Making Canelés With Michelle Hernández Of Le Dix-Sept Pâtisserie

Michelle Hernández is the pastry chef and owner of Le Dix-Sept, the San Francisco pâtisserie known for confections featuring botanicals such as flowers, teas, cacao, and honey. As a child, Michelle loved to use her Easy-Bake Oven and was obsessed with PBS cooking shows like Great Chefs and Yan Can Cook. She wanted to go to culinary school, but headed to Berkeley for college instead. She worked at Evite and The Gap before finally attending Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and opening her own shop. Today, Michelle is especially known for her canelés, the small, bell-shaped pastries that are caramelized on the outside and creamy on the inside. In this episode, Michelle and host Jessie Sheehan talk all things canelés, from using copper molds to why the dark French bake is a must, resting and straining the batter, and why she’ll only sell the treats on the same day they were made.

Photo by Ryan Sanchez