Canele 1.0

I had a grand plan for a canele recipe experiment, using recipes from Chocolate and Zucchini, LaTartine Gourmande and Tartlette.

I actually made a batch of each but that's where the experimentation lost control. I brought the whole lot to a girlfriend's place since she had a superduper oven and we were going to hang out. However, her fancy oven had various functions for regular baking and cake baking and what not so needless to say, it was not a controlled process and the results were varied. The caneles were all good and scoffed down quickly as soon as they came out of the oven, which is why I don't have pictures of them.


I decided to try it on my own but slowly and one batch at a time. When I did this last month, the assignments had started to pile up so even though C&Z's recipe called for the batter to be rested for a couple of days, mine rested a whole week.

I also cheated and used the blender to get everything mixed because when I made the batters the first time, I got frustrated with the lumpy flour bits which I had to sieve out. My final deviation or what the purists would frown on was to use silicon moujlds because frankly, one copper mould here costs as much as a silicon one that would make 15 at a time.


So here is C&Z's recipe which I adapted.

Canele
makes about 20-30

2 cups milk
3 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla paste
100g flour
200g sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup rum

Combine the milk, butter and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Watch this carefully as it boils over very quickly and creates a mess. Remove from heat and set aside. In the meantime, mix the flour and sugar in a separate bowl. When the milk mixture has cooled enough, combine it in the blender with the flour mixture, eggs and rum. Refrigerate the batter in a sealed container for at least 24 hours and up to 7 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven at 480F. Remove the batter from the fridge and give it a stir as it might have separated. Pour into the molds, filling them almost to the top. Put into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, then (without opening the oven door) lower the heat to 400F and bake for another 40 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and unmold onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before eating. Store in an airtight container or in the fridge for up to a week.

Verdict: These are best eaten on the day they are baked or within the next 2 days. If stored in the fridge, they lose their crusty exterior. Great snack and so easy to make!

Got organised

Its not that I haven't been baking, I just haven't been trying any new recipes. I kept having cravings for some of my favourite cakes so I just kept makng them. Hopefully, I have had enough of lemon pound cake and carrot cake.

I spent most of the school holidays re-organising my stuff. Its just cathartic to get rid of stuff I had been hanging on to in a vain hope that I would make use of it someday. It's also a great feeling to clear space for the stuff that I really need. The local Salvation Army has benefitted greatly from my big clear-out.

I took ages going through my books and deciding which ones to keep or give away. Finally, my bookshelves reflect my current reading interests. With the start of the new school term, perhaps I will find more time to try the recipes that I've rediscovered while going through my books.