The Canelé is not a well known pastry around these parts.
Or so I thought anyways.
The Canelé is a pastry from the Bordeaux region of France. Thought to originate in the 15th or 18th centuries from nuns who had a surplus of egg yolks because local wine makers used egg whites for wine clarification. It has a distinct ridged shape and is traditionally made in Copper molds.
In an effort to widen my baking skills a few years ago I purchased the required pan and ingredients and undertook the process of making these at home. It’s not a particularly difficult process, but there are some technical steps that need to be followed to achieve the desired result.
Since I had no reference point to assess whether I had achieved a successful attempt I have since been on the lookout for these pastries ever since. But you just don’t see them around very much. (Mine did turn out properly by the way.)
It is with that limited experience in finding them in Vancouver that I was very surprised to see a bakery dedicated to the Canelé at Granville Island.
Perhaps the pastry is not as unfamiliar to people as I thought?
I was especially surprised to see the variety of flavours they have at La Bise Bakery. There were at least 10 flavours on hand to choose from. I hadn’t even considered a CanelĂ© with a filling before.
We are trying two today. First up the Lemon Curd.
Never mind the perfect CanelĂ©, a crunchy exterior with a custard like interior, the lemon curd was lovely. That’s no commercial out of a bucket lemon filling.
We also tried the Pistachio cream.
The CanelĂ© was just as good, but the Pistachio filling didn’t quite resonate with me like the lemon curd did. It was actually a bit bland.
At $6 each they aren’t cheap, but anything of quality isn’t these days is it?
Regardless, it’s really nice to see a traditional, old school pastry from Europe readily available here. The way the bakery industry is going we need more small shops like La Bise to hold on to the traditions and educate the masses on proper, traditional baking techniques.
9/10
