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1
Warm the milk with the split vanilla pod and scraped seeds in a saucepan over medium heat until it just reaches scalding point — small bubbles forming at the rim, no rolling boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to below 50°C. Remove the pod.
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2
Whisk together the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the whole eggs and egg yolks and whisk to a smooth paste. Pour the warm milk over the paste in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Add the rum. The finished batter should be thin — closer to a crêpe batter than a cake batter — and entirely lump-free.
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3
Pass the batter through a fine sieve into a sealed container and refrigerate for a minimum of 48 hours. At 24 hours the batter is hydrated but not fully structured; at 48 hours the starch is fully hydrated, the egg proteins are relaxed, and the volatile alcohols in the rum have partially dissipated. The batter will appear denser and more homogeneous than when mixed. This rest is where the final texture of the crust is decided — a same-day batter produces a structurally inferior crust. This is where the dish lives or dies.
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4
Melt the food-grade beeswax in a small saucepan or double boiler. Working quickly, pour a small amount into each copper canelé mould, rotate to coat the interior completely, then invert and allow the excess to drain. Set the moulds upside-down on a wire rack to set. Do not substitute butter: butter burns at canelé temperatures; beeswax has a higher smoke point and is the source of the distinctive crust.
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5
Preheat the oven to 240°C. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and stir gently — do not whisk air into it. Fill each wax-lined mould to two-thirds capacity only. The batter expands significantly during baking; overfilling produces overflow and an uneven bottom crust.
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6
Place the filled moulds in the oven at 240°C for the first 15 minutes. This initial high-temperature blast sets the crust before the interior has time to expand and crack it. After 15 minutes, reduce the oven to 180°C and continue baking for a further 45 minutes. The exterior should reach the colour of very dark chocolate — 85 to 90% cocoa, nearly black. Not brown, not amber. If the colour at this stage is no darker than mahogany, allow a further 5 to 10 minutes.
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7
Unmould immediately onto a wire rack. Take one canelé and knock its base firmly against the counter: a correctly baked canelé produces a hollow, resonant sound — the sound of a thin, hard shell over an airy interior. A dull thud indicates a dense, under-baked interior. A very sharp crack indicates an over-developed crust and a dry interior. Allow to cool to room temperature. Cut one open to confirm: the interior must be pale and creamy yellow against the near-black exterior.