homemade Cannelés

Didn’t know of their existence until MW told me about them on my visit to Singapore last year. I could tell this is her favourite pastry by the passionate way she described them to me. Curious, I had my first taste and to be honest I wasn’t quite sure. Since they are sold in ‘delicate’ bites, before I could make up my mind, I had already gobbled them up!! Ha ha ha And so had to get more and this time with a hot cup of black coffee, they won me over hands down!!

This has been on my list of bakes since Iast December. I was determined to make some – guess I finally found time to make it especially after being reminded by a recent post by bakingbites.

Traditional cannelés are made in copper moulds coated with beeswax to make unmoulding easier and also to give cannelés their distinctive crunchy crust baked in high temperature.

Lots of other bloggers have lamented about the pricey cost of cannelé copper moulds which I understand could cost more than a visit to the dentist and that’s only for a single mould!!! Lolz

Anyway, saw these cool tiny rose looking silicon moulds and knew exactly what to use them for. Of course I was a little sceptical whether any of the rose lines would be obvious but fortunately they turned out alright.

So how would you describe cannelés? Well, they are a little addictive (because they are so yummy) with a dark crunchy crust with a touch of caramel flavour and a delicate vanilla pudding-like centre.

I like it warm from the oven because I like the crusty exterior. Actually as I happily devour one, they kind-na remind me of Portuguese custard egg tarts but these tastes much better as the filling is so rich and creamy, intensely perfumed with vanilla and rum. But if you like yours less 'crusty', do savour them the next day. They don't keep that long so do try to finish them as soon as you can, not that you'll have this problem I'm sure! ;)

Recipe adapted from Tartlette

Ingredients

750g low fat milk
50g butter
3 eggs plus 3 egg yolks
175g caster sugar (next time I’ll try 170g – sweetness was just nice but always testing the sugar boundaries!! Ha ha)
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 cup dark rum
155g cake flour, shifted

Note that batter needs to be made at least 1 day in advance for full flavour to be developed.

Method:

1. In a saucepan, bring milk, vanilla bean and butter to a low simmer. Mix well and set aside to lukewarm.
2. In meantime, whisk all the eggs, sugar and pinch of salt.
3. Combine the rum and mix it well.
4. Slowly beat in flour.
5. Add milk slowly and whisk until smooth.
6. Pass it through a sieve if necessary (batter will be watery).
7. Refrigerate batter overnight.
   
   
8. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 190 degrees.
9. Pour batter into greased moulds - I used normal muffin trays and also a smaller sized ones.
   
10. Bake for 35-45 minutes depending on how large your moulds are and longer if you prefer your cannelés darker.
    

Bench notes – Batter can last up to a week in the fridge so it’s a great dessert to ‘magically’ whip up for guest or anytime you feel like indulging in some delectable vanilla flavoured baked version of ‘crème caramel/brulee’ type of dessert.

Pssst….even though the smaller moulds yields cute dainty bites, I really prefer the bigger muffin size, there are just some things that just taste so much better if you are able to cram it full into the mouth!!! *gee I do sound greedy, don't I??* Besides one usually tends to overindulge with miniatures anyway!!

All desserts

Since its Friday, I'm gonna end the week with this post - a revisit to Buonasera.

This time, armed with more eager mouths, we decided to stop over for desserts and drinks after a heavy dinner at Hokano.

We decided to give Chef Enzo's desserts a run for his money by ordering all his desserts listed on the menu! Hm...wonder if anyone tested him like this before....ha ha ha

I'll list it down based on what was most popular. Hm, thinking about it now, should have gotten them to serve one dessert at a time so that we can fully appreciate each dessert rather than bombarding our senses all at once and scattering our attention!! Ha ha ha....but it was definitely fun!!

Sticky date pudding with butter scotch sauce and vanilla ice-cream.
A sure winner with all.

Chocolate pot with vanilla ice cream.
This was really good too. Do not be deceived by its plainness, that little cup of chocolate is bursting full of chocolate goodness. If you are a chocolate lover, order this!!


Tiramisu.
This was good too and you can really tate the coffee liquer with each mouthful.

Special 5 layer ice-cream cake
Still nice but overshadowed by the others. If you prefer something on the lighter side, this would be something you can consider.

Mixed berry zabaglione (Italian egg custard or egg nogg with a scoop of raspberry sorbet)
This was new to us. Since it has alcohol in it, probably not suitable for children. It was different -refreshing especially with the raspberry sorbet.

All in all, a good way to end a satisfying dinner filled with lots of catch-ups, laughter, sugar and caffine!! Lolz. *hey, how did we leave out the booze - oh yeah, there were some in the dessert!!* ;)