tray might help?
TIm
Update….I did it again using the baking steel and hey presto!! they worked. the outside was little overdone but I intend on fixing that which should be easy enough to pull them out a bit sooner, maybe only need 40 mins at 190C
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Tim, thanks for the update. Steel has high heat capacity so that may have contributed to the outsides being overdone. Adjusting the time in the oven or the temperature should help.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Sorry for the delay Tim. Been having issues with my computer. Looks like you’ve got it sorted out. As I mentioned in my other comment, reducing the temperature, or the time in the oven should help with the outsides coming out overdone. Steel/cast iron packs a lot of heat capacity so you have to be a little careful using those. For example, my bread baked at the same temperature (450F) in a cast iron combo cooker vs a clay cloche always has a slightly overdone (burnt) bottom.
TCN
Any concern about the high temps and the tin lining of the copper molds? Tin melts at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Perhaps the cooler batter keeps the tin temp lower?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
No concern and true, the batter keeps it cool. Good question. Someone asked me about it before, see my response on December 14, 2019.
TCN
Thank you for the response. Wonderful article (and detective work!).
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are welcome!
Selma
Made this recipe a dozen times and couldn’t be happier with the results.
Dee Dee
I used a non-stick pan from CHEFMADE and these came out great! Did not stick, rose nicely and looked just like the pictures on this site. I was sure to let the batter rest a day or two in the fridge.
Laura
Thank you for an amazing recipe!
The taste was divine, and the outer crust was perfect. However The insides of my canelé were a little wet and undone. There were excellent air pockets, just the very center was wet and mushy.
My oven only goes up to 500 degrees, so I tried to compensate with a longer time.
Any advice to getting the inside perfectly set?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome, Laura. The very high initial temperature helps with mushrooming. It’s been the single biggest problem for many of us baking these pastries at home. If you’d like your canele to have firmer centers, the only thing I can suggest is trying to bake them a little longer at 375F. Pierre Herme says they are done when they are black so a few extra minutes of baking won’t hurt.
Sarah
Thank you so much for your recipe! I tried baking the caneles in a nonstick mini muffin pan because I wanted them to be bite sized. I tried baking them at a higher temperature and then lowering it down but have been unsuccessful. The caneles always seem to rise and mushroom so much. I was wondering if you have any tips for me?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Sorry, I have no experience with baking canele in non-stick pans. I wouldn’t advise using them either as at high temps they release toxic chemicals. The only thing I would advise is to invest in copper molds, they are worth it. They come in bite sizes too.
Anne
Thank you for your canele recipe and useful tips.
I’ve made it several times. My family and friends love it.
For me, I use only the butter coating and nonstick moulds and it comes out fine.
I dream to have copper moulds some days. 😊
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Glad to hear it, Anne. Happy baking!
Dee Dee
I tried this recipe, having never tasted a canele before – it just seemed so interesting. I bought a pan, a metal pan, not the lovely copper, and followed the directions exactly, (except that I didn’t have vanilla beans so used 1 t vanilla paste) and had a wonderful surprise. Delicious. My only question was whether they were a little too browned. Difficult for me to know since I have’t had them before, but they were really browned with a deep carmelized but not burnt taste. So, the next day, I used the leftover batter (had filled a 12 cake pan and had a couple of cups left over, so just refrigerated it) and decreased the 550 time down by 3 minutes. The 7 minutes on high, and 35-40 at 350 made perfect caneles today. My original batch stayed in the fridge for 48 hours. They popped out of the pan nicely – I just used spray oil before filling with the batter. Having to make the batter ahead makes the actual baking so easy. Just reach in the fridge and bake – the clean-up is already done. These are SO good, unlike any other dessert treat. The good/bad thing is that you can’t impusle bake them since you have to plan ahead for these tasty treats, and have to wait a couple of days to gobble them up.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Dee Dee, I hear you about impulse baking… it IS good and bad at the same time;-) The dark color is a characteristic of canele. Pierre Herme says they are done when they are black.
Annie
Hi again Victor, I baked off the canelés today and they are nearly perfect. I can’t believe it. The only tweaks I will make next time is to reduce the rum to 3T as my rum was quite strong, and try baking on non-convection mode. Unfortunately I started these on convection mode and the top edges were looking nearly burnt in the early stages. I covered them partially with foil and switched to non-convection mode and that did the trick. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and opening up this forum to collectively fawn over and geek out over this unicorn of the pastry realm!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Annie. Happy to hear about your results. Convection is a no-go then… thanks for sharing your experience and happy baking!
Jeannette
Dear Victor,
Many thanks for this awesome and fabulous Canale receipe. The results are amazing!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are welcome, Jeannette. Happy to hear about your results.
Andrea
Hello, hello!!!
I, like so many above me, have to give high praise to this post!! To have found so much information in one place, after reading countless others, i finally feel ready to take on this quizzing, non-convection oven project! 😀 Today is the day! The two copper molds I own have been seasoned with butter and beeswax. The vanilla-rum batter (I used 3 tsp vanilla extract- no beans or paste available) has been in the refridgerator for 48 hours. I am not going add any more rum ( I used Myer’s Dark Rum), as i can still taste it in the batter. I have put my two filled molds (sans approx. four teaspoons of batter- so about a quarter inch from the top) into a 550 degree electric oven. I will bake them for eleven minutes, because i live at 6,200’, i just thought one more minute would be okay! At eleven minutes, without opening the door, i shift the temp down to 375 degrees, for another 50 minutes. When the well-awaited timer goes off, we extract the canelé from the lowest rack, from the foil-covered baking stone, and invert them onto a cooling rack. They slide out effortlessly!!! Dark and shiny, i feel victorious! And finally, after about five minutes cooling, we cut in half, and spread it open to find a lovely airy baked custard! Definitely Victorious!!! Let’s make more!! Adjust the oven temp back up to 550 degrees, put the molds in the fridge to chill. Pull out the batter and molds. Fill and place back in the oven. At eleven minutes, again lower the temp to 375, for another 50 minutes. After timer rings, pull them out- they’ve puffed about a half inch above rim of mold (red flag??), but settled back down. Invert them, they’re a little less reluctant to release this time. But after a minute inverted, and a tiny bit of coaxing, they release on their own. Only this time, sadly, the bottoms are white and misshapen- as if the batter didn’t reach the bottom almost at all 🙁 The outsides are still dark, shiny, crisp; the inside still a lovely airy custard. Right now, i am on my third round…
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Andrea, glad to see you back here. Happy to hear about your success making caneles. White butts seem to happen if you fill the molds a little too much, try a bit less next time, it should help.
Janet Levy
The caneles came out with a beautifully browned exterior.
The instructions were perfect.
Next time, I may use a darker rum and less sugar..
>
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Good to hear it, Janet. Your caneles look beautiful – I love that dark, even color.
