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Desserts

Canelés

Canelés are French pastries from Bordeaux with a soft center and a caramelized crust, flavored with rum and vanilla. Try this traditional recipe.
Recipe Canelés
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 20 minutes
  • Cooking 1 hour
  • Servings for 15 canelés

If you are looking for a dessert that is soft inside and crisp outside, this traditional canelés recipe will win you over with its unique charm and unmistakable flavor. Imagine biting into a little pastry fresh from the oven: the dark, lightly caramelized surface gives way to a tender, velvety, fragrant center. That is how canelés with vanilla and rum are born, elegant treats to enjoy at any time of day, perfect for breakfast or for a refined snack with friends. They are the kind of magic that turns a coffee break into a true moment of pleasure, and also an ace up the sleeve for anyone who wants to serve rum pastries for parties and special occasions.

Making canelés may seem like a little magic trick: all you need is a few ingredients – eggs, milk, flour, sugar and a generous amount of rum and vanilla – and following the step-by-step guide to making canelés will lead you straight to baking one of the best-loved easy French baked desserts. The secret? A long rest for the batter and baking at a high temperature in the characteristic fluted molds, which give them their typical crisp crust while the inside stays pleasantly soft and moist. For flawless results, don’t miss our tips for baking perfect canelés, so you always get golden, tempting little pastries.

If you love trying new treats and are looking for more ideas beyond this canelés recipe with eggs and milk, let yourself be tempted by our Mini Apple Galettes, the fresh Lemon Curd Tartlets or the fragrant Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes. Each recipe will be a journey of flavor and imagination into the world of fine pastry.

Ingredients for 15 canelés

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Method

  1. To make the Canelés, start by slitting the vanilla bean lengthwise so the seeds come out, then heat both the bean and the seeds in a small saucepan with the milk and the butter. When the milk starts to boil, turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
    Canelés, step 1: vanilla bean heating in a saucepan with milk and butter
  2. Take a medium bowl, add the eggs, the egg yolk and the powdered sugar, and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale and foamy.
    Canelés, step 2: eggs, egg yolk and powdered sugar beaten until pale and foamy
  3. Sift the flour directly into the mixture and stir to blend it in. Add the rum and the previously strained milk and stir to incorporate them. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 24 hours.
    Canelés, step 3: flour, rum and milk mixed into the batter
  4. The next day, grease the canelé mold with melted butter and let it rest in the fridge for about 5 minutes.
    Canelés, step 4: canelé mold greased with melted butter
  5. When this time is up, take the mold and fill it with the batter up to half a centimeter (1/4 inch) from the rim. Bake in a preheated oven at 230 °C (450 °F) for about 10 minutes, then lower the oven to 210 °C (410 °F) and bake for another 50 minutes.
    Canelés, step 5: the mold filled with batter
  6. Take the canelés out of the oven and let them cool. When they are warm, remove them from the mold and serve the Canelés. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

Canelés do not allow for alternatives: any change could compromise the success of the recipe.

Tips

If you don’t have canelé molds, you can use muffin molds, but make sure the silicone is very thin.

Storage

Canelés keep for a few days under a glass dome or in an airtight container.

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