Canelés (French Bordeaux Pastry) - Copper Mold Technique

WHY Temperature Limit:** "Don't want to heat it up so much that when you blend it with flour and eggs, it'll cook" 3. Cold ingredients (eggs, flour, rum) will meet hot liquid → final temperature ~100°F 4. **100°F = "Nice inert temperature for something organic like this"

5. Blend all together in pitcher 6. Stop once, check for flour lumps at bottom **Batter Consistency:** - **"It's like crepe batter, basically - mostly milk and egg"** - "Lot of formulations consider granulated sugar liquid ingredient" - "Mostly liquids with some flour in it" --- ### CRITICAL REST PERIOD (1-4 Days Minimum) **What Happens With Fresh Batter:** "If I pour these in molds right now and bake them, what's gonna largely happen is **batter is going to soufflé and pop out of mold** and you're gonna get something a lot spongier than what we're going for" **Aging Requirement:** - **"Definitely make batter 1, 2, 3, 4 days in advance - you'll be happy you did"** - "Sometimes it just takes time" - "Certainly want to go from cold batter, but it benefits from couple days in fridge" **Physical Changes During Aging:** - "Will maybe barely thicken up in fridge over next day or two" - **WHY:** "Just cuz fat kind of gels and thickens up, flour doesn't do much" - **"Over the days, flour will split out and separate toward bottom"** - **Pre-bake requirement:** "Have to stir it up before you pour batter and bake them" **Temperature Control:** - Below 150°F milk temperature (prevents starch gelatinization/egg cooking) - Final batter ~100°F after blending - Cold batter from fridge for baking --- ### COPPER MOLD PREPARATION **Mold Etymology:** "Word **canelé means channels/channeling** in French - comes from these kind of molds with little channels" **Mold Material Science:** - **Classic:** Pure copper with tin on inside - **WHY Copper:** "Super conductive" (even heat distribution) - **WHY Tin:** "Somewhat slippery so they can pop out" **Alternative Molds Tested (10+ years ChefSteps testing):** - Silicone, aluminum anodized, Teflon cake tins, cast iron - **Preference:** "I do know I prefer classic tin and copper molds" - Philosophy: "One of those foods that big part of it is the tool that you use" --- ### SEASONING NEW COPPER MOLDS (Like Cast Iron) **Initial State:** - New molds: "Really coppery like shiny brand new penny" - After first heat: "Start to yellow little bit" **Oxidation Prevention:** - "Want to make sure they're covered in fat or wax or oil over time because they can oxidize" - **Green copper = oxidized** (bad) **Seasoning Process:** **Method 1: Oil Bath Thermal Cycling** 1. Wash new molds with soap + water (manufacturing oils) 2. Super dry, rinse multiple times 3. Pot of high-heat oil (grape seed or mineral oil) 4. Put all molds in oil 5. **"Thermal cycle few times"** 6. Bring to just below smoke point 7. Take out, cool, put back in 8. Repeat cycles **Method 2: Oven Thermal Cycling** 1. Coat molds with oil 2. Bake in super hot oven 3. Take out, cool 4. Repeat couple thermal cycles **Result:** "Just like seasoning cast iron pan - really no different. Basically seal/season copper so nothing oxidizes, corrods, and tin will be little bit more non-stick" **Maintenance:** "Probably only time you'll ever really wash them" (after initial season, just wipe) --- ### BEESWAX + BUTTER COATING (50/50 Ratio) **Traditional vs Modern:** - Traditional: "All traditional recipes say use beeswax and butter" - 10-12 years ago ChefSteps: "Published with just butter" (multiple layers, fridge between) - **WHY Butter Only Initially:** "Couldn't get really good food grade organic beeswax in 24 hours from Amazon" - **Now:** "What I've come back to again is **equal parts clarified butter and beeswax**" **50/50 Ratio Benefits:** - "Really good non-stick performance" - "Really good flavor" - "Browning and kind of sheen on actual pastry" **Beeswax Science:** - **"Pretty high melting point, certainly much higher than butter"** - 50/50 blend: "Will lower melting point bit, but still higher than butter" - **Mouth Temperature Issue:** "Beeswax doesn't really melt at mouth temperature (98-100°F)" - **Result:** "More beeswax you have in there, more you're going to feel it on your mouth" - **Balance:** "Air on ratio that's less beeswax than some might recommend" **Coating Application Method:** **Step 1: Fill Entire Mold** - Heat 50/50 beeswax/butter until liquid - Pour into mold completely - Pour around edge so it coats whole surface - Analogy: "Like doing sugar on ramekin mold for soufflé" - Color when hot: Golden liquid - As soon as contacts mold: "Starts to gel" **Step 2: Remove Excess** - After coating solidifies completely - **Blowtorch method:** Quick pass with torch → melts → excess pours out - **Alternative:** Oven 20-30 seconds - Visual after excess removal: "Lightly foggy" appearance - Target: "Thinnest amount of butter and wax in mold evenly all over mold" **Step 3: Chill Until Set** - "When we put custard in, it's cold and set though" - Thin even coating prevents sticking without adding excessive wax flavor **Reusability:** Can heat and reuse excess wax/butter blend (don't waste) --- ### FILLING + BAKING TECHNIQUE **Fill Level:** - **"1/4 inch from top gives you just enough soufflé to where they don't pop out"** - For these specific molds: ~70g batter - Philosophy: