Canelés are small, caramelized pastries from the Bordeaux region. They have a crisp exterior and a custardy, vanilla- and rum-infused center. They’re a delicious (and simple!) way to bring a taste of Bordeaux to your home!

 

Try the real thing on one of our Bordeaux region tours!

 

Ingredients 

For ~12 canelés

blandinejoannic
  • 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing the molds)
  • 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar
  • 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons dark rum (optional but authentic)
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Heat the milk & butter: In a small saucepan, gently heat milk and butter until the butter melts. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.
  2. Combine dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
  3. Blend wet & dry: In another bowl, beat eggs and yolks, then whisk in the vanilla extract and rum (if using). Slowly add the warm milk mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter.
  4. Chill batter: Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (even better overnight).
  5. Preheat & pour: Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Butter the canelé molds (traditional copper molds or silicone molds) and fill them about ¾ full with batter.
  6. Bake & reduce heat: Bake for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 350°F (180°C) and continue baking for ~40–50 minutes, until the canelés are deep golden brown and caramelized.
  7. Enjoy: Let them cool slightly before removing from molds. The outside should be crisp, the inside soft and custardy.
  8. Serve them with an espresso or a glass of sweet wine (like Sauternes) for a truly Bordelaise treat!

 

 

Bon Appétit!

Canelé from Bordeaux region
This is how your canelé might look (after taking a bite out of it)
©

Matthias Kabel, CC BY-SA 3.0

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Cathy
France Just For You planned the trip of a lifetime for my husband and me. We traveled to Normandy, St. Saint Michele, the Loire Valley and Provence. We are typically not road trip travelers, but this adventure brought us closer to the wonderful people of France than any group tour or "drop and plop" vacation could ever do. The bed and breakfasts …
Wendy
Celebrating my daughter Kelsey's Doctorate - Emilie planned the PERFECT / made to order itinerary for us! Serendipity led us to France Just for You - and has spoiled us for any other way to travel abroad. Perfect trip start to finish....there was no detail overlooked. The personal guidebook is to be treasured - a fabulous reference material and …
Tony & Carolyn
We had the most wonderful two week trip planned by France-Just For You and it delivered more than we expected The quality of the travel package was amazing and every detail was designed to be most helpful for us. We had never stayed in B&Bs before but this trip has opened up more exciting travel options for us than we could have imagined. I would …
Kathy
My wife and I were planning a special trip to Provence and although we didn't want a canned tour, we did want support to ensure we didn't miss out on experiences we simply weren't aware of. In our search we got lucky and found Emilie. She interviewed us in advance so she could customize the trip to our desires and interests and ultimately created …
Leslie & Family
Just returned from an amazing trip with our family, including 3 teenage boys. Emilie carefully listened to our request to focus on military history and arranged an itinerary with just the right balance of history, culture, art, and military history. We had incredible guides to Paris, WWI, and WWII sites plus unique B&Bs. So many memories!
Laura & Greg
Just finished an amazing trip to Normandy and was delighted by all the accommodations, private tours and cooking class with Brigitte. All the details they put together allowed us to relax and enjoy. I highly recommend them.