First make sure your canelé molds are ready (this only applies to the traditional copper and tin canelé molds, not the silicone ones). If you’ve bought them brand new, you need to proof them by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and dry your new molds by hand, then grease them with shortening or vegetable oil. Place them on a baking sheet, hollow side facing up, and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove them from the baking sheet, place a wire rack on the baking sheet, then place the molds upside down on the rack to drain into the pan. Turn the oven off and let them sit there until cooled to room temperature.

Once your canelé molds are seasoned, you need to coat the interior with ‘white oil’. To make the white oil, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the beeswax and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Use a pastry brush to lightly but evenly brush the interiors of the molds with the white oil, allowing excess to drop out. You want to do this while the white oil is still hot and melted because that will get you the most even coating, but be careful as this will also make the mold hot as your holding and rotating it to brush the inside. Place the brushed molds upside down on a wire rack over a sheet of paper towels to cool and allow any excess to drip off.

Now you can make the canelés! Scrape out the inside of the vanilla bean over a small saucepan filled with the milk. Add the vanilla bean husk to the pot and place over medium low heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is 183 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in 3 tablespoons butter. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom in a medium bowl and set them aside. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, rum, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and orange blossom water until combined.

Whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then whisk the warm milk mixture in as well. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours before baking.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the vanilla bean husk from the batter and discard it. Fill the molds about 2/3 with the batter and place the molds on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes if you’re using small canelé molds about 1 and 3/4-inch in diameter, and about 40 minutes if you’re using larger ones about 2 and 1/3-inch in diameter. They will poof up in the pan as they bake and the edges will be brown while the center stays relatively pale. Remove from the oven and immediately turn the mold upside down onto a wire rack. The canelé should fall out with ease. Allow it to cool for a few minutes before eating, but they’re best eaten warm. If you want to eat them later on, place them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 for about 7 minutes before serving.