Best Gluten Free Canelés

The first time I ever saw a canelé was on the menu of Dominique Crenn’s new upscale wine bar in Cow Hollow. San Francisco has a number of fantastic wine bars, but this one was particularly special because Dominique Crenn is a local, and now global, celebrity. After wowing restaurant-goers at her original Atelier Crenn, she graced the screen in an episode of Chef’s Table with her ethereal and utterly perfect dishes of ginger foam and lobster tartar, caviar with cream sauce and the tiniest slivers of pickled pearl onions, seared abalone under a crackling shell of seaweed and so many others, she opened a second stunning locale, and a wine bar. She also now wears the title of first female chef to receive not one, not two, but three Michelin stars, and a star for the wine bar! Which brings us to the canelé.

I had never even heard of a canelé before seeing it on the dessert menu at Bar Crenn but they are absolutely incredible. Anything custard-based will get my attention, and the gorgeous floret crown of this deeply-caramelized creation drew me in further. But, alas, the thing was not gluten free so I couldn’t partake, but I never forgot that perfectly-formed custard jewel. So, a year later, my mother gave me four traditional copper canelé molds for Christmas, and another year later, here I am finally using the dang things after putting off the seemingly daunting task of making my own. And they worked!! Let me tell you, it was a nail biter. But not to worry, I’ve documented the steps carefully and in all honestly, most of the challenge was in getting over my nervousness and just making them. The batter is very straight forward, and the only painful part is waiting 48 whole hours to let the vanilla beans and rum really do their bit before coating your molds and baking them.

I chose to go full out and do the traditional mold-coating technique involving edible beeswax and clarified butter, though some recipes allow for just butter if you’re pressed for time. If you’re looking for something fun and new to try, go for the tradition! These are a labor of love, but truly glorious, so why not give them a go? If you’re looking for other custardy treats, try my birthday pavlova topped with jasmine-flavored pastry cream and raspberry whipped cream (also a technical challenge but SO worth it), or this toasted coconut custard pie, or this Charlotte Russe cake, or this kiwi lime tart!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Best Gluten Free Canelés

A French classic – baked caramelized custard infused with vanilla beans and rum!

Prep Time3 hours hrs

Cook Time1 hour hr

Resting time2 days d

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: baked custard, canele, caramelized, custard, french, gluten free, rum, vanilla bean

Servings: 14 Caneles

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• 4-12 Copper canelé molds
• Saucepan
• Heatproof glass jar
• Cooling rack

Ingredients

For the canelé batter:

• 500 grams whole milk
• 50 grams unsalted good quality butter
• 2 vanilla beans
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 50 grams gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
• 25 grams arrowroot starch
• 25 grams sweet rice flour
• 200 grams sugar
• 50 grams dark rum
• 1/3 tsp salt

For the molding:

• 50 grams food quality beeswax
• 100 grams clarified butter

Instructions

To make the canelé batter:

• First, make your canelé batter (this will need to rest in the fridge for 48 hours so make sure you've planned ahead). Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and cook over med-low heat until butter melts. Slice both of the vanilla bean pods in half lengthwise and use the knife blade to scrape all of the vanilla beans out and add to saucepan, then add the empty pods to the pot as well and continue to cook until it comes to a simmer. Turn off heat and pour batter, into a medium bowl. Remove vanilla pods (do NOT discard, you'll add these back in later).
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the egg yolks. Slowly, add in a small amount of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs. Then add in the rest of the hot milk mixture and whisk to combine. Add the rum and whisk again. Finally, in another medium bowl, whisk the flours, starch, sugar, and salt together. Pour the entire liquid mixture into the flour bowl and whisk until just combined.
• Last step, pour the batter through a sieve to remove any small lumps, then add the vanilla pods back into the batter, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit in the fridge for 48 hours.

To coat the molds and bake:

• 48 hours later, you're ready to make the canelés! First, preheat the oven to 500° Fahrenheit for at least an hour before baking the custards. Then, coat the copper canelé molds (silicone molds will not get the dark, caramelized crust on the canelés that you want). il. Combine the grated/or pellets of beeswax with your clarified butter in a glass, heatproof jar or measuring cup, and place into a small saucepan with 1 inch of water. Heat pot over medium until the water is boiling – this will melt the wax+butter mixture slowly. Stir the wax + butter occasionally until fully melted.
• Once melted, pour mixture into one mold at a time, leaving about 1/8 of an inch, hold for 3-4 seconds, then pour the mixture back out into the glass jar and turn the mold upside down and let sit on a cooling rack on top of a tray. Repeat for all molds. Freeze coated molds (still upside down), for 15 minutes.
• Finally, remove your batter from the fridge, remove the vanilla pods, and whisk the mixture (it may have formed a film, just whisk it together!). Using a scale and one mold at a time, pour 60-70 (I use 67 exactly) grams of batter into each mold and place mols in a metal pan to hold them. Bake at 500 for 10 minutes, then lower temp to 375° F and continue to bake for 45-60 minutes. To test if canelés are done, tip one out onto a cooling rack (using hot pads!) and if the bottom (the top once you tip it out) is white, pop it back into the mold and continue baking for 5-10 minutes. They will be very dark on the outside but this is normal!
• Once done, tip all canelés out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before eating! It's always fun to slice them in half to see the lighter custard inside. They're best eaten soon after making them, but if you have extras you can keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your canelé!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber