Cannelés are a classic French pastry that has a deliciously crispy caramelised exterior and soft baked custard centre. These little cakes are packed with fresh Vanilla flavours and a touch of Rum.
Place the Milk, Butter and Vanilla seeds & pod in a small saucepan (see note 1 on how to prepare the vanilla bean). Turn on low heat and occasionally stir. When it starts to simmer and the butter has melted, turn off the heat, cover the saucepan with a lid and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes to let the vanilla infuse in the milk.
In a separate heat-proof bowl, whisk together the Sugar, Eggs and Egg Yolks. Mix in the sifted Flour and Salt, then the Rum. The batter should be smooth and have no lumps.
Remove the vanilla pod from the milk mixture (see note 2). Slowly pour the warm milk over the egg mixture while whisking. Mix until completely smooth then cover with plastic wrap touching the surface.
Place in the fridge to rest overnight, or preferably for 24 hours (see note 3).
Take the cannele batter out of the fridge, whisk it for a few seconds (see note 4) and let it come back to room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat your oven on 215 degree Celsius / 420 degree Fahrenheit.
Brush the copper or aluminium cannele mold with soft butter, making sure each molds is well coated. Fill about 3/4 of the mold with the batter (see note 5).
Bake for 20 minutes, then drop the temperature to 180 degree Celsius / 350 degree Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes (see note 6).
Take out of the oven and leave to cool down slightly for 5 minutes before carefully flipping the pan over and get the Cannelés out. Leave the cakes to come back to room temperature then serve straight away.
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Notes
Vanilla: if you don't have a fresh vanilla bean, you can use vanilla paste (1,5 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla paste). I don't recommend using vanilla extract or essence her as you won't get as much flavour.Mold: I used this metal cannele mold. I only recommend using copper or aluminium; you won't get the same textures if using a silicone mold.Recipe Notes:
To get the vanilla out of the pod, slice it in half lengthways leaving one of the edge attached. Gently scrape the seeds out of each side with a small knife and put them in the milk. Place the rest of the pod in the milk as well, it contains a lot of flavours, but remove it after the milk has infused.
The vanilla pod can be lightly washed to remove any milk then stored to make homemade vanilla extract or a vanilla powder.
It is important to let the batter rest for a long time to create the best flavours and texture. If you don't want to wait 24 hours, make sure to chill it for at least 12 hours or overnight.
The flour will tend to drop to the bottom of the bowl so the batter will be thicker at the bottom than at the top. Whisking it again insures all the ingredients are well combined before you bake the cakes.
The canneles will rise fast in the oven so make sure not to overfill the molds.
The top and edges should look brown and well caramelised. If the top seems light in colour, it needs a little bit longer. Note that the exact baking time and heat might vary based on the type of pan you use and your oven. You might have to experiment with the temperature and timing a little bit.