Canelés

This is a lovely spongy cake originating in Bordeaux, but it has won hearts across the country and can be found in bake shops almost anywhere in France. They are normally baked in copper molds, but you can also find a silicone version of the canelé mold that can turn out a still delicious product, even if the surface is not as caramelized as with the copper mold. This recipe takes two days of rest in the refrigerator, but from what I have learned, patience is a virtue.

For a dozen copper canelé molds:

2 cups whole milk
40 grams or 4 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
150 grams of flour
250 grams white granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons aged rum

- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they lighten in color and turn fluffy.
- Split the vanilla bean and scrape the inner seeds out with a knife. Put the seeds and the scraped pod with the milk in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
- Remove the milk from the heat and let it cool slightly, remove the pod, then add the vanilla seasoned milk slowly to the egg and sugar mixture.
- Cut the butter into little cubes and add it to the batter. Beat until fully incorporated.
- Add the flour in batches until it is fully incorporated.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator, leaving it alone for 2 full days. When you are ready to bake the cakes, generously butter the insides of the molds with a brush (do not butter silicone molds if you are using them), and fill them about 2/3 of the way full (slightly fuller for silicone). Heat your oven as hot as it will go for 10 minutes, place the cakes on a sheet in the hot oven, and reduce the heat to about 175C/300F, continuing to bake for 40-45 minutes. Turn out from the molds immediately while hot.