This was originally going to be a hate piece on the Canelé, but I’ve had one good version and I see the potential. Canelé is the official patisserie of Bordeaux and shops selling them are on practically every corner. Other than Canelés, there’s not a lot of patisserie here and things were looking bleak (because I love pastry) until last week, when I stumbled upon a treasure – the Gâteau Basque.

First, let’s get the canelé out of the way. It sounds amazing – a vanilla and rum flavored cake, baked in a fluted copper tin with a caramelized outside, and a soft custardy center. Yes, they are pretty and rum flavored. But “caramelized” is more often “burnt.” And “custard center” is really more like “gummy bear-textured center.” They are – in the words of Richard Sherman – mediocre, at best.

I have had a single Canelé that lives up to the caramelized outside, custardy center description. It was homemade.

But people love these things. Even the bad versions apparently. On the main pedestrian shopping street, Rue Sainte-Catherine, there are Canelés on every block. I’ve been told I’ve had the best ones in Bordeaux, from Le Touque Cuivrée, and they are definitely tastier than average, but still gummy. I’d get one from the markets if possible.

• 

• 

No one really knows how they were invented, but the popular story relates to wine. Fining is a wine-making technique that removes sediments and tannins from red wines, and egg whites are fining agents. (Interestingly, we used egg whites during our broth lesson in cooking school to pull all the particles out of consommé, leaving it crystal clear.) Because they used egg whites to fine the wine, there were lots of leftover yolks, and voilà, the Canelé was born.

Not one to give up on a pastry, I bought a Canelé mold and will see what I can do at home. Traditional molds are made of copper, but here’s a pro tip from the home chef who made the only one I thought was good – use a silicone mold. Easier to clean.

Now, the Gâteau Basque. They are wonderful. The cake is actually from Basque (French/Spanish Boarder), not Bordeaux, but they are everywhere here, so I’m assuming they’ve been adopted by the Bordelais. It’s a buttery cake traditionally filled with either black cherry jam or vanilla pastry cream. I think they put almond flour in them, so the cake has a really nice texture.

I came across an NPR interview with Dorie Greenspan talking about the Gâteau Basque, and Michelle Norris described it as a fancy Pop-Tart. She is exactly right about the cherry version. The creme version is not as sweet. I can’t pick a favorite. Best recommendation is to get them both and alternate bites.

•