Canelés are small French custard cakes with a crispy crust. They’re traditionally baked in special fluted molds, but I improvised with a muffin tin and the results were pretty amazing. Just be sure you bake them long enough to achieve the classic caramelized exterior.
Preparation Details
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins
Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Steps
- Make the canelés: Mix flour, sugar, egg yolks, rum, vanilla, and salt together in a mixing bowl with a spatula, smearing until a smooth paste forms. Continue mixing until flour is fully incorporated.
- Combine milk and 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, then immediately remove from the heat.
- Slowly add 1/2 of the hot milk mixture to the canelés batter, whisking quickly to avoid cooking the egg yolks. Slowly whisk in remaining milk mixture until batter is smooth and thin.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
- Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan: Melt butter and beeswax in a skillet over medium heat. Remove from the heat, then stir with a pastry brush. Generously brush the bottom and sides of each muffin cup.
- Ladle canelés batter into muffin cups until almost to the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and continue baking until canelés are very well browned, about 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a thin blade around the sides and carefully loosen canelés from the cups. Invert onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely to room temperature to create a crispy surface.
