Word of the Moment: Canneles

Canneles, as defined by Chocolate & Zucchini:

"- 1/2 liter (2 cups) milk
- 30 g (3 tablespoons) salted butter, diced
- 1 vanilla pod (split), or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 100 g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
- 200 g (1 cup) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) good-quality rum

Yields about 20 medium canelés.

Combine the milk, butter and vanilla in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. In the meantime, combine the flour and sugar in a medium mixing-bowl, and break the eggs in another, smaller bowl. When the milk mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and fish out the vanilla pod if using. Pour the eggs all at once into the flour mixture (don't stir yet), pour in the milk mixture, and whisk until well combined and a little frothy. Add in the rum and whisk again. Let cool to room temperature on the counter, then cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.

The next day (or the day after that, or the day after that), preheat the oven to 250° C (480° F). Butter the canelé molds if they are made of copper (unnecessary if you're using silicon molds). Remove the batter from the fridge: it will have separated a bit, so whisk until well blended again. Pour into the prepared 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 200° C (400° F) and bake for another 40 to 60 minutes (depending on your oven and how you like your canelés). The canelés are ready when the bottoms are a very dark brown.

Unmold onto a cooling rack (wait for about ten minutes first if you're using silicon molds or they will collapse a little) and let cool completely before eating."

Canneles, as defined by Chic and Charming:

A French pastry which is notoriously difficult to make correctly. Canneles are one of the most delicious and perfect foods ever created, and give those tragically allergic to chocolate a reason to keep living. A well made cannele is best eaten as soon as possible after being baked. The outside of the pastry will be a crunchy deliciously caramelized sugary treat, while the inside will be almost impossibly moist and vaguely cake-like. This dessert has a little known effect of acting as an apatite suppressant because after eating one the consumer is reluctant to let any other food pass his/her lips for fear of loosing the after taste of burnt sugar.

Image from foodbeam.com, my new favorite food porn site.