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Perfecting Canele Recipe and Technique

Note: Pierre Hermé's original canele recipe can be found here. The yield in this recipe is calculated based on 2-inch canele molds.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 14 -16
Calories
Author Victor

Ingredients

  • 2 vanilla beans preferably Madagascan
  • 500 ml cold milk
  • 250 g cane sugar 200 g if you want less sweetness, I use 200 g
  • 100 g bread or all-purpose flour
  • 50 g butter melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 4 Tbsp dark rum
  • For the mold coating:
  • 40 g beeswax
  • 60 g butter
  • see notes

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. The 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

July 2, 2016
60 g bees wax and 90 g butter is enough to coat 20 2-inch canele molds, with just a little bit left over. You could probably do 22-24 molds with that amount.
This time around, I heated canele molds in the oven and left them outside too long while I was shaving bees wax and then microwaving it with the butter. When pouring hot wax/butter mixture the molds were just warm to touch. I microwaved the shaved wax and the diced butter together on the highest power for 1 minute and 45 seconds, until I noticed it started to boil.
Working quickly, I coated all 20 molds with a nice, even layer. Surprisingly, the temperature was just perfect to give a nice layer of wax. Before I would sometimes get too thin a layer, because the molds were pre-heated too hot.
So, heat your molds until warm to touch, heat wax/butter until first signs of boiling. Work quickly to pour the hot mix into molds all the way to the top, pour out, then turn over onto a rack to remove excess wax. For the sake of efficiency, I pour the wax into the next mold as I go, not back to the container, and top up with the mix from the container as needed.
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