Canelé

These classic baked beauties are rich, rum-spiked and swimming in the deep sweetness of caramelised sugar.

Canelé – meaning fluted, to reflect their shape – are tiny rum-soaked French pastries with a history spanning more than 300 years. Hailing from Bordeaux, the baked custards were born from the excess egg yolks of winemakers in the region, who used the whites to clarify their drops. With a rich custardy inside, the sweet morsels are traditionally baked in individual copper moulds, which deliver a perfectly crisp, dense caramelised shell. Here, we share Sonoma’s recipe, a traditionalist method that – with enough patience – will see you master the scorched golden treats. Canelé are tricky, requiring perserverence and an eye for detail – a true labour of love.

Step by step