3 Canele Variations (cherry, chocolate and absinthe)
Here the latest batch of canele this time not the full on traditional Bordeaux style. Knowing full well that this is slightly blasphemous I had been thinking of some fun offshoots of the classic recipe now that I finally have some decent molds - from left to right with a bit of commentary
1. Chocolate. Substituted creme de cacao (dark) instead of rum and dropped a few pieces of semi sweet bakers chocolate.
2. Cherry grand Marnier. This uses 1/2 the normal dark rum and cherry grand Marnier for the other half.
3. Absinthe. Substitute all the rum for absinthe. Initially I was planning a pastis but realized I had already consumed the last of my ricard bottle and so was able to find a mini absinthe nearby.
These were a lot of fun. Of the three flavors, the cherry is probably my favorite mostly because its so close to the original which often time uses regular grand Marnier and rum combined so the slight difference with the cherry made for a very pleasant little pastry. Next the absinthe and that was a very close second - for anyone who enjoys anise or licorice this is a great variation. Finally the creme de cacao, this was a bit underwhelming and I think this since chocolate is best (at least in my opinion) when its full on. Adding a touch of chocolate liqueur and a few chunks of chocolate just takes away from the original flavors and doesn't really bring anything special to the overall results and it seems a better plan would be to go for a chocolate batter in conjunction with the liqueur etc.
So just on case any canele fans out there I thought this might be if interest ... And now to eat the rest !
Oh man, I finally get back from the north country and logged back in to TFL, and what do I find? More temptation! Save me some, I'll be right over... :)
I tried one inside a cupcake mold - I'm telling this because I know you didn't want to purchase molds - tastes pretty much the same and was not able to just let it be. The exterior is not as consistently caramelized but in case you are considering its a good option. Oop yoo ad foon oop nerth (north England right ? That's my scouse in written form )
I'll have to try them sometime in a cupcake mold (though I will probably buy the real ones sometime).
We did 'ave foon; however, that was the north west coast of BC Canada. We lived in the UK from 2004 to 2010, then came back to Canada (Vancouver Island). I do have relatives in the Lake District in the UK, and the family roots are in Yorkshire, so I get the Scouser bit. :)
One of my cousins has a favorite Yorkshire joke:
Would mini tart pans work? These are the pans where you can make mini tarts or mini muffins. They aren't as deep as your canele molds though.
I tried a few in cup cake molds and are them all so I imagine a tart shape would be fine. The only thing you're missing out on these more shallow molds is more crust - you simply end up with more interior. The crust is the treat as it comes out like candy and with beeswax it's even more enjoyable. I admit the cupcake molds although tasty were not as good as the traditional shape but I would think tart tins would be a step up from cupcake molds. Btw my wife is now pressing me to make a giant one in a small bundt cake mold so no knows we may see a monster camel'a soon ;)