Making cannelés/canelés

[jgarner53]

100 grams of butter per liter of milk (does mental math for 12L batch which uses 1200g of butter....yeah, that's right, isn't it?)

Milk is scalded with vanilla, and butter added to milk and allowed to cool somewhat before being mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.

[Wolfert]

Jennifer

Thank you. I was curious because the inside crumb in the photo is so much better than in most canneles I've seen where the butter is mixed with the milk.

In case you are curious, my recipe calls for 4 tablespoons butter per liter milk. And, as I wrote upthread I mix the butter with the flour.

[SethG]

jgarner, your canneles look a lot like the ones I tasted recently at the newly reopened Bouley Bakery in Manhattan. The crust looks pretty soft, not really crispy or crunchy like the ones I made from Paula's recipe (and, it appears, the ones in her picture).

Is this a function of how long they've been sitting around? Is there more crunch if you eat them sooner? Or is it the cooking time? Or some other reason?

[M. Lucia]

I wanted to add that Jennifer's cannele's look more like the one's I had at both Gerard Mulot and Boulangerie Kayser in Paris. Similar interior texture, not too crispy a crust.

That being said, I wasn't overwhelmed with those canneles. They were pleasant, but not anything to write home about. So, I haven't yet caught the cannele bug.

[Wolfert]

Canneles don't have to have such a black crust. I happen to like them that way.. This photo in Antoine's bakery in Bordeaux shows the different shades of brown to black.To get the different shades, Antoine removes trays at 10 minute intervals. If he hasn't sold the caneles after 5 or 6 hours, he returns them, unmolded, to a very hot oven to crisp.

Note the iron claw on the right. Antoine uses this to tap the top of each copper mold to easily release the baked canele. (I substitute a granite pestle.)

Jennifer: you are so right. The canele molds are dirty. Antoine washes his once a year!

Edited June 10, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[jgarner53]

The crust looks pretty soft, not really crispy or crunchy

I'm not sure how old those cannelés were; the crust wasn't soft at all, though. There was an element of crispness on the very outside, followed by chewy. If they had been a bit fresher, I'm sure they'd have been crunchier.

I don't think ours have ever been washed. The only way you know they're copper is to see the humps on the bottom (which don't accumulate the crud for some reason). Waxing them is a dirty job. I can't imagine the fortune we have invested in those molds. We easily have several hundred.

[kuri]

I tried Paula's method of applying the bee's wax/butter to the mold and it worked beautifully. At first, I was nervous that I might have drained all the bee's was/butter, but it turned out that I really had a very thin layer! Texture of the exterior was much better than what I had done before - bit chewy and crunch, just the way I like it! Thanks Paula!

I am, however, still having trouble achieving the right height. My caneles tend to get "chubby" rather than tall. Anyone has any tips? I usually fill the mold leaving about 5 to 7 mm left from the rim.

I must say the smell of caneles filling up my small apartment is just a joy...

many thanks,

kuri

[Patrick S]

I finally recieved my tin molds in the mail. Before I got the molds, I tried Paula's recipe in small silicone muffin molds. They were delicious, and motivated me to invest in some proper molds. I broke in the molds using the Herme recipe for chocolate canelles that Neil posted way back on page two. I made two batches of 8. On the first batch, I filled the molds almost to the top. That was a mistake -- the canelles expanded way over the top and mushroomed. They did not settle back in to the molds. This batch I baked for an hour at 375. They were still delicious, but not crunchy/chewy enough on the crust. For the second batch, I filled the molds between 1/2 and 2/3 full, and baked for 1 1/4 hours. That resulted in no mushrooming and a nicer crust. When they were done, the canelles filled the mold entirely.

Thanks everyone for the tips and recipes!