Janet Levy
Victor,
I’m baking my Caneles today. Should I turn on the convection setting? Also, should they bake in the center of the oven?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Janet,
I bake them without convection, in the upper part of the oven, like 2nd-3rd rack from the top. Make sure to space the molds out for more even cooking. Good luck. Let me know how they turn out. Take some pics.
Simon
Thanks for this. Attempting now but I appreciate how you’ve addressed thr issues I’ve had! Have you considered using a chamber vacuum sealer to aggressively remove air from the mixture?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I haven’t considered that, but I have a chamber vacuum sealer. Thanks for the idea, I will try it.
Amy
Hello! I followed your recipe and baked at 280C (highest degree for my oven) for the first 10 minutes and 190C afterwards. However, I realised that after 50mins, the centers of my canele sink back down and didn’t set, as in the batter kept bubbling without solidifying. I took them out anyway after adding 10 minutes because the outer layer was burnt. May I know what should I do to prevent the center from sinking down and ensuring it will solidify? Thank you.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Amy, it’s hard to say without knowing all the details along the way. Perhaps your oven is more efficient than mine and keeps the temperature better; I would try lowering the initial temperature to 250C and see if that works. If your canele don’t mushroom and sink back in fine, then stick to that temp.
Janet Levy
I finished making the batter and it is now refrigerated. I was surprised at how thin the batter was. Is this the way it should be?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Yes, it’s relatively thin but that’s how it’s supposed to be.
Greg
Thanks I was just wondering this too, it seems so thin
Keiron from Gibraltar
Wow, what an amazing detailed recipie. I have tried making these quite a few times with a 50/50 success rate. Dont feel as such a failure seeing as you have gone through similar issues yourself. I haven’t done too badly considering I haven’t yet invested on copper molds. I am very gratefull for this recipie. Sure it will help me perfect them. Funnily we share favourites…. the Portuguese custard tarts but also have had varying success. Look forwards to reading your recipie and experiences with these.
Thankyou very much
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Welcome to my blog, Keiron. I’d love to hear your feedback once you try it out. Happy baking!
Janet Levy
Can these be frozen after they’re baked?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Caneles are best fresh, consumed shortly after baking. They can, of course, be frozen and reheated but they won’t be the same.
Avery Anne
Really loving this recipe! I’ve made it three times now, changing a few things every time to see what works for me. A consistent issue I’m having is with the bake, though. I am getting a really beautiful, hard shell – perhaps even slightly too hard and thick for my liking – but the inside is just like pudding it’s so raw. I’m not really getting that fluffy, just done interior I’d expect. I’m baking it at 550 for 10 minutes, then 375 for 50, though there’s probably a difference with my oven. I don’t have a lot of of experience baking so I was curious if you might be able to give me some recommendations on how to tweak the timing and temperature of the bake to figure out what will work best. Is it basically guess work or is there a systematic way of going about this? Thank you in advanced for your guidance!!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Avery, try lowering the initial temperature, say to 450F for 10-15 min, then 375F. If you don’t get mushrooming, then stick with that.
Avery Anne
Hey there Victor! Thanks a ton for the advice, I’ll try that next time. I think that might help with the thickness of the shell. I still do have an issue with the rawness of the interior, should I just cook it longer at 375?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I would definitely experiment. It took me several dozen batches to nail this pastry, it’s quite temperamental. Your oven plays a big role, how it bakes. So yeah, definitely experiment with temperatures and time until you find the perfect one for you.
Maggie
After several times of baking the caneles. My caneles become stick to the mold. And it really difficult to unmold them. I do coat the beeswax-butter mixture in the mold. And I use the copper molds as you do. I never wash the mold with water, just wipe them with kitchen paper. What can I do with them? And how can I take care of these expensive canele molds? Thanks for your help.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Maggie, it sounds to me as though your molds are not seasoned well enough. It’s an easy fix. To season the molds, heat oven to 350F; wash the molds in soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly. You may have to heat them slightly to soften the old wax layer and/or soak the molds in warm water to soften any pastry residue from previous cooking sessions. Then, heavily grease the insides of the molds with vegetable shortening or oil, place on a baking sheet and into the oven for 1 hour right side up, then flip the molds upside down and hold in the oven for another 15 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let the molds cool down inside the oven. Now they should be well-seasoned and not have that problem.
Sophie
Thank you for posting this recipe, they were perfect on the first try! I have been hesitant to make these for years because they seemed so complicated but your recipe is so well researched and easy to follow that I decided to give it a try. They were a hit, I will be making these again very soon!
Jill
Is it okay if I substitute the rum with a rum extract? If yes, I guess it should be around 1-1.5 teaspoon? Will that affect the liquid quantity of the batter? Thank you.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I’ve never used rum extract in any recipe so I can’t comment on how it will affect the flavor but the amounts you indicated seem fine to me. I don’t think the consistency of the batter will be impacted as most of the alcohol evaporates during baking anyway.
Cecilia Gonzalez
Hi.
Can I use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla beans or vanilla extract? If yes how much would I use?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Cecilia, vanilla bean paste is a mix of dried powdered vanilla beans and vanilla extract. One vanilla bean is equivalent to about 2 teaspoons of paste.
Miche
Hi – I inherited a set of 12 copper canelés moules from a relative. I think they’ve been in storage for years. They are very grimy and covered in green spots. I was researching canelés and moules and came across your site. Would you happen to know the best way to get them back in useable condition? Thank you
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Congratulations! Canele molds are not washed, they are wiped after each use, so there is always some residue of wax/butter left on them. I suspect that the grime is just that residue mixed with dust and dirt. I would warm them up in the oven until hot enough for the grime to melt then wipe it off with paper towels, then wash with warm water and wipe dry.
>
Green spots are copper oxide, or corrosion. There are commercial solutions that you can purchase to remove them. Expensive. I prefer DIY. I restored an old copper jam pan that had a huge green spot on the bottom, alternating a salt/vinegar solution and plain lemon juice. I would wet the spot, let it soak for a few minutes, then rub with a soft sponge or a piece of paper towel. After several repetitions, the spot came off.
>
Once your molds are nice and clean, season them before the first use.
Miche
Merci, thank you!! I’ll try this. I was so excited to receive these. I’d had these little treats years ago when I lived in France. They are amazing.
Summer
I was in Bourdeaux a few years ago and had Canelés there from a food cart in an outdoor market and never forgot that experience. This is the only website where the Canelés look like what I remember having there. I made this recipe and they are very much like I remember them. I do have a question… do you use European style butter with a higher fat content or just regular American butter for you Canelés? Thanks for sharing this recipe for seasoning and coating the copper molds Just perfect! I will make them again following your recipe exactly
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Summer, I use regular unsalted butter.
Jo
These turned out great! I do have a question – when making my second batch, I did not fill the molds as high, (Used a mini pop over Bundt pan) as the first batch mushroomed. I did have difficulty then with coloring of the outside of the caneles being slightly burnt with the second batch. My question is – How do you adjust time and temperature to not burn the outside? Is there an internal temperature to know if the caneles is done?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Jo, good to hear that your canele turned out great. I can’t really say as to why your second batch had the problem with burning on the outside but it may be because of using the bundt pan. Copper heats move evenly and I’ve never had the problems you are describing, not with burning. Keep in mind though, caneles are baked until very dark. To quote Pierre Herme, “When it’s black, it’s cooked”. I don’t know what the internal temperature should be when cooked, just never came across that information.
