cannelés - a sweet speciality from south west france

A couple of lovely readers have asked me about these tiny copper moulds,  that I found in the fair yesterday. They are quite old and were purpose made to bake the delicious Cannelés!

Before I go onto the recipe, your opinion please.  I bought a few of these, for me and for the store, but I can't decide whether to clean them all.  Of course they are clean inside, but do you prefer the tarnished patina look or do find the sheen of polished copper irresistible?! Thank you!

These little cakes are a speciality of South West France, Bordeaux in particular, and for many people they represent a summer pleasure, enjoyed while on holiday.

They have a slightly thick and caramelised crust but inside they are moist

Ingredients to make about 12 cannelés

- 1/2 litre (2 cups) milk
- 25 g butter (2 oz)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 250 g (1+1/4 cups) sugar
- 125 g flour (1 cup)
- 1teaspoon vanilla essence, or the grains of a whole vanilla pod in the milk
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) rum

Boil the milk (with the vanilla grains if you are using a pod) add the butter and leave to cool.

In a large bowl beat the egg yolks, the whole egg and the sugar.    Add the flour, mix well then little by little add the milk.  Add the rum, and the vanilla essence if using it.  The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter.  Leave overnight in a bowl in the fridge.

Fill the moulds to 3/4 level.   Cook for 15 minutes at 450°F (250°C), then drop to 355°F (180°C) and cook for an hour.

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Instead of making this size cannelés, you can also make mini versions which only need about 40 minutes to cook.

Turn them out while they are still hot and - if you have the will power! -  leave to cool before eating.

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                                                                     bon appétit mes amis!