Canelé de Bordeaux, and my attempt at making them


I've decided to take on a new baking challenge! One time at a local cafe we happened upon this unusual dessert called a Canelé, a small French pastry with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust (basically think of it as a Creme Brule cake).

Of course it turns out to be more difficult to make, than to buy!

The ingredients are just flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla, etc. You also need to wait 24-48 hours before baking! And there is one odd in ingredient...

Wax... Bees wax that is



You need to baste the inside of your baking molds with a wax and butter mixture, but this helps the mahogany crust form. But be warned, cooking with wax is extremely messy!

 

Here is a lovely silicon baking tray I picked up ($9 at the Gourmet Warehouse), before I start baking

 

...And here are the failures that came out soon after. They taste good, but they shouldn't look like this! So saggy...

 

 

Luckily I also purchased two tin baking molds ($3 a piece) to try (the professionals prefer metal/copper baking molds). But I only purchased two.

 

And here is my successful attempt!

 

 

Here's a cross section, looks and tastes good!

 

And the comparison... No contest here!

 

 

Moral of the story, try not using the cheapest option. You sometimes get what you paid for.