Baba au Rhum

A dry yeast cake soaked in warm syrup while it is completely cold, because that temperature difference is what makes it drink.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter), dairy (double cream), dairy (milk).

Ingredients

For the babas

• 250 g strong white flour
• 7 g fast-action yeast
• 20 g caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 60 ml warm milk
• 100 g butter, very soft

For the syrup

• 500 ml water
• 300 g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, split
• 1 strip orange peel
• 150 ml dark rum

To serve

• 300 ml double cream, whipped
• more dark rum

Method

1. THE BABA MUST BE COMPLETELY COLD AND THE SYRUP WARM. Not the other way round and not both the same. A cold crumb meeting warm syrup draws it in -- you can watch the baba swell and darken and sink. Warm cake in warm syrup goes greasy on the outside and stays dry in the middle; cold syrup barely penetrates at all. About 50C for the syrup, and the babas baked the day before.
2. AND THEY ARE MEANT TO BE DRY AND SLIGHTLY STALE BEFORE SOAKING. Left uncovered overnight on a rack. A fresh moist baba has nowhere to put the syrup; a dry one has a crumb full of air waiting for it. This is the one cake on this site that is improved by going stale.
3. THE RUM GOES IN OFF THE HEAT, after the syrup has stopped boiling. Boiled, the alcohol goes and with it most of what you wanted it for.
4. THEY ARE SOAKED UNTIL THEY STOP TAKING IT, which is longer than feels right -- ten minutes at least, turned, and they should feel heavy and squeeze like a sponge. Dipped briefly, the middle is still cake.
5. A SLACK, BEATEN DOUGH, NOT A KNEADED ONE. This is closer to a thick batter than a bread dough and it is beaten in the bowl rather than worked on a surface.
6. Flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a mixer bowl. Eggs and warm milk added and beaten with a paddle 8 minutes until smooth, elastic and glossy -- it will be very slack.
7. The soft butter beaten in a little at a time until it disappears, 5 minutes more.
8. Risen covered 1 hour until doubled and bubbly.
9. Knocked back and spooned into 8 buttered dariole moulds or a buttered savarin ring, a third full.
10. Proved 45 minutes until they reach the top of the moulds.
11. Baked at 190C for 18 to 20 minutes until deep gold and firm. Turned out at once onto a rack and LEFT UNCOVERED OVERNIGHT to dry.
12. Water, sugar, vanilla and orange peel boiled 3 minutes, then taken off the heat and the rum stirred in. Cooled to about 50C -- warm, not hot.
13. The cold dry babas lowered into the warm syrup and soaked 10 to 15 MINUTES, turned once, until heavy and saturated through.
14. Lifted onto a rack over a tray to drain 10 minutes. Served with whipped cream and a spoonful more rum poured over at the table.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under France · All recipes