Ariel
It was one of my goal to bake canele and I was so nervous since people were talking how hard it is to bake a perfect one! And it was a huge success on my first try. I’m going to make another batch today and just wanted to thank Victor for the recipe 🙂 it’s a bit late but happy new year!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Ariel, I am very happy to read about your success. For me, my first few batches brought a great deal of frustration. I am happy I could spare you all that. Happy New Year too!
Beth
I’ve made this recipe so many times and they’ve always been perfect! I like them better than a lot of the canele I’ve had in Paris. I’ve recently moved, and I can’t seem to get them right with my new oven. I live in the UK, so I set my oven temp to 275c to start (the highest it goes) then drop to 190c afterwards (as I usually do). Initially they came out totally uneven, so I changed my oven setting from top and bottom to 4D. The next try came out even, but burnt on the outside, undercooked inside. I tried again this morning- but instead of turning the oven to 190c, I did 160c and added a couple minutes to the baking time. They should be crisp on the outside and spongey and soft inside- but instead they turn a lighter brown and are soft all around. What am i doing wrong?! Any advice. I love this recipe and I can’t find any canele at the shop as tasty as these…
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Beth, it’s hard for me to advise something when it concerns someone’s oven (you provided a very good example of ‘everyone’s oven bakes differently’). I would continue experimenting and see how you canele turn out each time. Don’t add any of that uber-expensive but so pleasantly smelling stuff while you are doing that;) 190 to 160 drop seems quite large. Perhaps you can try 180, 175… I would do that. Also, try moving them up or down in the oven, that could help. If the heating is coming from the bottom, the lower you bake the more the bottoms will brown and vice versa.
Mimi
I am eager to try your recipe! Thank you for all of your wonderful notes. I was wondering, however, if I could replace the vanilla bean with vanilla extract? How much vanilla extract would I use as a substitute? Thank you in advance!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Mimi, I totally hear you. With the current vanilla bean prices who can afford them? I still have a couple of dozen left that I purchased a few years ago, 100 beans for $49 or so. What a deal it was! Now I started using vanilla extract myself trying to save the remaining beans for when I really need them. One vanilla bean is equivalent to 2-3 teaspoons of extract.
Mark Warren
Aaaaagh – so all was looking good with my next batch. Set my oven to as high as it will go Gas Mark 9 (240 degrees C)
Waxed the moulds – getting quite good at this now 🙂
Put the Canales in for 10 mins. Can to turn down to 375F and saw they had risen out of the moulds but were not mushrooming 🙂
Checked about 20 minutes later and they had risen even more out of the moulds – I would say about 2-3cm!! Thought I would leave them I. As it looked better than my first batch.
Came back 25 minutes later to utter devastation – they had collapsed. So I removed them and as with the first batch they were undercooked. Didn’t bother putting them back as they had collapsed so badly.
So on a positive – still has some nice crispy bits around the top so ate them 🙂
At a loss as to why they suddenly collapsed.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hm, I’ve never experienced what you described. Ideally, they would rise up a little, about a centimeter, then drop back down. When you say collapse, what exactly is happening? Do you have pictures?
Mark Warren
OK so I attempted my first batch of these amazing taste sensations. One word – disaster!!!! OK so here is my experience.
Firstly, I don’t think microwaving the beeswax and bitter is a good idea. After about 40 seconds on high heat I heard a big pop. Looked into the microwave to see it had exploded all over the interior and the only thing I can say about beeswax that is repayable
Is that is is the WORST substance in the world to try and clean off. Absolute nightmare.
Anyway I made another batch of the beeswax butter combo but this time in a nine stick pan. Worked well and I coated my moulds.
Took the batter out of the fridge (48 hour wait). Have it a whisk, and poured into the moulds and then it o the preheated oven at Gas Mark 9. After 10 minutes turn down to Gas Mark 6 and cooked for 50 minutes.
The end result was not good. I did get some mushrooming but as it was my first attempt want too worried about this. The colour was a nice deep maple so I thought all was good. But when au turned the moulds upside down all I got were blobs of what looked to be undercooked Caneles :(.
However, on the positive side, the part of the Caneles that has cooked and was dark maple was both crispy and tasted just like a I had tasted in Paris.
So I have enough batter left to try a second batch. I think I suspect my oven as not being the temperature it should be so now have bough an oven thermometer to give me more accurate temperatures.
There can only be one way from here and that is upwards 🙂
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Mark, you guys use 220V appliances in the UK, I wonder if that has anything to do with your problem. I’ve microwaved mine dozens of times without an issue and haven’t heard of similar to your problem from others. Well, glad to hear that you found a good method for yourself.
>
A gas oven is a mystery to me, never used one but dreaming of getting a gas stove. Wish I could help out with some advice but I am in the dark here. I hope your next batch turns out good, let me know how it goes. Happy baking!
PB, NJ
I have found your canele recipe to the best on the web. Thanks so much!
I use wax/butter in a 30/70 ratio. Works great. I use my fingers to grease the moulds. It is quick, easy and way less messy. The melted butter and wax combo is not that hot.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Thank you for your feedback, PB. When using fingers, does the mixture get into every crevice? How long does it take per mold?
PB, NJ
I think it gets to every crevice since I have not seen any burning in the mould once I pop the canales out. I spend 15-20 second per mold and reheat the butter/wax mix in the microwave for 20 seconds every couple of minutes. The key is to keep the butter/wax mix runny.
I have seen some recipes call for up to 300g of flour. What is the trade off on more vs. less flour ?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi PB,
thanks for the info. Interesting method. As far as the flour goes, I haven’t experimented with increasing it so I can’t say for sure what effect this will have on the custard structure or its baking behavior.
Ariel
Hi Victor, thanks for amazing recipe! I’m planning to bake it tomorrow and am trying to prepare coating the molds today. I had one question about the beeswax + butter mixture. After coating all the molds, do you dispose the mixture or save it for later?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Save it for later for sure. If cooking again soon – fridge, otherwise freeze.
Mark Warren
Hi Victor.
What a great article thank you. I went to Paris on a business trip some months ago and bought some Caneles totally at random and I was hooked from the first taste. They only appear to be available in London and so I am about to make my first batch and will post my results!!
One quick question. I believe the copper moulds are lines with tin which has a melting point of around 232 degrees. How do you do such a high first bake without the mould’s lining melting!! I am sure I am missing something but would welcome your comments
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Mark,
this is a very, very interesting question and I have to be honest, I’ve never given it the slightest thought. True, tin melting point is around 230C or 450F. But… and that’s a big BUT… the tin lining inside those copper molds never gets even close to that temperature. I remember preheating my oven to 500F for 1 hour to bake bread and checking the surface temperature of my 3/4″ baking stone with an IR thermometer – it was barely 380F. The batter inside the copper molds won’t let the tin lining get to the melting point, not in the short time we bake at that temp. How can I be sure? Well, after taking 20 of my copper molds through dozens of batches, I have yet to see any deterioration of the lining. Don’t worry about it, it’s going to be just fine. Happy baking!