Depends on your mold size **Filling Tool - Sauce Gun:** - "Really like these - sauce guns, they're like big" - Valve system with trigger - Advantage: Precise portion control - Can match height visually across molds **Two-Stage Baking:** **Stage 1: 450°F, 15 minutes, high fan** - Purpose: Rapid initial set + browning - Visual after Stage 1: "Little blonde here, spotty everywhere" - Interior test: "Just going to be ooey gooey custardy thing" - Not done - need deeper crust development **Stage 2: 350°F, 20-30 minutes, low fan** - Purpose: "Develop all that nice flavor, deep shell, that deep crust" - WHY Lower Temperature: Even cooking + Maillard development without burning **Home Oven Adjustment:** - Add 5 minutes to 450°F stage - Add 5 minutes to 350°F stage - WHY: "Home oven's just not going to be as efficient at moving air around" --- ### DONENESS ASSESSMENT (Cannot Use Standard Methods) **What DOESN'T Work:** 1. **Visual top color:** "Don't want to reference top color as your final target or visual cue for doneness" 2. **Internal temperature:** "Can't really go by even taking temperature of inside" - WHY: "Inside temperature going to get to 200°F probably at 450 mark, but we need to go lot longer than that to dry it out" **What DOES Work:** - Time-based (450°F 15min → 350°F 20-30min) - Experience with specific oven - Visual: Micro blistering + dark brown (almost black) - Bottom contrast: "Can see where that mold is at bottom to let you know there's still some gooey moisture on inside" **Mid-Bake Check (After 450°F stage):** - "Sometimes if you had fresh batter, it could soufflé up over this edge" - **Fix:** "Give them little bang - that'll make sure bottom's in contact, not souffleing off bottom" --- ### COOLING REQUIREMENT (Case Hardening) **Straight from Oven:** - "Gooey, soft" - **"Kind of case hardening you get on outside is super desirable"** - Wax/butter outside still soft - Texture: "Like hard pillows" **Why Complete Cooling Essential:** "Any time you cook sugars to those temperatures, **you want them to cool so much that they crystallize and firm up**" **After Cooling (Several Hours):** - **Auditory cue:** Tap creates crisp sound (vs soft thud when hot) - "Light and crispy and sticky gooey on inside" - Proper texture balance achieved **Copper Heat Warning:** - **"Copper going to sear heck out of your fingers"** - Use tongs or rag - "Molds themselves are going to be wicked hot and they move lot of heat energy quick" --- ### INTERIOR STRUCTURE **Perfect Cross-Section:** - "Really nice network thin crust" - "Really good sponge on inside" - Even texture throughout - Custardy but structured **Not:** Collapsed center, gummy, cakey --- ### FLAVOR PROFILE **Aroma Components:** - Rum - Egg - Vanilla - Dark caramel - "Kind of hazelnut, brunette kind of notes" **Texture:** "Crunch versus gooeyness" **Salt Addition:** - "Lot of very old French recipes don't have salt in them like old baking books" - **ChefSteps Formula:** "Just little salt goes long way" --- ### PROFESSIONAL PRINCIPLES (25 Total) **Batter Chemistry:** 1. Ultra-thin liquid batter (mostly milk + egg, flour minimal) 2. Below 150°F milk temp prevents starch gelatinization/egg cooking 3. 100°F final batter temp = "inert temperature" (safe for organic) 4. Granulated sugar = liquid ingredient (formula calculation) **Aging Fundamentals:** 5. 1-4 day rest mandatory (prevents soufflé pop-out) 6. Flour separates/settles during aging (must stir before use) 7. Fat gelling slightly thickens but flour doesn't contribute much 8. Cold batter required for baking (not room temperature) **Mold Material Science:** 9. Copper conductivity = even heat distribution 10. Tin interior = release properties 11. Thermal cycling seasons like cast iron 12. Oxidation prevention requires fat/wax/oil coating 13. Green copper = oxidized (inadequate seasoning) **Beeswax/Butter Coating:** 14. 50/50 ratio balances non-stick + flavor + mouth feel 15. Beeswax melting point > butter melting point 16. Excess beeswax = waxy mouth feel (doesn't melt at 98-100°F) 17. Thinnest even coating = optimal (blowtorch excess removal) 18. Coating must be cold/set before batter addition **Filling + Baking:** 19. 1/4 inch from top = controlled soufflé (no pop-out) 20. Two-stage temperature: 450°F rapid set → 350°F flavor development 21. Home oven +5 minutes each stage (less efficient air circulation) **Doneness Assessment:** 22. Top color = unreliable indicator 23. Internal temperature = misleading (hits 200°F early) 24. Time-based + visual (micro blistering) most reliable 25. Mid-bake "bang" reseats risen batter to mold bottom **Cooling Science:** 26. Case hardening requires complete cooling for sugar crystallization 27. Hot = soft/gooey exterior, Cold = crisp exterior 28. Auditory test: Crisp tap sound when properly cooled 29. Copper retains extreme heat (burn hazard, use tongs) **Unique Pastry Philosophy:** 30. "Adult pastry - not too much bread, not too much sugar" 31. Tool-dependent food (copper mold part of technique) 32. "Take it to edge where it almost looks burnt" (flavor development) **Final Assessment:** "Really excellent canelé... really unique pastry in pastry world. One of my favorites. Kind of adult pastry - not too much bread, not too much sugar, but just enough to round out nice meal."

"It's like crepe batter, basically - mostly milk and egg"