Roasted Strawberry Canelé
Pastry Chef Yesenia Castañon of JouJou | San Francisco, CA
Adapted by StarChefs | September 2026 | Photo: Alexander Zeren
INGREDIENTS
Strawberry Milk:
800 grams whole milk
120 grams freeze-dried strawberries
Strawberry Sauce:
500 grams quartered strawberries
250 grams granulated sugar
Strawberry liqueur
Strawberry Reduction:
200 grams strawberry liqueur
Roasted Strawberry Canelé Batter:
Yield: 8 canelés
1 pod Nielsen-Massey vanilla, scraped, pod reserved
135 grams granulated sugar
40 grams butter
½ gram baking soda
30 grams egg yolks
60 grams whole eggs
85 grams all-purpose flour
2 grams kosher salt
METHOD
For the Strawberry Milk:
In a vacuum bag, combine ingredients. Seal and refrigerate 24 hours. The next day, strain, bottle, and refrigerate.
For the Strawberry Sauce:
In a mixing bowl, combine strawberries and sugar. Cover and refrigerate 12 hours. The next day, transfer mixture to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Strain, reserving strawberries separately. Return liquid to pot over medium heat. Cook until liquid has reduced by thirty-percent. Remove from heat and weigh. Add ten-percent liqueur by weight of sauce. Let cool. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.
For the Strawberry Reduction:
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add liqueur. Cook until reduced by thirty-percent. Let cool. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.
For the Roasted Strawberry Canelé Batter:
Place vanilla seeds and pod in a metal mixing bowl and set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring 45 grams sugar, butter, baking soda, and 400 grams Strawberry Milk to 180°F. Pour over vanilla and let sit 30 minutes at room temperature. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk to combine egg yolks, whole eggs, and remaining 90 grams sugar. Once sugar is fully dissolved, whisk in flour and salt. Set aside. Return Strawberry Milk mixture to saucepan over medium heat and bring to 158°F. Working in batches, slowly stream into egg mixture, gently whisking until just incorporated. Strain into an airtight container. Refrigerate 24 hours.
For the Roasted Strawberries:
Heat oven to 350°F. Place reserved Strawberry Sauce strawberries onto a silicone-lined sheet tray. Roast 5 minutes. Using a spatula, gently toss strawberries. Repeat process two additional times, or until strawberries have darkened to a deep red color and shrunk by twenty-percent. Set aside.
To Assemble and Serve:
In a saucepan over low heat, warm Strawberry Sauce. Heat oven to 520°F. Place aluminum foil-lined sheet tray in oven and heat 20 minutes. Transfer Roasted Strawberry Canelé Batter to a mixing bowl. Stir in 10 grams Strawberry Reduction until well combined. Season canelé molds. Fill each seasoned canelé mold with 78 grams Roasted Strawberry Canelé Batter. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Transfer filled molds to pre-heated sheet tray. Bake 45 minutes. Unmold canelé onto a wire rack set over a half sheet tray. Brush with warmed Strawberry Sauce. Increase oven temperature 400°F. Bake additional 2 minutes. Let cool. Once cooled, using the back of tweezers, gently press down into the center of the dimple to create a small cavity. Fill cavity with Roasted Strawberries. Serve.