Julian Plyter
Victor thanks for this terrific piece! That after almost five years of comments it’s still getting getting fresh ones pretty much says it all – it’s a great, definitive post. (And I”m a pastry chef!)
Your tip about the very hot initial bake was 100% perfect, and for the first time I have neither mushrooming nor any white butts! My oven only goes to 500, however it’s a gas oven and I keep a stone on the floor of it – I tested with a thermometer there and boom, 550 exactly. Perfect! I just moved them from the floor up to a rack when I lowered the oven temp. I also really appreciated the tip you’d found and shared about the 2:3 ratio of wax:butter. One thing I found unappealing in my prior attempts was a waxy feel in eating them, and this helped with that quite a bit (as well as a couple other tricks I tried!).
I wanted to share a couple things I did that I found helped and haven’t been addressed in the comments, that I could find (and I apologize if I’m repeating prior posts!).
– Rum flavor: I saw a few people posting that they did not have a pronounced rum flavor. Normally I would not add alcohol to a hot batter, especially if I wanted to retain the alcohol flavor, since the heat would hasten its evaporation. I also figured since I was going to store the batter for a few days, I didn’t want to lose any to slower evaporation over that time period, either. I waited until just before my bake to add the rum, and I have to say I still have the taste of gentle, vanilla-rum in my mouth about 10 minutes after my last bite. (Another boon to this rum flavor was salt, which I note below.)
– Mold-greasing: Definitely agree with your technique here – one issue I had with too much wax in prior experiments was that the molds were too cool – in fact I’d used some recipes that suggested chilling them BEFORE greasing – that was WAY too much coating. I found that heating them until they were hot but manageable (I’d say around 130) resulted in the perfect thinness of coating, for me, and I did not chill them after coating. (After all, if the point is to get them hot, fast, to avoid mushrooming, this made sense to me.) I am still getting the teeniest bit of waxy texture in my mouth after eating, so I may play with the wax:butter ratio and use slightly more butter by proportion; will update on results if I do.
– Batter temp: I suspected that batter temperature might have been an issue for me in prior bakes, and I wanted to address it in this round. I baked a round with batter pretty much just 15 or 20 minutes out of the fridge, and still quite cold. I later baked a second round, this time with the same batter that was much closer to room temperature, having been out of the fridge for probably 2 hours. What I noted in the second batch was that the shell was much thinner, and didn’t get TOO crunchy, like it did in the first round with chilled batter. I account for this difference by the logic that a warmer batter will set faster, and it will also need less time (indeed, 10 minutes, in my bakes) to finish baking. Whether that’s physics or my imagination, it worked for me!
– Salt: I found that like all my pastries I just wanted a hint of salt. I think just under a teaspoon (kosher salt; I’d use half as much of a finer salt) in this recipe brought the flavors into relief – especially the rum – and made them all stand out just a bit more. It was exciting. What can I say, pastry is exciting 🙂
Again thanks for this awesome post!!!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Julian, thank you for your detailed feedback and tips. I am eager to try adding rum just before baking as what you are saying makes a perfect sense. The salt part, that’s a very astute suggestion. Definitely a great idea. Don’t know why it wasn’t included from the start. Anyway, happy that my post helped and thanks for your insights. I am sure many will benefit from them. Happy baking!
Eric
A note about copper molds: I got 8 copper molds (over $20 each) a few years ago and I bought 8 from Amazon at the cheaper price (around $6 each) a couple months ago. The cheaper molds seem very similar, but are definitely lighter and the metal itself is thinner than the more expensive ones. I’ll report in a few days if they perform differently.
Caroline
I love this recipe! What would you say is the difference in outcome with all purpose flour versus bread flour? Also, any tips on cleaning up the beeswax from the pan after! Always a nightmare.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Thank you, Caroline. I don’t think the difference between AP and bread flour is easily noticeable in this recipe, they are easily interchangeably here. The pan cleaning is easy – use foil. I always line my pan with foil, which is discarded after baking. No cleaning necessary.
Janet
My oven doesn’t go up to 550° so I used the convection setting at 500° for tge sane amount of time.
I didn’t have any dark rum, so I substituted 3 tablespoons of Grand Marnier. My husband thinks it’s the best batch of canelés yet.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Good to hear that, Janet. What made you give this recipe 4 stars then?
Jeff
Hey Victor,
This recipe looks amazing!
Do you use a oven with fan?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Jeff, no, I don’t use convection for this recipe, but you may be onto something. It may be helpful if your oven doesn’t get hot enough. Needs to be tested though.
kenny
Hi victor,
I have a question. whats the purpose of chill the mold in freezer?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
My understanding is that it allows the coating set properly. I don’t know the exact science behind this though.
Michael
Thank you for the tips on starting on very high heat. This has solved my frustrating issue of having to monitor the bake, routinely pushing the stupid things down.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Happy to hear that, Michael. At some point I remember doing that same thing myself. Sounds pretty comical in hindsight. It would look even more comical if someone at a patisserie was trying to push dozens or hundreds of those down and they just keep popping up like fishing bobbers.
Kristen
Thank you so very much for sharing all of your experience with us! I’m sure this advice has saved others a lot of frustration and heartache. Secondly, thank you for a recipe using copper moulds! Mine arrived in the post yesterday and
I found (what I think is a good deal) on Etsy from seller ERDMHardware. I paid just over $150 for a set of 12 (including shipping from Bordeaux, France!). I’ve been saving up for these little treasures and was delighted to find such a (relatively) great price.
Very excited about this new adventure, I took to the internet to find a “perfect” and authentic recipe. I was a bit discouraged to see so many recipes using silicone, no mention of the beeswax, etc. – so I was very excited to have found this recipe!
I am going to make the batter this morning and bake in a couple of days. I do not have dark rum on hand, but I do have silver rum and hope that will still do the trick. Fingers crossed!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome! Good luck with your canele.
Said al Balushi
Thank you for a great recipe and instructions
My problem is that the caneles outer layer becomes soft!
They lose the crunch within 2hours after being taken from the oven
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Not much you can do I suppose, they are to be eaten the same day, even within a few hours of baking. The only thing I would recommend is let them cool completely then place in an air tight container. That will help them retain the crunch for longer, especially if ambient RH is high.
ASMK
HI Victor,
May i ask what is the purpose of adding rum in the recipe?
Does it affect the process or taste in any way if not added?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
My understanding is that there are two reasons for that. One is that not all rum is baked off so some flavor still remains. Some people are more sensitive to it can taste it, some can’t. Another reason is that unlike water, alcohol does not contribute to the formation of gluten in dough/batter, keeping it wet and supple. When alcohol burns off quickly in the oven, it dries out the crust, which is what we want in canele.
