My Personal Canelé Rabbit Hole

[JeffGC]

I realize there have been a number of other threads about Canelé. One is 14 pages long and begins in 2002; the last post is in 2020. I've read it twice and it includes a lot of good info. Please forgive me as I start a new conversation.

 

I fell down the Canelé rabbit hole in April 2022. I'm normally in Paris a couple of times each year. This past April, I bought a set of 35mm canelé molds at E. Dehillerin (About USD 175). After using these a few times, I realized that I should have bought 55mm molds. The best price was Meilleur du Chef, in the south of France (With Fedex shipping, about USD 175 for 10 molds). Then I read, somewhere, that a baking steel was really helpful (USD 129 from Amazon). Then, due to recipe size, I decided to purchase 2 more molds (USD 40 from French Copper Kitchen, on Etsy). Then I realized that I really needed a total of sixteen molds, requiring the purchase of four more molds from French Copper Kitchen (USD 74.99). I am consumed with the perfection of the canelé.

 

After reading countless articles about baking canelé, two websites stood out to me:
 

• Taste of Artisan (https://tasteofartisan.com/canele/)
• The Perfect Loaf (https://www.theperfectloaf.com/canele/)

 

My recipe (attached) is a blend of these two. Basically, the recipe from Taste of Artisan and the baking method from The Perfect Loaf.

 

I am continually plagued with cul blanc (white butt) and have been unable to figure it out. Unfortunately, I did not start keeping notes until this past September.  My most recent notes are attached.

 

I had a long conversation with a local pastry chef (Cordon Bleu-trained) regarding my issues. He mentioned that the batter was soufléeing (New verb - to souflée) which prompted me to review and test the Paula Worfert recipe, which does not include egg whites. Also, some people indicated that cul blanc was caused by too much white oil or butter/beeswax in the bottom of the mold. I don't think this is true, due to my most recent test. While better (less cul blanc) the problem continues. 

 

Today, I made 12 Canelé following my modified Wolfert recipe. 6 were perfect. 3 had petit cul blanc and 3 had grand cul blanc.

 

I have attached the following:

 

My Basic Canelé Recipe.pdf (referenced above)

Wolfert Modified Canelé Recipe.pdf (converted to weights and different mold coating technique)

Canelé Testing Notes.pdf (my notes

IMG_3717.jpeg (today' batch)

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Jeff Chosid

 

 

 

My Basic Canelé Recipe.pdf Wolfert Modified Canelé Recipe.pdf Canelé Testing Notes.pdf

[gfweb]

That looks perfect!

 

I understand that rabbit hole, having fallen down it myself.

 

Centers nice and creamy/soft?

 

The whitest centers you have are in ones with less formed bottoms...was there a bubble on their bottom in the pan?

[JeffGC]

Not aware of a bubble. I fill to 60gr so I’d see a bubble if it were taking up a lot of room. Your image makes be laugh! My Scottish Terrier will hear the crunch of a Canelé and come running. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Enter, The Cheat.    I became interested in caneles after Pim wrote about them and gave impeccable instructions on her blog.    But I never afforded myself the copper molds, nor had the patience to follow her lead.  

 

I fell over a silicone mold in France, and later the LA Times simplified recipe. 

 

 

and have been happy enough with the results.

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[ElsieD]

@Margaret Pilgrim. I've copied the recipe and i'm going to try making these once my arm heals.

[Shelby]

8 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Enter, The Cheat.    I became interested in caneles after Pim wrote about them and gave impeccable instructions on her blog.    But I never afforded myself the copper molds, nor had the patience to follow her lead.  

 

I fell over a silicone mold in France, and later the LA Times simplified recipe. 

 

and have been happy enough with the results.

 

I have one of those type of molds.  Still never used in my cabinet.  I was all gung ho to try and then my guns ho-ness left.

[JeffGC]

The elusive goal is to have the exterior of each Canelé and even dark brown. A white spot on the top is a flaw. The French even have a term for this: “cul blanc”. Basically, white ass. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I have understood your quest but have paid more attention to external and internal textures than to regularity of external color.   I.e., I condone white butt.

