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*Starred Review ~ Kirkus
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Some have called this little caramelized French cake a handheld version of creme brulee. Crisp on the outside with a soft, moist, almost custard-like cake on the inside, they are made from a kind of crepe batter flavored with vanilla and rum. The batter is poured into special canele molds that have been brushed with butter and beeswax to promote crusty caramelization as they bake in a hot oven.
My Coffeehouse Mystery readers may recall them from Billionaire Blend. No spoilers here, but Clare Cosi (my coffeehouse manager turned amateur sleuth) will never forget the day she enjoyed a plate of them at a cafe with a hot, fresh cup of coffee.
To learn more about making this delicious little French cake, scroll down or click here or on the Read More link below...
Enjoy the video below, in which
you'll see canele being made...and eaten!
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you'll see canele being made...and eaten!
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Video posted via YouTube (see *disclaimer at end of post...)
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I look forward to blogging again about these delicious little cakes with step-by-step photos on my process of making them. If you are interested in baking them yourself, I suggest you watch two more videos. The first one here was made by a master baker and college instructor, and the second part of the lesson is here. You'll notice she uses silicone molds, which are much more affordable than the copper molds. I bought my silicone molds here.
(Keep reading this post for the recipe link...)
The best tips I can give you
in making the caneles are:
in making the caneles are:
* Make sure your oven is very well pre-heated. Don't trust the oven timer. Instead, allow your oven to remain on the baking temperature for at least thirty minutes before you place your molds in the oven.
* Although copper molds are best, they are quite expensive (about $30.00 per mold). The silicone molds above will run you a much more affordable $11.00 to $20.00. I have two of these silicone molds (for medium size canele) and, to promote browning, I do not fill every mold when baking. I fill every other mold to allow the heat to really flow around the filled cups and produce a better caramelization. And, again, I preheat my oven for at least 30 minutes, making sure it's very hot.
* The batter is very easy to make, but you must let it sit overnight or even 48 hours, so build that time into your process
* Finally, you cannot skip the beeswax. Combined with butter, it promotes that caramelized browning, and it's very easy to find online. I bought mine here.
As for the recipe,
there are many online.
Bon Apetite has a
good one here.
there are many online.
Bon Apetite has a
good one here.
Bake (and read) with joy!
~ Cleo Coyle
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