Grant Shalks
My issue is that canelés that I buy locally taste strongly of rum, which is very appealing. I have tried two ‘workarounds’:
– Injecting with rum syrup … it just runs straight out! 🥴
– Soaking in rum syrup … it softens the crust!😱
Any thoughts??
G.
Tulip
Hi I bought some food grade bee wax in 2012 in Paris. Have not used them yet. Are they still edible now? How to see if the wax has gone bad? Thanks.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I think you are in luck as pure beeswax doesn’t spoil if stored in cool, dry environment. If it looks fine and smells fine it should be fine to use.
Tulip
Hi Victor
I notice the beewax has become powdery over time. Does it behave like chocolate where it blooms?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Yes, it does bloom if stored at lower temps than it likes. This is nothing to worry about.
Grant
Hi all, I posted a few months ago and wondered if any of the new contributors on the forum had a suggestion for this problem:
I’m finding by the end of the bake that there is little flavour of rum left – it is as if it’s all been baked out. Any thoughts? Has anybody else experienced this ?
paula j oakes
Victor – unfortunately I only have silicone molds. Have you tried them? Do you recommend any changes?
(Just got back from Bordeaux and I am hooked!)
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I know the feeling. My wife and I can’t imagine living without them.
To answer your question, no, I haven’t tried silicone molds. I jumped right into the realm of copper as was recommended by P. Herme and never looked back. I started with just a few and now have this:
Eric
I first tried silicone molds and was very disappointed. I would not recommend them.
Corrine
My oven only goes to 500, how much more time should I add on to the initial bake? Thanks!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Corrine, that’s unfortunate as the higher initial temp is what helped me eliminate mushrooming. I don’t know if adding time at 500 would help without testing but I have a feeling that bumping it to 15 minutes would make sense.
Katie
Do you let the batter come to room temperature before placing it into the oven, or just pour it in cold?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Take out of the fridge, give it quick whisk to re-incorporate the foam cap, pour and bake.
AndiK
I’m having a problem with my butter separating and forming a crust over my batter when it’s chilling in the fridge. Am I doing something wrong? Is this normal and just needs to be reincorporated? Any help would be very helpful, I have to make a very large batch this week >.<
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Andi, to be honest, this is not normal. All you should be getting is a foam cap on top which you get rid of by whisking the batter before pouring into molds. I took a snapshot from my last batch a week ago, this is what it looks like.
Butter separation is an indication that the custard was not stable which allowed fat molecules to come out of suspension. This can be caused by several things. For example, this can be caused by adding the butter too quickly, so the emulsifying agent (egg yolks) got overwhelmed and couldn’t keep linking the fat molecules to the liquid molecules. Or perhaps the butter was not hot enough to get proper emulsification. Perhaps not enough whisking. Perhaps the milk was not warm enough to make a stable custard. Also, let the batter come to room temperature before refrigerating. Sometimes butter can separate when hot custard is shocked by cold temperature.
Shalks Grant
Hey All,
A major problem I have at present is that by the time I finish baking my canelés … I can’t taste any rum!
It’s like it’s all been ‘baked out’ or something …
Any suggestions …?!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
That’s what happens to alcohol… I read somewhere that after 2 hours of baking only about 5% of alcohol remains. Have you thought about infusing canele with rum after baking? I think that is the best way to go about it. I make rum infused tiramisu (a 50/50 sugar and rum syrup) – people love it. To inject, I would use something like a marinade injector.
Grant Shalks
Many thanks for replying Victor.
I have to confess to still being confused though: if the rum is inevitably going to be ‘baked out’, why is it always required to be added to the batter in all canelé recipes? Or to put it another way, do you professional chefs always have to infuse canelés after baking to get that wonderful rum flavour – it does seem like rather a ‘hack’ …
Any advice would be gratefully received ..!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
I can’t speak on behalf of professional chefs as I am not one myself, though I used to work in food industry a while ago. But here is my understanding. There are two reasons for that. One is that not all rum is baked off so some flavor still remains. Some people are more sensitive to it and some less. Another reason is that unlike water, alcohol does not contribute to the formation of gluten in dough/batter, keeping it wet and supple. When alcohol burns off quickly in the oven, it dries out the crust, which is what we want in canele.
Grant Shalks
OK thanks Victor. 😉
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome, Grant.
Grant Shalks
Hey All,
A major problem I have at present is that by the time I finish baking my canelés … I can’t taste any rum!
It’s like it’s all been ‘baked out’ or something …
Any suggestions …?!
Kris
Great recipe but the tops of my caneles were white. Everything else was perfect. Any tips?
victor
Are you looking for more tips in addition to the one I mentioned in the post?
Kris
Your tip has to do with high initial temp and not filling the mold up too high, correct?
victor
That’s correct. I can’t say I can attribute this problem to anything else.
Sue
My husband, who is half French, raised in the US, and I discovered caneles at a corner bakery on our first trip to Paris together. Since then, we have CRAVED them and tried them whenever/wherever we could, but always few and far between. Finally, I splurged on some of the copper mold for him for Christmas. Then we scoured the internet for recipes–and every recipe had a different technique for the molds, the crust, the baking…I came upon your amazing tutorial and thought “Ok, she has figured this out!” We followed your recipe and technique step by step and my husband made perfect Paris-style caneles on the first try! So now we are hooked. We only want to experiment a bit to get a stronger rum flavor–which we think is down to the rum we used, not the quantity–and then we’ll never be chasing caneles again…outside our own kitchen, that is. Thank you for this really excellent, comprehensive post! He had already mastered Madalienes, so we figure if he can do a laminated dough next (Hello, Kouign Amann!), he’ll basically be a real French pastry chef, lol! I urge everyone looking to make caneles to USE THIS RECIPE AND TECHNIQUE! Thank you again!
victor
You are so welcome! Glad I could help. Making caneles was full of frustration for me before I ‘got it’. Glad my post is saving frustration to my readers.
Jenn
Can you post a picture of how much you filled the canele moulds?
victor
There is one picture in the post with one mold filled… and here is another one with a few molds filled. Hope this helps.
Mike
Mushroomed and never receded
Lanna Dickinson
I have made these many times in the past but am only now attempting to convert to a Gluten Free version. My family has allergies thus requiring the change. I will try a basic, cup for cup, flour blend first. I am concerned the xantham gum used in GF baking will impede the custard texture, so I am going to omit it on first attempt. Any other tips you might offer?
victor
Oh, I wish I could but have practically no experience with GF baking. I hope they turn out great. Please, post your results here, I am sure there are others here who would be very interested in a good GF version of canele.
Lanna Dickinson
Ok! Got it…this was not an easy conversion:
Your recipe with these adaptions:
*100g simple GF flour blend
½ tsp fine salt
*makes 1C=140g (93 g superfine white rice flour, 32g potato starch, 15g tapioca starch/flour)
Changes to directions:
Resting is not necessary because there is no gluten. However, the batter tastes better after it rests.