[JeffGC]

Margaret-Interesting comment. My initial recipe produced a more cake-like interior. The Wolfert recipe is more custard like. Both are good but different. Regarding exterior, I’ve used both butter/beeswax and safflower oil/beeswax. Not much difference. 

[gfweb]

2 minutes ago, JeffGC said:

Margaret-Interesting comment. My initial recipe produced a more cake-like interior. The Wolfert recipe is more custard like. Both are good but different. Regarding exterior, I’ve used both butter/beeswax and safflower oil/beeswax. Not much difference. 

The cannelle I've had in Bordeaux is custard like. 

[CookBot]

 

On 12/7/2022 at 12:33 PM, Shelby said:

I have one of those type of molds.  Still never used in my cabinet.  I was all gung ho to try and then my gung ho-ness left.

 

Same story here.  One taste of a canele and I was obsessed.  Two weeks of reading and researching and I was deflated. 

 

I'm at peace with the fact that some things should just be left to those with commercial resources.  We just don't need to make everything at home.

 

I added up JeffGC's equipment investment listed below and it was almost $600 USD.  And that's before the beeswax and the actual ingredients.  For that, I could buy myself a really decent oven or the world's greatest mixer -- and get my caneles from a bakery.

 

 

On 12/7/2022 at 10:48 AM, JeffGC said:

I fell down the Canelé rabbit hole in April 2022. I'm normally in Paris a couple of times each year. This past April, I bought a set of 35mm canelé molds at E. Dehillerin (About USD 175). After using these a few times, I realized that I should have bought 55mm molds. The best price was Meilleur du Chef, in the south of France (With Fedex shipping, about USD 175 for 10 molds). Then I read, somewhere, that a baking steel was really helpful (USD 129 from Amazon). Then, due to recipe size, I decided to purchase 2 more molds (USD 40 from French Copper Kitchen, on Etsy). Then I realized that I really needed a total of sixteen molds, requiring the purchase of four more molds from French Copper Kitchen (USD 74.99). I am consumed with the perfection of the canelé.

 

 

 

 

[JeffGC]

CookBot-Your post made me laugh! I reached your conclusion when making macarons. 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, CookBot said:

We just don't need to make everything at home.

Clearly, you will never be invited to join the exclusive eG Enablers Society nor ever be crowned King of Kitchen Toys. So sad. 😂😂😂

[Shelby]

2 hours ago, CookBot said:

 

 

Same story here.  One taste of a canele and I was obsessed.  Two weeks of reading and researching and I was deflated. 

 

I'm at peace with the fact that some things should just be left to those with commercial resources.  We just don't need to make everything at home.

 

I added up JeffGC's equipment investment listed below and it was almost $600 USD.  And that's before the beeswax and the actual ingredients.  For that, I could buy myself a really decent oven or the world's greatest mixer -- and get my caneles from a bakery.

 

 

 

 

The worst part for me is that I've never even seen one in person, much less eaten one!  Someone posted about them here and I thought they looked magical.  I still do think that actually......

 

Do I feel a spark of trying to make these coming on???

[CookBot]

5 minutes ago, Shelby said:

The worst part for me is that I've never even seen one in person, much less eaten one!  Someone posted about them here and I thought they looked magical.  I still do think that actually......

 

OMG, so yours was truly a blind obsession. 

 

Well, they are  magical, if you're any kind of custard and caramel fiend, and those are my two dessert compulsions.  But still, I felt like I had to let it go.  For the sake of my own sanity and my savings account.  I could let someone else perform the magic trick, and just enjoy the results.

 

5 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Do I feel a spark of trying to make these coming on???

 

Lie down and take deep breaths. 

 

[gfweb]

@Shelby You know you want to

[JeffGC]

Do it!

[Pete Fred]

It's been a few years since I last made any, but my rain dance to the Gods of pastry includes...

