The story
Canelés belong to Bordeaux, the great wine port of southwestern France. Tradition says nuns of the city's Couvent des Annonciades baked the first ones, in either the 15th or the 18th century. By the 1600s specialist bakers called canauliers were making small cakes called canaules, and in 1663 they registered a guild with the Bordeaux parliament. The trade faded after the Revolution, but early in the 20th century an unknown pastry cook revived the old recipe, adding rum and vanilla and baking it in fluted copper moulds. A Bordeaux brotherhood founded in 1985 fixed the spelling with one n, and the cakes have since spread worldwide.
Also known as cannelé, cannelé de Bordeaux, canelé bordelais, canelat.
On the Meridish menu
Canelé was the dessert course on menu No. 24 on October 24, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Little fluted cakes with a dark caramelised crust and a soft custardy centre, scented with rum and vanilla. Nuns in a convent in this great wine port are said to have baked the first.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