Do not use a butter/beeswax blend in the molds, beeswax only. They will not rise with the butter. A thin layer worked best.
Do not chill the molds, let them come to a warm room temperature. fill them with chilled batter
Fill mold almost to the top
Bake on a cookie sheet
Bake at 500 for 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 375 for 55 more minutes. They must be very dark brown or the centers will be mushy (The 550 oven made the bottoms too crispy)
Let the finished Caneles rest for 2 minutes in the molds. Loosen the side with a knife gently. Flip on a cooling rack. They are very fragile. Must rest at least an hour to let the custard set.
Happy Baking!
victor
Thank you, Lanna. I am surprised to learn that butter prevented canele from rising. Glad to see a successful GF version of the recipe.
Josh
I wanted to say that this is the best cannele recipie I have found by far. I started out with the copper tins and beeswax after reading they’d provide the best results. However, I still went through so many bad batches with other recipes that I knew something must be off (especially after the one recipe I was using that didn’t say to rest the batter and had no high heat at the start).
Thanks for sharing all this info, it’s helped me make exactly the canneles I wanted and saved me from more bad batches!
victor
Hi Josh, glad I could help. Thank you for the feedback.
Mattie
I made these for the first time this week using your recipe and they were AMAZING. I honestly did not expect them to be as fabulous as they were. Thank you so much.
victor
Fabulous they are;) And like nothing else.
Charles
You did a fantastic job with this recipe. My first go was pretty good but by batch 5 I was really happy.
I like a more custardy texture to the interior so I’m experimenting right now with 1 less whole egg in favor of 2 more yolks. And I’m also experimenting with a rum + triple sec combo vs. just rum.
But your recipe was the starting point to give me the confidence to iterate from here.
Thank you!!
victor
Happy to hear that, Charles. Glad I could help. Portuguese pastéis de nata and caneles I cannot live without. I had to learn to make them perfect.;)
Jane
I just made my first batch and have another on the oven. Naughtily I tried one (I had never even eaten one before, let alone baked them!) even before it had totally cooled. Wow! It was everything I hoped and more. A crunchy toffee like shel and delicately scented custard centre. My husband was ridiculously impressed. What a bizarre little creature it is. I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. The process of making them was fascinating and a little strange to me. Thank you so much for your detailed description and photos. I’m sure it saved me a lot of heartache. Just for the record, I used a heavy, non stick Canele tray and they worked out well. I better go to the kitchen now and make sure the husband is not helping himself to more. These little lovelies will be shared with my French class.
victor
I am very happy to hear that my post helped you, Jane. I share your fascination with canele, they are unique, adorable and have a long history. My copper molds got so rustic looking that every time I use them I feel like I am in a kitchen of some old French patisserie. A truly unique experience, both making them and enjoying.
Corrine
These came out almost perfect! I think I need to work on getting a thinner coat of wax because it left a waxy mouthfeel that I’ve never had with other caneles but other than that my caneles were perfect! I used to make these daily in Manhattan about ten years ago and these were spot on! I’m bummed I lost the recipe for them because they were lemon lavender caneles and sooo good. This is the first time I’ve made them in my home and I’m glad I found your detailed page first before having to run through a bunch of other recipes. Thank you! I’ll be scrolling through your blog quite often now as I really appreciate all the detailed explanations you give.
victor
You are very welcome. To get a thin coating, keep the molds and the wax a little warmer than you did. Pour the wax/butter mixture in and pour out very quickly. Don’t brush. That should do it.
James F. Waters, III
In the past, I’ve used a silicone mold to make these. No real puffing issue but no crunchy exterior. So I invested in copper molds via the Amazon site.
I seasoned them as instructed. Coated them with the bee’s wax/butter mixture.
Both times mine blew up and out of the molds. They didn’t sink back in. I have a convection option on my stove so I’ll give that a try next time. But, so far, this isn’t working for me.
BUT, I did get the crunchy exterior and creamy interior. So, other than looks, this was the correct flavor and texture.
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong with the rising batter.
Diana
Your recipe was perfect! Thank you so much! On my first attempt at making these, and it worked!!!
victor
So glad to hear that, Diana. My first few attempts were a disaster, but the again, I used a wrong technique at first. Glad my experience helped you.
Ann Damirez
I have been thinking and searching and comparing cannele recipes, fortunately I chose yours and my instinct was right. I just made this today, at first I was kind of nervous with the thought that mine would not be successful but I have strong faith about it. And yes I did it and I was very happy with the result. They You were right, they did rise up and did fall back down slowly when I turned down the temperature, “no mushrooming”. I didn’t use the butter and beeswax mixture, I just used only butter and I didn’t have any problem about sticking on the molder. It was truly a big success for me as my first time baking Canneles. And oh! I love how it tastes, man, really love it. I have not baked them all. I just baked only two (24 hrs of chilling) as a trial : ) I would love to show you the photos of my Canneles : ) Thank you so much for your recipe and effort to write this recipe for us who wants to try Canneles. You know I am so proud of myself as a self-taught baker. Baking is my passion. I am happy and it makes me happy whenever I cook/bake something especially if they turns out perfect. Thank you again. God bless!!
victor
I feel very happy when my posts help others. I am glad it helped you too. Thank you for posting a detailed feedback, Ann.
Margaret Chapman
Just prepared batter. Started to season pan and read it’s only to be used to 230C! That’s 446F. I don’t want to waste batter but I’m concerned about baking at 550F – maybe I can get away with it for 10 minutes? Just couldn’t invest in copper at this time. Thank you.
victor
This is not a good idea I am afraid. It’s most likely coated with some sort of non-stick material that will start releasing harmful chemicals if heated over safe limit. That or it will start degrading at high temps. That said, I’ve done crazier things in my kitchen;-)
Kathy
Victor, thanks for your informative post. Unfortunately I read it after my first dismal failure! I am going to try your techniques for my next batch. One question, my Canelés stuck to the molds terribly. The butter wax mix seemed to bubble out at the beginning, then the Canelés rose and sank back into the mold. The color looked pretty good at the end, but they were gooey on the inside and stuck so that I couldn’t get them out intact. Any thoughts on this problem? Thanks!
Kathy
victor
Hm… it will sound like an obvious thing, but did you season your molds before using them? Once they dropped in, what temp did you use to finish them baking?
Deborah Pearson
I have both the copper molds and a silicone mold that holds 8. Do I need to do the wax/butter lining in the silicone pan? Do you have any tips for using the silicone molds?
victor
Sorry, Deborah, I never tried silicone molds so I can’t really answer. Perhaps someone who has can answer?
Atraidou Alexandra
I ma pastry chef.
Thank you for your beautiful
Recipes.
victor
You are very welcome.