The molds:

The batter:

The first batch - overfilled:

The first batch, mushrooming in the oven:

Cross-section of canelle from first batch:

Canelle from second batch:

Cross-section of same canelle:

[Patrick S]

Tonight I tried Paula's recipe in the molds, and they were even better than I hoped. I baked 8 of them, and starting taking them out one by one, every five minutes, at 1 hour 15 minutes. At 1hr35 min, I took all the remainder out because I thought the crust was optimally dark.

Here's the first one out:

Here's one of the last ones out:

Here's a cross-section of the lighter cannele (bad lighting):

[nicolekaplan]

we had a breakthrough in the cannelle baking, fill them to just under the rim but never to the top and they won't puff over and split. anyone want to share the wolfert recipe, i went to the link and couldn't find it any more and i have yet to receive an answer from the webmaster of the page

[Patrick S]

Is anyone trying variations on the cannele other than rum/vanilla and chocolate? The other night I tried to make a raspberry version by adding some Chambord, and I tried chocolatizing Paula's recipe by pouring the hot milk over 3.5ozs noir gastronomie and then adding the chocolate to the sugar/flour/yolk mixture. Both turned out fairly well, but everyone who's tasted them thinks that the rum/vanilla is best. Paula has been kind enough to direct me to two different "parfums mélangé" recipes that are mixtures anisette, lemon essence, rose water and other ingredients that sound exotic and interesting, but I'm interested to hear what if any other ideas are out there. Alternatively, you tell me that raspberry or lemon canneles are inexcusable affronts to tradition and should not even be considered.

Also, how dark does everyone like their canneles? I cooked the last batch to 2 hours, and there were very dark, and very crunchy. I like this fine, but I think my daughter found them slightly too tough on the outside.

Edited June 22, 2005 by Patrick S (log)

[kitwilliams]

ooh, Patrick! your last shot looks more my style: dark and crispy, dense, chewy crust. your previous ones would have been too pale for my taste. as for variations, well, i'm a stickler for tradition!

so my question is about copper molds. i'm ready to invest. who currently has the best price (i've looked at matfer, bridge, and pastrychef.com)? i should've bought them a few years ago when they were $12 each! Now they're upwards of $18 (just looked at one website where they were $45!!!). and are there various manufactuerers? if so, who makes the best?

any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

[ALTAF]

WOW...The cannele thread is intresting. the photos are delicious. I would like to try them at home, but i would like to know:

1- should i use a copper or a tin mold? what the diffrence?

2- whats the best recipe?

Thanks

[mjc]

so my question is about copper molds.  i'm ready to invest.  who currently has the best price (i've looked at matfer, bridge, and pastrychef.com)?  i should've bought them a few years ago when they were $12 each! Now they're upwards of $18 (just looked at one website where they were $45!!!).  and are there various manufactuerers? if so, who makes the best?

any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

←

They are 10-12 bucks at JBprince

http://www.jbprince.com/index.asp?PageActi...ROD&ProdID=1318

[Patrick S]

WOW...The cannele thread is intresting. the photos are delicious. I would like to try them at home, but i would like to know:

1- should i use a copper or a tin mold? what the diffrence?

2- whats the best recipe?

Thanks

←

The recipe Paula Wolfert posted elsewhere in this thread is simple and delicious. As for the molds, I only have the tin molds, so I can't tell you what the difference is between copper and tin. However, the tin molds seem to work perfectly so I don't know what the advantage would be in paying almost 3 times as much for copper.

[nightscotsman]

US $10.40 at http://www.dr.ca - click on "Pastry Molds/Rings/Shapes" on the left, then "Other Steel Molds". Scroll down to "3 -Bordelais". They also offer the aluminum version for only $3.96, though I think the copper is worth it if you really like cannele and can afford them.

[kitwilliams]

Thanks to both mjc and neil!

Finally! I have copper on the way! I use Paula Wolfert's recipe and I look forward to seeing how much better they will undoubtedly be when baked in copper.

Edited August 28, 2005 by kitwilliams (log)

[pounce]

Great thread!

