Revered worldwide for its 117,000 hectares of vineyards, the city of Bordeaux lies on the very edge of the Aquitaine region of France, next to the Atlantic Ocean, and boasts its own list of world-beating culinary delights in true French style. A beautiful city, drenched in history and sparkling with modernity, it offers many specialities that have stood the test of time.

One such unique treat is the canelé, developed way back in the 16th century by the nuns of the Monastère de l’Annonciade who, as the story goes, would come down to the port of Bordeaux to meet the flour ships and take a little of the cargo to make cakes for the city’s poor.

However, there is something quite heavenly in the recipe that makes canelés more than adequate eating for the fussiest kings, and though the ingredients are few and the method simple, the ones from Bordeaux are still a world away from those available anywhere else.

They are made from an egg custard mixture (eggs, flour and milk) mixed with rum, sugar, butter and vanilla - fresh ingredients are paramount - and baked in fluted, open, copper tins, each usually no more than about two-and-a-half inches in diameter. The high heat from the copper quickly caramelises the outer layer of the contents and the result has to be one of the world’s most addictive foods: light, creamy, mild, sweet, chewy, soft and a little bit crispy. There are a number of expert bakers of canelés around the Bordeaux area, some with global reputations for excellence. Very few supply online, but one that does is Lemoine, based in Le Bouscat, on the edge of the city of Bordeaux.

Available online here.

Written by  larapiegeler.

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