Justin
Thank you very much for your blog. Can you recommend some advice for an issue I am having? I am following standard recipe with 10min at 500F and then 50min at 375F…the exterior comes out great, but the interior seems too custardy, almost not fully cooked. To avoid burning the outside but yet cooking fully the inside, should I cook less at high temperature and longer at lower temperature? Thanks.
victor
Justin,
It’s hard to give a precise answer without knowing details and experimenting a little. Pierre Herme recommends 15 min at 450F and 60-75 min at 350F afterwards. That never worked for, period. You can try and see it works for you to get the desired results. My problems was that caneles would pop out and never settle back in. Only high initial temps would help. If you are having a similar problem you can try high temp initially than lower to 350F for 60 min and see if that works.
Also, check to how you oven bakes. Is it possible that it bakes cooler than it reports? Kitchen ovens are notorious for being off, hence the saying that ‘everyone’s oven bakes differently’. Do you have a baking stone? If so, try baking caneles on a baking sheet set on top of a baking stone. It should help cooking the pastries inside more efficiently.
Justin
Great write up! Where did you buy the generic caneles mold from Bordeaux? Can it be order online?
Thanks!
victor
Thanks! I am sure they can, though shipping from Europe can be a deal breaker. I got mine from some local store – a colleague of mine is from there and I asked him to buy a few molds for me when here was going there on vacation.
Shirley
How did you clean the black spots off these molds?
victor
Not sure which spots you are referring to. Are they on the inside or on the outside? All I do is wipe the molds with paper towels. I don’t obsess with cleaning them spotless, it’s not necessary. Occasionally, I get a few stubborn pieces stuck in the crevices at the bottom of the mold and I use a Q-tip to get them out.
Annie
Hi Victor, a friend gifted me with some copper molds recently and after some extensive research I’m ready to make my first canelé batter with your recipe. Just curious, is it based on Pierre Hermes’ recipe and if so, ia there a reason you switched out the confectioners sugar for granulated? Have you tried making canelés with confectioners sugarand if so, how did your results compare? Thanks, and wish me luck!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Annie, yes, the recipe originally started with the Herme’s recipe… I tried confectioner’s sugar vs granulated sugar but did not see any difference. I mean, the sugar gets dissolved in liquid ingredients in the end…
John
This recipe works awesome! I used the recipe in the book sold on Amazon, and the inside was goopy, not a honey-combed custard. I had cooked those on convection, and think the outside crisped too early. I’ve been using a nonstick pan, but just recieved my tins, and plan on giving them a go. I’ve used bread flour, and cane and/or raw sugar in mine. I found that the batch that sat for 3 days, made with raw, stood up taller in the pan than one day rest batter. Probably due to the flour fully hydrating? I’ve also had fun interchanging the alcohol from 23 yr rum, to a whiskey/cointreau mix, Grand Marnier, and Rum/Chartuese. I live at 4000′ elevation, and have been cooking at 550 for 10 and 375 for 50-53 minutes. I am now fully addicted to the point that I have the recipe memorized, and my neighbors have been getting them for christmas. Great Post!
victor
Fantastic! Great to heat it. Thank you for stopping by and leaving feedback.
Nesa
I’ve made this recipe several times and I think it’s one of the best I’ve found so far! my family loves these and I never have enough 🙂 I do have one question however. I find personally that when I eat these, I’m left with the feeling the my mouth is coated in the beeswax. I used the amount you specified here but do you have any ideas on how to do away with this effect? It’s a bit distracting. Thank you!
victor
Hi Nesa, interesting observation. My ratios are very typical, no less no more than what they use in French bakeries based on my research, I try to be as authentic as possible with these. The wax never bothered me, I’ve always treated the waxy feeling in my mouth as part of the authentic canele eating experience. I like it. I’ve seen a French product called ‘slider’, I actually used it, it is less waxy but I did not like it at all.
If the wax bothers you, try coating the mold with a hotter mix, that will allow you to get a thinner coat. Alternatively, use less wax and more butter in you ratio, see if that helps. Without experimenting it’s hard to say what you will find acceptable for your taste.
Nick
So any worries about the tin lining melting at such high heat?
victor
Never had any problem with that. The molds are designed to withstand high temps. My molds are holding up very well after several dozen bakes.
Jaqui McDonald
Can’t wait to try these! By chance do you know which brand of dark rum you used? Last time I tried cooking with that ingredient the entire cake I made just reeked and the taste was way too strong. Please advise!! Thanks!!
victor
I typically bake with Bacardi rum, but also have been using Captain Morgan Jamaica dark rum that friends gave me as a gift. Never noticed that either was overpowering. Some people are more sensitive to certain smells/flavors. I’d say skip the rum and use the liquor that you like. If you like brandy or cognac, use those. If you don’t like alcohol, I would skip it altogether.
Teji
Thanks for sharing step by step process. If you’re using a big commercial convection oven do you you have the fan on or off?
Are there any other alternative for beeswax? Can I use butter and sugar to coat the mold?
Thanks!
victor
Hi! Typically convection is not used, but there is no harm in trying a small batch and see how it turns out.
An alternative to beeswax would be a challenge. Beeswax is what gives caneles their unique sheen and that feel as you eat them. In France they sell a product called Slider, which some commercial bakeries use supposedly. It’s a more economical alternative to beeswax. I sourced a can and tried with one batch and did not like the results. I am back to beeswax. Now, if you don’t care about that authentic look/taste, it’s a different matter, and sugar/butter mix may give you acceptable results.
Marie Matthews
Thank you so much, Victor, once again for your well thought out and detailed reply and suggestions. I will try coating the molds as thinly as possible with the bees wax next time and see if that improves the “white bottom” problem, and perhaps get less spillage out of the molds during bake-time. You are right, I suppose, no matter which technique you master making Caneles is not a fool proof endeavor. But we can come as close to perfection as possible if we keep experimenting; practice does make perfect!
Thank you, Marie
Marie
Hello Victor,
It’s Marie again! 🙂
I have made Canele de Bordeaux several times following your recipe and method to great success. Thank you!!! Seems my only challenge is that the bees wax/butter coating inside the copper molds melt when they hit the hot oven and spill onto the baking sheet and burn during baking time; leaving the batter inside the molds without much bees wax. I do as you instruct: I evenly coat the molds with the bees wax/butter mixture and put them in the freezer for 10 minutes, fill my batter almost to the top and bake at the temperatures you recommend. My batter does not rise and spill over, it remains in tact (thanks to your ingenuis temperature technique), so, the batter is not the problem. Some of my batches seem to have less bees wax spillage, resulting in much more evenly baked caramelized Caneles, whereas, with more bees wax spilling out the Caneles get that “white bottom” and lack caramelization. Any suggestions to prevent the beeswax from spilling out, or is this normal and expected? Thanks so much for your time!
victor
Hi Marie,
I haven’t been paying attention to the issue that you are describing, I sort of do it now and am happy with the results. I do get ‘white bottoms’ every now and again, but I don’t worry about those, the caneles still taste awesome. Back in the day I’ve gone through dozens and dozens of canele pictures from famous French bakeries to see how theirs looked and I did see quite a few of those with ‘white bottoms’. So, that is a common thing and nothing to worry about. I guess the process is not 100% fool-proof. One thing I would suggest is to try and make the bees wax coating as thin as possible. When you coat the mold, keep the molds and the wax sufficiently warm. I think ‘white bottoms’ are directly correlated with excess bees wax. The wax will always melt quickly in super hot oven and gather at the bottom, and some will spill over. I think if you have too much of it at the bottom, there will be much less contact with the metal and that’s how you get poor caramelization. Let me know if your experiments prove this theory.
