As with most classic French pastries, the canele is a food with a varied and diverse history and like most great recipes and dishes from France, they have not changed for generations – the authentic, original recipes being guarded under lock and key.

This dessert was discovered and baked for the first time by my daughter Rosalie, so here she tells you how she came up with it and how she baked it. She also took great photos and described the entire process:

"My passion for the French language and culture began in high school, thanks to an incredible teacher who did much more than just drill us on endless vocabulary. She immersed us in the everyday life and customs of the French, making studying feel less like a chore and more like the gateway to speaking the language.Together with my friends, Christina and Hannah, we became utter nerds for French. Our Whatsapp group was called ‘francallemands’ (a twist on the common franco-allemand, because God knows why we thought it was witty), we listened to vintage French classics, and most importantly, used half the class time to ask our patient and resourceful teacher endless questions. One day, I was tasked with preparing a presentation on ‘Nouvelle Aquitaine,’ France’s largest region, located in the southwest and internationally known for its wine, particularly from Bordeaux. What I soon discovered, though, was that Bordeaux is also the birthplace of the iconic French pastry, the cannelé.

The canelé gets its name from the French word for “fluted” which suits its form. The pastry originated thanks to winemakers in Bordeaux who used egg whites to clarify wine and would give the excess egg yolks to nuns which in return took it to make food for poor children. As Bordeaux is a port, this recipe natural evolved into having rum and vanilla added to it, key components which give the cannele its distinct flavor profile. Naturally, I couldn’t just prepare a typical presentation. Since I’m not one to do things halfway, I decided to bake cannelés and bring them to class on the day of the presentation. I found a recipe from the renowned bakery La Toque Cuivrée and, to my delight, the result was a success. A few years later, when I visited Bordeaux and tasted the original cannelé, I can confidently say my efforts paid off. ;)

Now, I’d love for you to bring a bit of that French flair and delicious vanilla aroma into your kitchen with this recipe. Let’s get started!

Like most great pastries, cannelés have a simple set of ingredients, but it's the technique and attention to detail that really make the difference. Egg yolks, flour, butter, salt, and milk are mixed together in a very specific order and left to rest overnight so the flour can absorb the milk and fully hydrate before baking. The ratio of these ingredients is similar to that of a basic crepe, but the method of preparation creates a completely different result—one that’s a world apart in terms of flavor and texture."