Bordeaux-based Baillardran specialises in canelés, tiny cakes with a thin caramelised exterior and a soft centre.

Baked in the shape of a striated cylinder approximately 5 centimetres (two inches) high, canelés are made with egg, milk, flour and sugar and flavoured with either vanilla or rum.

Typically sold in lots of six or ten, these popular treats are consumed at breakfast, as a snack or as a dessert. They are considered a regional speciality of the Bordeaux region.

Canelés are believed to have been invented in the 18th century by the nuns of the convent of Annonciades, in Bordeaux. The nuns would gather flour from the hulls of ships in the port and make small cakes for distribution to the poor.

Baillardran has nine shops in France, as well as several outlets in airports and train stations in Bordeaux and Paris.

Baillardran
12, boulevard des Capucines, 75009 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 47 42 39 88
Métro: Opéra