MINI VANILLA CANELES

Steps:

• Cut the butter into small pieces and mix with the milk in a large saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in 2 pieces, scrape out the vanilla and add them to the saucepan. Set the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, until the butter has melted and the milk starts bubbling around the edges (it shouldn't boil at all).
• Place the flour, sugar, egg and yolk in a large bowl and mix together, stirring thoroughly before adding each ingredient. Pour in the hot milk mixture slowly, gently stirring with a large silicone spatula. Let the dough cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Spray the interior of each canele mold with butter spray, then set the molds in the freezer for 5 minutes to harden the butter.
• If you choose to flavor your caneles, add some lemon, orange or lime zest to the dough at this time.
• Fill the canele molds 3/4 of the way, leaving a 1/5-inch space at the top of each cavity. Bake the caneles for 4 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 360 degrees F and bake until golden brown, about 56 minutes more. Remove the molds from the oven and immediately turn them over onto a cooling rack. Let them cool at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.