I had been reading from french pastry chef's websites how difficult these are to make, and how they will take so many tries to get correctly. I followed this recipe and Chef John made the process very easy, and demonstrated it eloquently and effectively. This is by far the best recipe to follow for your first Caneles.
These are delicious, I'm eating one now! I bought food grade beeswax just for this occasion, which I will be using again for these. I had some great Puerto Rican rum that was a gift to use in these Caneles. The only thing I would do differently is bake for 5 minutes or so at the 450 degrees. I had two pans of these (one was the fluted muffin type pan) and one regular muffin pan that made it into the oven about 5 minutes after the first pan and they turned out perfect. The others were a little too browned after 40 minutes. It may have been the differences in the pans since the fluted pan is a bit darker. In both pans the Caneles have a nice custard in the center. ( I had to eat one from each pan to be sure;) Thanks for a new treat to make, Chef John!
This recipe taste just like the Caneles I ate at a French bakery in Paris! I baked mine in a Canele mold - no beeswax required!
Delicious! Follow the recipe exactly! Whole Foods carries the right kind of beeswax!
This was one of the most surprising discoveries yet! However using a muffin tin they popped out as they cooked so they were sitting up in the air and to upper edges burned. Even with that charred piece the flavor was amazing! I promptly ordered a proper Canele mold and can't wait to make more.
Made half the recipe. Used popover tin instead of muffin tin. Will make half the recipe again using a muffin tin as suggested by Chef John. I was overly generous with greasing the tin with the beeswax/butter mixture, which resulted in a soft bottom which was okay, but not as crispy as it should have been. The sides were nice and crispy. Made it again (same day) using a muffin tin instead of the popover tin.
Made them with a friend to demonstrate how easy they are to make. We were very happy with the result using the muffin tin. Version 3: bought a fluted muffin tin, still making half the recipe, and am very happy with the presentation. Note: it seems that beeswax has a higher melting point than butter, hence the need to melt them together on top of the stove. (Microwave does not work as the butter starts to spit while the little beads of wax are still solid).
I have made these a few times now and they come out great every time. Be careful not to use too much butter-wax grease on the tin, or you will get a weird wax texture in the end. If your tin is cold when you brush on the grease, it is easy to put on too much. Try leaving the pan in the pre-heating oven for a minute to warm up, and then inspect the brushed on wax after the pan cools before adding the batter. Reapply if necessary.
Even if you put on a lot, or they get a little charred, they're still delicious.
Followed Chef John's easy instructions and loved the results. Thanks for making me look like a professional!
I didn't make any changes