Canelé de Bordeaux

Bordeaux's signature pastry — caramelised outside, custardy inside, found in every boulangerie in town

The canelé is Bordeaux's signature pastry — a small cylinder of vanilla-and-rum custard baked in a fluted copper mould until the outside caramelises to a dark, almost lacquered crust while the interior stays soft and custardy. It is peculiar, specific, and very good when made properly.

Finding a good canelé is not difficult in Bordeaux — every serious boulangerie makes them. The best are made fresh daily and eaten within a few hours. Baillardran, with several locations across the city, is the most celebrated; La Toque Cuivrée in the old market halls is also reliable. The quality difference between a freshly made canelé and one that has sat for a day is significant.

eating out market
A story
The canelé's origin is disputed but the most plausible story traces it to the Annonciades convent in Bordeaux, where 18th-century nuns used egg yolks left over from wine production — winemakers used egg whites to clarify wine and discarded the yolks — to make a small custard cake in fluted copper moulds. The recipe eventually reached the city's pâtisseries, and the canelé became Bordeaux's most copied export.