I discovered Cannele's in San Francisco at Boulange De Cole Valley about 4 years ago and set off trying to create my own. I haven't tried the copper cups because I didn't find them locally. I used some of the silicon pans from WS that I found on sale online for under $10. When I got them I found that the forms were much smaller than I had hoped. I tried recipe's that I found online through a lot of searching. There didn't seem to be much available when I was looking. I had found something on usenet for the mid 90's. I think I tried 3 or 4 times before I got anything resembling my first Cannele. They either didn't get cooked long enough and totally collapsed coming out of the forms or I added too much butter and they were strangely flaky on the outside.

Here is a picture I took with my phone of the first near success.

After I got one batch somewhat right (and consumed them all myself ) I tried a batch with reduced sugar for a French diabetic friend. Being that it was the first time I tried to use splenda in anything baked they turned out a little funny. Completely edible, but a lot more cakelike and less spongy pudding.

Now that I've seen this thread I'm going to try the wax trick and possibly get some copper cups. Cool!

Edited August 30, 2005 by pounce (log)

[whisks]

is there any chance that you could pass on the recipes for the regular and chocolate caneles?

thanks

[Jmahl]

I've been to Bordeaux and had the Canneles and yours look great. Another example of the depth of talented people that visit this site.

[jaynesb]

is there any chance that you could pass on the recipes for the regular and chocolate caneles?

thanks

←

There are a few threads relating to these. (Different spelling are used by different people.) Here's one that has a few recipes for regular as well as a recipe for the chocolate ones.

Link to cannele recipes topic on eGullet

jayne

[whisks]

thanks jayne. i found the paula wolfert recipe eventually, which sounds like what i'm looking for - crunchy, crusty and caramelly outside and custardy inside, but which is the chocoale canele recipe i am looking for? or does the addition of chocolate/cocoa significantly alter the ultimate texture of the canele?

caneles have been one of those elusive things for me - most of the recipes i have tried have been more cakelike (not there was anything wrong with them), but having tried the original in france, i want nothing but something close to authentic. this is one of the very few recipes where i have been so persistent in trying to attain perfection. i want to know the secret!!!! i have looked at paula's recipe and now have the batter sitting in the fridge and will report back to let you know....the perfect chocolate canele recipe is now what i'm looking for.

thanks for your help.

lynn

[cookman]

The molds (copper), never cleaned, are coated with the beeswax/butter with a dedicated brush that's just barely narrow enough to swipe all the way to the bottom of the mold, then they're set on a sheetpan open side down so that any excess drains out. Seems to work fine for us.

I'm using a beeswax/vegetable oil mix to coat the insides of my cannele copper molds. Following the recommendations of others from this thread, I have not washed the interior of the molds. If there is any residue left after unmolding the cannele, I just burn it off in a hot oven. However, I've noticed that the molds have taken on a slight rancid oil odor to them if I sniff them, and I think I can taste this in the final product. The beeswax/oil mix itself smells fine, so I think it's the residue on the cannele molds that I'm detecting. Washing them in soapy water seems to make no difference. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions on how to fix this?

[Wolfert]

Bordeaux-based Patissier Daniel Antoine told me he boils the molds once a year. I assume he did this to remove that funky odor. Then he said to simply re-season them.

I had the same problem so I boiled them and did the ritual seasoning. It worked but it took baking off one or two canneles to get everything back to normal.

Edited January 27, 2006 by Wolfert (log)

[cookman]

Bordeaux-based  Patissier Daniel Antoine told me he boils the molds once a year. I assume he did this to remove that funky odor. Then he said to simply re-season them.

I had the same problem so I boiled them and did the ritual seasoning. It worked but it took baking off one or two canneles to get everything back to normal.

←

Paula, thanks for the great suggestion-- I'll give boiling a try.

Do you think the type of oil that I mix with the beeswax has anything to do with the "funky" smell the molds develop over time? I used canola oil, since it was easy to find, but I wonder if another oil might be preferable.