Marie
Hello again Victor!
I’m writing to let you know I made my first Caneles using your recipe and I meticulously followed your instructions. Thank you so much for your post and tips that made if very helpful for me. My Caneles turned out perfect!
victor
Hello, Marie. You are very welcome and I am glad to hear that you had success with making your caneles.
Marie
Hello Victor!
I have been bitten by the canele bug and have been feverishly researching and reading to inform and prepare myself for my first attempt at making them. As aforementioned, I have perused many sites, and yours was the most informative,
detailed, and educational of them all. Thank you for going through the trouble to share your knowledge with us. How very helpful and much appreciated! I ordered my copper molds from Amazon; the same set of 4 in the link you included here (they are no longer $34.99 but still a good deal). I will season them upon arrival, and will venture my first attempt following your recipe. You have so many great tips here. Do you keep the battery cold in the fridge until ready to pour into the cold molds? I will let you know how mine turn out. Thanks so much again!
victor
Hello Marie,
Thank you for taking time to post your feedback, glad you’ve found my information helpful. Yes, I do keep the batter in the fridge up until I use it. I never tested if that makes any difference though. The only thing that is critical is to mix the batter before pouring into molds. And yes, let me know how they turn out.
Sarah
Hello! So looking forward to making these soon. How many caneles does your recipe make?
Thanks so much,
Sarah
victor
14-16, depending on how much you fill the 2-inch molds.
Angelique
Thanks so much for your amazing direction. My canneles looked perfect but were not that nice burnt look and they tasted more like a vanilla custard tart than the cake that I had at the bakery. Any ideas? I would love some help.
victor
I am puzzled about your comment. Caneles taste nothing like a cake, and very much like custard. That’s the idea – to get a soft, custardy inside and a dark, crunchy exterior. It looks like the bakery is doing something wrong. Perhaps they do it intentionally as a true canele takes effort, time and good ingredients to make. A local French bakery here makes them only twice a week. I think I know why.
Andrea
YOU ARE MY HERO. I baked these, using your recipe and only yours, and they came out wonderful. Actually, correction: the first batch were just pretty good, the next batch (same batter, but around 22 hours had passed) were even better in texture and colour consistency and the third, almost perfect. There are a few bakeries that bake canneles in Melbourne now so my husband and I have had a few so we’re quite discerning, and these came out almost as good as the number 1 canneles that we’ve tried. Eep!
So thanks for such an in-depth and considered recipe, and for all your trialling and testing. I only have three cannele moulds so I need to buy more – that’s partly why I had to do so many batches throught the week – but I absolutely think it’s important to use copper.
victor
Andrea, thanks for sharing your success story with baking caneles. Glad my post was helpful.
Mel
So I wanted to add an additional flavor to the caneles (specifically banana). Any advice on how I can go about doing that?
victor
Never tried doing that. Incorporating banana pulp to the batter without any further modifications will change the integrity of the canele. You would need to experiment with the ratios. I think the simplest method would be to try filling the molds 2/3 – 3/4 of the way and dropping a few small banana pieces in each mold. This way the integrity of the batter will remain the same and you will get the banana flavor.
brad
Hi Victor,
I notice that the molds pictured on your blog don’t match the picture of the mold on the Mauviel website (https://www.mauvielusa.com/Copper-Tinned-Canele-Mold-plu4180.55.html). The sides on your molds are more vertical rather than tapered, the fluting on the sides is deeper, and the dimple on the bottom (top) is more recessed. Do you know, are your molds an accurate representation of what they actually sell, or is the picture on their website more correct?
victor
Hi Brad,
I am not sure. Judging by the picture, mine do look slightly different from those on Mauviel’s website. It’s possible that the seller / Amazon I purchased from sent me Matfer Bourgeat instead of Mauviel. Upon closer look, mine do look more like Matfer.
That said, I now have 20 canele molds, with 12 coming directly from France. They were purchased and brought to me by my colleague who went to Bordeaux to visit family. They came in unbranded packaging, but they look nearly identical to the ones I purchased from Amazon. I can stack them and they fit into one another exactly the same.
Amy
Thank you, Victor for your blog! Your recipe & method works super well.
No more mushrooming after following your recipe! My oven doesn’t go as high as 550F. Luckily at 480F (maximum temperature) on convection setting for 10 mins, then reducing temperature to 375F on conventional setting works for me.
My caneles look good & taste yummy. I’ll be trying your other recipes soon!
victor
Good to hear, Amy. Sometimes little things like that make a world of a difference.
Michelle
They look so good! How many does this recipe make?
victor
Thank you, Michelle. This recipe is good for about 14-16 caneles if using standard 2-inch molds.
Ray Butarbutar
loveeeeely. And such an informative writing. Thank you for sharing your process 🙂
Ray from San Francisco
victor
Thank you for the kind words, Ray. Good luck making your caneles. They are worth the effort.
Wanghwa
Your caneles look so beautiful. I, too, have had the same mushroom problem for the longest time. I’ve tried so many different things as you mentioned. I’m going to try the high temperature trick and see what happen.
Why do you call for bread flour? I read one recipe and thought pastry flour should be used? Any reason for the high protein flour?
Thank you for the post!
victor
Very good question. I did a lot of experimenting with the flour as well, and tend to agree with the Chefsteps.com’s findings that bread flour results in denser interior and crunchier shell, just how I like it. Now, if you go to pastry flour, you will get much less of that contrast between the interior and the shell. In the end it’s all about personal preference.
Wanghwa
Victor,
Thank you for the reply. I’m going to try all three types of flour and see what I like. I did see chef.com calling for bread flour. That’s the first time I see someone use bread flour. Just like pate choux, some uses AP, some uses bread and some uses cake flour (a lot of Japanese recipes use cake flour).
Thank you again for your post!
victor
You are very welcome. I think this is the best approach, to try all three and pick the one the you like the best. You may be surprised.
MitchB
Thank you for this great expose’. Making these has been on my bucket list for quite a while now. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
victor
You are welcome, Mitch. Glad you found my post informative. Good luck with your canneles. They are worth the effort.
Purabi Naha
Wow, I must say, you are an amazing baker, coz Canele is not at all easy to make! You have mastered the process…Thanks for sharing your experience! We recently went to France on a holiday, and enjoyed the Caneles there.
victor
After abut 20 botched batches I had better mastered the process 😉 Yes, it was a challenge but the feeling of great satisfaction and pride after I finally got it was well worth the effort.