The cannelé is Bordeaux's most famous small cake, and this version leaves out the sugar entirely. Maison Bordier fills the batter with diced chorizo, grated Emmental, and Espelette pepper butter, then bakes it in the same fluted molds. What comes out is a cocktail bite with a dark, chewy crust and a soft, custardy middle. The batter takes ten minutes to mix and 22 minutes to bake.
At a glance
- Difficulty: Easy
- Serves: 6
- Active time: About 10 minutes, our estimate. Bordier does not state one
- Cook: 22 minutes at 200°C, 400°F
- Key ingredient: 30 g Bordier Espelette Pepper Butter
Why this works
Bordier's Espelette pepper butter dates from 2008, when Jean-Yves Bordier met a producer of the AOP pepper in the Basque country. It is AOP Espelette worked into salted butter, and the heat is low, fruity, and slow to arrive. That restraint is what makes it usable in a batter. A hotter chili would fight the chorizo. Espelette instead sits underneath it, extending the paprika note the sausage already has, so the two read as one flavor rather than two.
The batter itself is barely a batter. Flour, egg, yolk, and milk, with the butter melted rather than creamed. Melting matters: a cannelé sets from the outside in, and liquid fat lets the mixture stay loose enough to form the characteristic dense, almost custardy interior while the exterior darkens. Bordier butter is churned by hand in Brittany on a traditional wooden malaxeur and carries more butterfat than a supermarket block, which is what gives the crust its color and its snap.
Ingredients
Makes enough for 6. Metric is what Bordier specifies, so treat it as the accurate column.
| Ingredient | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Chorizo, medium spicy | 100 g | 3 1/2 oz |
| Milk | 25 cl, 250 ml | About 1 cup |
| Bordier Espelette Pepper Butter | 30 g | 2 tbsp |
| Flour | 50 g | About 1/3 cup |
| Whole egg | 1 | 1 |
| Egg yolk | 1 | 1 |
| Grated Emmental | 50 g | About 1/2 cup, loosely packed |
| Salt | To taste | To taste |
| Pepper | To taste | To taste |
Method
Step 1: Mix the base and cut the chorizo
Melt the butter. In a large bowl, whisk the whole egg and the yolk into the flour until smooth. Slice the chorizo into small pieces.
Step 2: Finish the batter and bake
Add the milk, the melted butter, the chorizo, and the cheese to the batter and mix. Pour the batter into cannelé molds. Bake in a 200°C, 400°F oven for 22 minutes.
Tips from our kitchen
- Rest the batter if you have time. Bordier does not call for it, so this is our suggestion rather than theirs. A traditional cannelé batter rests for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator, which relaxes the gluten and gives a denser interior. Baked straight away it still works, just with a lighter, more popover-like crumb.
- Grease the molds well. The source does not mention it, but cannelé molds need it. Brush silicone or metal molds with softened butter before filling, and fill them about three quarters full. The batter climbs as it sets.
- Add the milk cold and the butter warm. If the melted butter hits cold milk on its own it seizes into flecks. Pour the butter into the flour and egg mixture first while it is still fluid, then loosen with the milk.
- Watch for chorizo sinking. Diced sausage is heavier than the batter and will settle. Stir the bowl again between filling each mold so the pieces distribute evenly.
- Know what underbaked looks like. A pale cannelé with a wet center means the oven was not hot enough. They should come out genuinely dark on the outside. Pull one at 22 minutes and cut it open before deciding the batch is done.
- Season lightly. Between salted Espelette butter, chorizo, and Emmental, there is already a lot of salt in the bowl. Taste the batter before adding more.
How to serve it
Serve them warm, within an hour of baking, when the crust is still crisp and the middle still soft. They are aperitif food: a tray of them with a dry sherry, a chilled Basque cider, or a glass of white. Reheat leftovers for five minutes in a hot oven rather than a microwave, which turns the crust leathery. If you want a second savory bite alongside, our guide to La Brújula Spanish conservas covers tinned seafood that works on the same table.
Where to buy Espelette Pepper Butter in the US
The French Pantry ships Bordier butter across the United States in insulated overnight packaging, straight from the workshop in Brittany.
- Churned Espelette Pepper Butter by Bordier (4.4 oz): AOP Espelette pepper in salted butter, mild enough to bake into a batter without overwhelming it.
For the rest of the range, including the buckwheat, seaweed, and Roscoff onion butters, browse the Maison Bordier collection.
Frequently asked questions
How much Espelette pepper butter do I need to buy?
Only 30 g, which is about a quarter of one block. Our blocks are 125 g, or 4.4 oz, so a single block makes four batches. Keep the rest for spreading on bread.
Can I substitute a different butter?
Bordier salted butter with a good pinch of ground Espelette pepper is the closest workaround. The flavor will be less even, because the pepper is worked in during churning in the original rather than stirred in at the end.
How many cannelés does this make?
Bordier says the recipe serves 6 but does not give a mold count or size. With standard small cannelé molds, expect roughly a dozen to eighteen bites. That figure is our estimate, not theirs.
How do I store the butter?
Keep it wrapped and refrigerated, and use it by the date on the pack. It freezes for up to three months if wrapped tightly.
Does the butter need refrigeration?
Yes. Bordier butter is a fresh, hand-churned product and ships cold. Refrigerate it as soon as it arrives.
Can I make these ahead?
The batter keeps overnight in the refrigerator, and resting it is arguably an improvement. The baked cannelés are best the same day.
Related reading
- Bordier Butter: What It Is, Why Chefs Love It, and How to Use It
- How to Choose Your French Butter: A Buyer's Guide
- Paysan Breton: The Breton Butter Guide
Recipe and photograph adapted from Maison Bordier, with thanks. The French Pantry is an authorized US retailer of Bordier butter.