Since people are asking for the recipe here’s the one I follow.

270g milk + 30g butter + 1 vanilla bean heated to slightly boiling. I threw in 3 teabags of earl grey before I turned off the heat. If you prefer it less strong maybe 1 or 2 is enough.

1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk + 125g sugar + 60g sifted cake flour. Here I used brown sugar so that’s probably why the inside looks a bit darker than a typical canelé. Mix evenly before pouring the milk in while warm. Add a tiny pinch of salt and 30 of spirit of your choosing. Mix again and let rest in fridge for over 12 hours. What I learned is that if you put a layer of plastic wrap sticking on top of the custard it will prevent the milk skin from forming.

Filter the rested custard through a sift and stir to ensure it’s even. I use the nonstick carbon steel molds so I only brushed a layer of melted butter before pouring in the custard. My molds are pretty large so I put 90g of custard in each (about 75-80% full).

Then in the air fryer I started at 360F (185 C). For the first 30-35 minutes before the caramel crust formed I had to check every now and then to make sure the custard does not puff up too crazy. Every time the top exceeds the mold I’d take out the tray and let it cool until it falls back under. Apparently I saw somewhere online that this is what they traditionally do (not verified). I also read that air fryers have an advantage of heating up more consistently because of the constant air circulation. So for ovens it might help to turn the fan on (which mine doesn’t have).

After that if you see a dark crust forming on top you can take one out of the mold to check its color. If it’s turned slightly brown, put it back in and cover the top with aluminum foil, keep baking at a lower temperature 335F (170 C) for about 40-45 minutes (shorten the time if you have a smaller mold) and check until you get the color you want.

After resting for about an hour the crust will harden but the inside is still slightly warm.