 

Cranking the oven as high as possible for the first 15 minutes or so (250C fan for me). This seems to 'set' the top of the cannele so that it barely clears the rim. The top (or bottom, depending on how you look at it) does get a touch more bruleed but that's something I like...

 

 

Once set, I drop the temperature (160C fan) and cook for another 35-40 minutes. They usually take around 50 minutes in total, rotating the tray three or four times. I don't like leaving them in much longer because I find it thickens the shell...

 

 

...and they they get too dark and bitter. (That little hint of brulee on the bottom is just right for me.)

 

I line the moulds with just a very thin coating of beeswax (no butter) and fill the moulds pretty full, just 5 mm from the top. That's 80g of batter in my Matfer moulds. (Mine were from Meilleur du Chef, too, but this was a decade ago and looking at the website now I'm not sure if they're still the same ones.)

 

I leave them in the mould for ten minutes before upending, and they fall out easily. Like you, it used to bug me if they weren't an even colour all over, but after many batches I became much more relaxed if the top wasn't perfect...

 

 

In fact, I quite like it when the dimple is a pale cream bullseye that shows off the vanilla seeds inside.

 

Good luck with your quest. It's pretty much the only way you'll experience a good cannele: still warm an hour out of the oven, with a crisp, thin shell, and a soft, yielding interior. Can't be beaten.

 

(By the way, I have never had a good cannele in France. Ever. I get suckered in every time I see them in a bakery or patisserie. And they always disappoint: chewy shell, dense and claggy inside, with fake vanilla and rum. So bad. Every. Single. Time. Maybe it's different in Paris or Bordeaux, but everywhere else I've been... merde.)

 

 

[JeffGC]

Pete Fred - Thanks for your detailed response. Every recipe I’ve previously used started very high and the dropped the temperature for the reasons you stated. The Paula Wolfert recipe is VERY different, the actual recipe and the baking technique. I have two more tests to do: High/low without baking steel and high/low with a baking steel. I’ll do both convection (fan). 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

3 hours ago, Pete Fred said:

I

 

I leave them in the mould for ten minutes before upending, and they fall out easily. Like you, it used to bug me if they weren't an even colour all over, but after many batches I became much more relaxed if the top wasn't perfect...

 

In fact, I quite like it when the dimple is a pale cream bullseye that shows off the vanilla seeds inside.

 

Good luck with your quest. It's pretty much the only way you'll experience a good cannele: still warm an hour out of the oven, with a crisp, thin shell, and a soft, yielding interior. Can't be beaten.

 

(By the way, I have never had a good cannele in France. Ever. I get suckered in every time I see them in a bakery or patisserie. And they always disappoint: chewy shell, dense and claggy inside, with fake vanilla and rum. So bad. Every. Single. Time. Maybe it's different in Paris or Bordeaux, but everywhere else I've been... merde.)

 

 

Word.

[CookBot]

14 hours ago, Pete Fred said:

 

 

If anything could make me regret not getting back on that horse, it would be these photos and this post.  That looks like the pinnacle of canele.

 

[gfweb]

On 12/9/2022 at 4:01 PM, Pete Fred said:

I Maybe it's different in Paris or Bordeaux, but everywhere else I've been... merde.)

 

 

 

I've only had them in those cities.

Not merde at all  😉

[JeffGC]

I have a number of tests planned. Today, I used the Wolfert (modified) recipe but baked high/low (550/375). This was completely unsuccessful with all canelés having complete cul blanc. Next test will be similar but with a baking steel and slightly lower temperatures.

[rotuts]

@JeffGC 

 

please explain 

 

complete cul blanc

 

uncooked top ?

 

couldn't find an explanation anywhee

 

no worries :  Id gladly enjoy all of your work

 

that's not perfect .

Edited December 12, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[JeffGC]

Cul blanc is a French term for when the top of the canelé is white. The literal translation is "White Ass." It is caused by the contents rising and then not settling back into the mold.