Brief History of Cannelés - & Some of the Best in Bordeaux

4 Shares

*French cannelés, also spelled “canelés”, have a delightfully caramelized, crunchy exterior.*

When visiting Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion and the surrounding region in southwestern France, you’ll likely see shop windows lined with little cakes shaped like large gumdrops or striated cylinders, boasting a deep caramel hue and pleasing sheen. They’re called cannelés (often also spelled canelés in French), and their history is both interesting and fortuitous.

Originating in the Bordeaux and Aquitaine region, cannelés are an important staple in the culinary traditions of the area. The custard-based pastry is baked in fluted copper molds and made with egg yolks, sugar, milk, flour, butter, and, traditionally, hints of vanilla and rum. The exterior is crusty and chewy, while the interior is soft and tender.

Explore This Article

What’s the History?

Some say cannelés were invented by nuns at the Couvent des Annonciades, a convent outside Bordeaux, sometime between the 15th to 18th century, according to diverging accounts. This popular origin story has it that the nuns fabricated sweet custard cakes then called “canelas” ou “canelons“, by mixing egg yolks with local flours, rolling them on long sticks (cannes) then frying them in lard. But many food historians say the story can’t be confirmed.

Others have it that cannelés were invented because winemakers had too many leftover egg yolks on their hands. The traditional process of making wine requires a clarifying step called collage, whereby egg whites are used to filter out impurities that float to the surface and can then be siphoned off the top.

According to this story, cannelés were thus the fortuitous product of leftover and unused egg yolks. Some say the aforementioned nuns procured the leftover yolks from local vintners, et voilà! But again, myth and facts commingle when it comes to the birth of this humble pastry, and can’t really be separated out.

French cannelés, Roboppy/CC 2.5 license — *French cannelés or canelés/Image by Roboppy/CC 2.5 license*

Finally, there’s also a probable colonial aspect to the history: since cannelés are typically infused with rum and vanilla, two ingredients produced in the Caribbean Antilles (and through the violent enslavement of people there), one might argue that the pastry is part of the dark colonial legacy of France, alongside coffee, cane sugar and pastries like the rum baba.

In 1985, an association called the Conférie du Canelé de Bordeaux was created to officialize and regulate production of the pastry. The second “n” was removed from its historic name, making “canelé” the official spelling to distinguish the Bordeaux version from ones elsewhere, such as in Limoges where they were also known to be made, historically.

By the mid-1990s, there were some 800 manufacturers of canelés operating in the Aquitaine region of France, and 600 in the nearby Gironde region. While it has nowhere near the name-recognition of French pastries like croissants or eclairs, cannelés/canelés have become emblematic of Bordeaux, and are made in bakeries across France and the world.

Shopping & Tasting: Some of the Best Cannelés (or Canelés) in Bordeaux

Traditionally peddled in bunches of 8 or 16, cannelés can be found across Bordeaux and the Aquitaine region, and are also sold at many bakeries around France. Here are a few places to beeline to, noted for baking some of the best in the city and region.

Baillardran

Baillardran is reputed as one of the best places in the Nouvelle Aquitaine capital to taste a classic version of the canelé de Bordeaux, and has several locations around the center.

You can choose between canelés baked to the classic recipe with rum and vanilla; these come in three sizes to suit any occasion or appetite, or opt for a “pur vanille” version that leaves out the rum and amps up the vanilla.

Baillardran canelés are, in my experience, especially delicious for their crunchy, deeply caramel exterior and moist custard interiors. They’re perfectly accompanied by a strong espresso or cup of tea (Earl Grey, with its notes of bergamot, is a lovely complement).

The flagship boutique on the bustling Rue Sainte-Catherine in central Bordeaux is teeming with tourists and locals, and you can expect lines on busier days. I recommend either getting a few canelés to go and devouring them with tea or coffee back at your hotel, or sitting in at the shop, especially on a rainy or cold day.