Sunday, June 12, 2005

Wish you could taste these!

My quest for the perfect Cannelé. Well, how about a 'respectable' Cannelé? A decent representation of a Regional French Pastry, I'll settle for that!
There are many recipes out there. Some use super fine sugar, this recipe uses Powdered Sugar. Some use Beeswax to paint the mold, this recipe uses butter. Oh yes, there are different molds out there. My first try, several years ago was with porcelain molds, they never caramelized the exterior. I also have the Gastroflex mold, no comment, I think they are better for ice-creams! I end up squishing the cannele' when I unmold. The next debate is tinned or tin-lined copper molds. Let me be honest, I was too cheap to buy 12 copper molds. I went for the tin.
The last post, I made the batter (pate). My molds have been buttered and chilled. Batter, has rested for 24 hours (Pierre does say the batter can rest for 3 days, this is good to know!)

Next step, The Coulage.
The batter is being poured into the molds. That hairy hand, don't worry, it's not me! I fill to a 'breath' from the top.

Here they are cooking in a convection oven, at 180C. The butter from the mold is escaping and landing on the baking sheet.

Yes, they are colored, but not done yet. Notice that they are rising out of the molds. Pierre suggests that you take a knife and pierce the top. I have done this and they are starting to sink back into the mold.
I've made these before and didn't pierce the tops and they never sank back down into the mold, resulting in the tops not being as caramelized as the rest. Still very tasty, but not picture perfect!

Here are the finished product. Burned you say? No way! Pierre says if they aren't dark brown they aren't cooked. I am very happy with this result! Crisp exterior, creamy interior. Delicious.

I find that there is much debate and passion over these little confections. I'm including some homework for you, if interested! There is a large thread at egullet where they talk about different recipes, trial & error. There is a post found on egullet as well from Louisa at Moveable Feast, a CB grad!
When all is said and done, these delightful little mouthfulls don't stay too long on the cooling rack in my house! I do wish you could taste these!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Melissa - these look perfect! I wish I could taste them...

Anonymous said...

I am seriously impressed. Well done with the cannelés (and the codes!). I'm off to look for the moulds and a recipe. Where is your recipe from?

Banlieue Blog said...

--Keiko, I bet you had one or two during your Paris visit!

--Barbara, Again, thanks for the codes. My recipe came from:
Pierre Hermé
Patissier
Secrets Gourmands
I've only found this in french. If you can't find a copy, I'll 'e' you the recipe, let me know!

Anonymous said...

Melissa - would really appreciate if you could email me the reicpe to pinotgris@gmail.com I'm away in Australia 16th June - 4th July so no hurry. I'll be searching for the moulds in Sydney as I have not seen them here.

Nic said...

Hi Melissa. I don't think I've ever had a cannelé, but they look delightful. I'll have to keep my eyes out for some.

shuna fish lydon said...

I love the photos where I feel like I'm in the oven. An interesting perspective. My oven is a bit grumpy so I take the before and after photos instead.

I will say that I hope you can post the recipe in English. When/if you have the time. I thought I would post more recipes on my site until I realized that I would have to write out all the instruction!

Thank you again, I am awed by the big projects you take on!

Anonymous said...

Great sequence shots.

Banlieue Blog said...

--Nic, if you find one, do try it. It is a real treat!

--Shuna, I'm laughing about what you said about posting recipes. Yeah, typing out ALL those instructions, and then you need to add all the tips that make the recipe work. But..I will get to it! I promise!

--Chef 'em out, Thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous said...

No, thank you. It was my pleasure. It is truly amazing to be able to almost instantaneously communicate with people all over the world who share the same interests. Who needs food magazines?

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