Hooked on..........

{Photo Kees Terberg - isn't it fabulous?}

I have missed participating in "hooked on" Friday's but Friday always seems to be a busy day for me and by the time I remember, it is too late to join in the fun.

I am hooked on Cannelés de Bordeaux. The more I eat of these fabulous cakes, the more I want! I have been known to devour at least 10 of these delicious morsels in one sitting. There is something about them that makes them special and oh so delicious.

Much has been written about the origin of this specialty of Bordeaux.........
Legend has it that the sisters of the Annonciade created the cannelé (meaning "fluted") in the 16th century; their convent was located close to the St. André hospital in Bordeaux. The nuns would collect the flour from the holds of the ships (Bordeaux was a flourishing port at the time) and prepare these little cakes for the city's most underprivileged.

But the truth is certainly otherwise: the cannelé is a relative of the canole, a little cake from the Limousin, which appeared in Bordeaux during the 17th century. They were consumed in such quantities that a canole makers' guild existed with the exclusive right to make this pastry.

Then the cannelé was forgotten until it reappeared in the early 20th century, flavored with rum and vanilla, and baked in copper molds (to promote caramelization) that produced twelve fluted cakes at a time.

The cannelé has a caramelized exterior with a soft tender center. Its appetizing dark brown color and its thin caramelized crust are the result of a long baking time....yum!

You may just have to come and visit us in SW France so that you can see what the fuss is about as I am not sure that they will post too well...

To read about what everyone else is hooked on this week pop over to the very fabulous hooked on houses blog.....

Bon vendredi

L x