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Canelé Recipe: Canelés de Bordeaux

Canelé Recipe: Canelés de Bordeaux

Have you tried a French canelé, the iconic caramelised pastry of Bordeaux? Once tried, you'll be hooked, they are so delicious! The crackling dark crust giving way to a soft, custardy interior perfumed with vanilla and rum is truly a French experience not to be missed. Originating in Bordeaux, canelés are referred to as Canelés de Bordeaux. Find your canelé recipe: canelés de Bordeaux below.

The canelé was born in the city of Bordeaux in the 18th century, developed by the nuns of the Convent of the Annonciades. The nuns used surplus egg yolks from the city's wine industry, combined with Caribbean rum and vanilla arriving through the port. The recipe has barely changed since. For the full story and history, read our post on What is a Canelé? The Story of Bordeaux Famous Cake.

The History of Chocolate in France

The history of chocolate in France actually starts in Spain when Anne of Austria, the daughter of Spain's Philip III, brought the delicacy across to France. It was part of her dowry upon her marriage to King Louis XIII. Quickly loved by the French court and nobles, it became the fashionable elite beverage of Louis XIII's court.

At that time chocolate was considered to be both an exotic treat (only consumed by nobles) and a medicine. Taken with other medicines it disguised their flavours, and the chocolate itself had a mild calming effect. Mostly consumed at this time as a liquid with spices added, it wasn't until the 1800s that it evolved into the solid chocolate that we are more familiar with.

Crêpe Suzette Recipe

In true French style, the famous Crêpe Suzette dessert with the delicious orange sauce is surrounded by legends and mystic as to how it was created and how it acquired its now famous name.

Legend goes that in 1896 the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) was dining with a young lady named Suzette at Café de Paris in sunny Monte Carlo and he ordered hot pancakes. As fortune would have it the young pastry chef Henri Charpentier, who was in charge of preparing the dessert, accidentally spilt alcohol on his crêpe.

The Best of Breton Cakes – Brittany’s Most Popular Desserts

Life in Brittany includes our fair share of delicious cakes and especially the cakes traditional to the region which are collectively called 'Breton cakes', even though this broadly includes biscuits, lollipops and caramels.

The Best of Breton Cakes - Brittany's Most Popular Desserts

Breton cakes are famous for their layers of pastry and creamy butter which is proudly produced locally. The most well known of the 'Breton Cakes' is the Gâteau Breton (Breton Cake), Far Breton and the Kouign-Amann. Surprisingly, the popularity of these desserts with inhabitants of Brittany doesn't correspond with how well known in general.

Sweets that have originated in the region include Salted Caramels, Niniches (artisanal lollipops from Quiberon), and Gavotte (a lacy golden mini crêpe). Breton butter cookies (Sablés Breton) are also a very popular dessert in Brittany. You'll find them in prettily packaged in tins in just about all supermarkets, souvenir stores, markets and in many boutique boulangeries.

Ratatouille Recipe

Ratatouille Recipe - A Perfect Autumn Food

Bonjour mes amis, and welcome to another recipe post. Ratatouille is the quintessential French vegetable dish that's colourful, healthy, easy to make and delicious. You may have seen recently on our socials, Instagram or Facebook, that we shared how we cooked Ratatouille to celebrate the arrival of all our new copper pots and the start of autumn in France.

Ratatouille seemed an obvious choice to mark the autumnal equinox with its rich fall colours, pleasingly reflecting in the copper pan, and yummy flavour. I think the colours of courgettes, zucchini, onions, tomatoes and yellow peppers mixed together are reminiscent of autumn. What do you think?

Far Breton – An easy & delicious recipe from Brittany

Far Breton - an easy & delicious recipe from Brittany

Okay, so you want to eat something sweet that's easy to cook, doesn't have fancy ingredients and is very French? Then Far Breton is just what you want. It's the great French classic #2. Far Breton comes in at #2 after Kouign Amann which is the big #1 dessert of Brittany.

Far Breton in its authentic version contains prunes because sailors used to bring back dried prunes from their voyages and prunes added a fruity touch to the cake. You can also add a touch of rum or raisins to add more flavour. This recipe serves 8.

Gâteau Breton or Breton Cake Recipe

Brittany is a region with a rich heritage that is divided into four departments: Finistère, Morbihan, Côtes d’Armor and Ille et Vilaine. It's Celtic past is full of legends including Merlin, Arthur and the knights of the round table in the forest of Brocéliandes. The dramatic coastline, medieval towns, thick lush forests, colourful markets and traditional food draws lots of visitors to Brittany.

Gâteau Breton or Breton Cake

Food our region is famous for includes crêpes and galettes, fresh seafood, Plougastel strawberries, Guerande salt and Saint Malo’s Bordier butter. Pastries that are unique to Brittany are the Gâteau Breton (Breton Cake), Far Breton and the Kouign-Amann. Sweets that originated in the region include Salted Caramels, Niniches (artisanal lollipops from Quiberon), and Gavotte (a lacy golden mini crêpe). One of our family's favourite desserts is Gâteau Breton or Breton Cake. It travels well so is easy to take for picnics or to friend's homes when invited for lunch.

Kouign Amann Recipe

Kouign Amann - A Traditional Buttery Dessert of Breton

In Brittany, cakes and biscuits are known for their star ingredient, butter and ranking right up the top of Breton favourites is the Kouign Amann. Invented in Douarnenez around 1865 according to Bretagne Tourisme, this speciality cake is made with a few simple ingredients and is essentially a bread dough to which you add sugar and salted butter, and then fold repeatedly like making puff pastry. The quality of the salted butter and the resting time of the dough are both essential to the success of baking this cake. During baking, the butter-sugar mixture melts, and gives the cake a crusty caramelised outside and a soft layered inside.

This regional speciality that is sold in boulangeries all over Brittany, even has its own association, the Véritable kouigan amann de Douarnenez Association. The Association is made up of bakers and pastry chefs who promote the Kouign Amann.