Rum and Vanilla Cake (French Canelés)

A canelé is a small French pastry flavoured with rum and vanilla with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust. This specialty from Bordeaux takes the shape of a small, striated cylinder up to 5 cm in height with a depression at the top. The traditional canelé is made in copper molds, but those are pricy and rather tedious to use (you have to butter them like your life depends on it), so nowadays home bakers use silicon molds - not exactly the same results, but good enough.

whole milk (500 mL)
unsalted butter, softened (100 g)
½ vanilla pod, split
caster sugar (250 g)
2 medium free-range eggs, + 2 yolks
all-purpose flour, unbleached (100 g)
2 Tbsp. dark rum

Combine the milk, butter and vanilla in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium mixing-bowl. Break the eggs in another, smaller bowl, and beat gently without incorporating air. When the milk mixture starts to simmer, remove from heat, fish out the vanilla pod if using, and set it aside.

Pour the eggs all at once into the flour mixture (don't stir yet), pour in the milk mixture, and stir until well combined (do not whisk). Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod with the dull side of a knife blade, and return the seeds and pod to the mixture. Add the rum and stir. Let cool to room temperature on the counter, then cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.

The next day (or the day after that, or the day after that), preheat the oven to 480°F (250°C). Butter the canelé molds if they are made of copper (unnecessary if you're using silicon molds). Remove the batter from the fridge: it will have separated a bit, so stir until well blended again, without whisking or incorporating air.

Pour into the prepared molds, filling them almost to the top. Put into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, then (without opening the oven door) lower the heat to 400°F (200°C, Gas Mark 6) and bake for another 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven and how you like your canelés. The canelés are ready when the bottoms are a very dark brown, but not burnt. If you feel they are darkening too fast, cover the molds with a piece of parchment paper.

Unmold onto a cooling rack (wait for about 10 minutes first if you're using silicon molds or they will collapse a little) and let cool completely before eating.

Makes about 20 medium canelés.