FrenchDesserts and bakingMeatless
Canelés
Crisp, deeply caramelised French pastries with a soft vanilla and rum-scented centre.
- Total
- 1 h 30 min
- Serves
- 12
- Level
- Medium
By Pip @flour.power · Cookt Kitchen · 21 October 2026
Ingredients
Quantities for 12. Tick things off as you go.
Method
Infuse the milk
In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk, butter, vanilla pod and seeds until steaming and the butter has melted, about 5 minutes; do not let it boil. Take off the heat and leave for 10 minutes, until fragrant.
Mix the dry ingredients
Whisk the sugar and flour in a bowl.
Mix the eggs
In another bowl, gently whisk the eggs and yolks, then gradually whisk in the warm milk.
Finish the batter
Pour the liquid into the flour mixture in a thin stream, whisking just until smooth. Stir in the rum.
Rest the batter
Strain the batter into a jug, cover and chill for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. It should be cold and settled before baking. Stir gently before filling.
Prepare the moulds
Heat the oven to 240°C conventional or 220°C fan. Generously butter 12 canelé moulds, including the ridges, and chill them for 10 minutes.
Fill and start baking
Stir the chilled batter gently and fill each mould to about 1 cm below the rim. Bake on a tray at 240°C conventional or 220°C fan for 15 minutes, until the edges are visibly browning.
Bake through
Without opening the oven for long, reduce the heat to 190°C conventional or 170°C fan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until very dark mahogany all over.
Unmould
Leave the canelés in their moulds for 5 minutes, then turn them out carefully onto a rack. If they resist, loosen the edges gently rather than pulling hard.
Cool
Cool for at least 30 minutes, until the crust is crisp and the centres have set.
Tips
- Whisk gently throughout to avoid adding air, which can make the centres uneven.
- Butter every ridge of the moulds, then chill them for 10 minutes before filling.
- The deep mahogany colour is characteristic; pale canelés will have a soft crust.
Swaps
- Use vanilla extract in place of the vanilla pod, adding it with the rum.
- If you do not have dark rum, use another rum in the same quantity.
Storing
Store cooled canelés in an airtight container at room temperature and re-crisp briefly in a hot oven before serving.
Nutrition per serving
190 kcal · protein 4 g · carbs 30 g · fat 6 g · fibre 0 g. This is an estimate, not a lab measurement.
Allergens
Read the label on every ingredient you buy. The recipe as written contains eggs, milk, wheat, gluten. We can't account for how a product was made or packed.
How this page was made
Written by the Cookt team, following our recipe standards. AI tools help us draft, check and illustrate recipes. No star ratings until enough people have rated this recipe in Cookt.
