44 minutes ago, RandomCrap said:I think you need a temperature both higher and lower. To explain: start at 475 for 15 minutes, then lower to 350 and finish. Depending upon your oven and the number you bake at once, you might even need to go higher. The initial high heat causes the batter to rise. It usually goes over the top of the cups. The thing is, if it stays risen above the cup long enough to harden, that broader 'mushroom' head prevents it from settling back to the bottom of the cup. This prevents the bottom from baking properly.
I use a baking steel to really supply heat to the bottom of the molds. If I have 6 or fewer in the oven, 475 works, but any more than that and I use 500. Lately, I think that 500 is the preferred way to go. The batter rises straight up without mushrooming, and when I drop the temperature it lowers back into the mold. Right about that point it when the top crust gets stiff enough to keep it there.
As the cannele bakes and loses moisture, it shrinks slightly. If you have a good non-stick coating, the shrinking size lets it slide down the mold, keeping the bottom in contact with the hot metal. I think that avoiding the mushroom head is key to baking the bottoms correctly.
Hope this helps. The nice thing about these, even when they look bad they taste good.
I have 6 of the nonstick aluminum molds and a single copper mold. The copper one is slightly larger and bakes differently. The aluminum molds take 15 minutes on high heat, then about 30-35 on the lower heat. The copper needs a good 50-60 minutes on the lower heat to bake completely.
@RandomCrapThank you so much for chiming in. I plan on making more batter soon and will try it again. How full do you fill your molds? I leave about 1/4" from the top.
Edited to add: I don't have a baking steel, would a pizza stone work?
