Rum Baba

Rum Baba: A rum baba or baba au rhum is a small yeast cake saturated in hard liquor, usually rum, and sometimes filled with whipped cream or pastry cream. It is most typically made in individual servings (about a two-inch-tall, slightly tapered cylinder) but sometimes can be made in larger forms similar to those used for Bundt cakes. The batter used for rum baba is even richer than brioche batter, and includes eggs, milk and butter.

Ingredients for Rum Baba

(serves 8):

Cake:

• 1 tbsp dry yeast
• 3 tbsp warm water
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 3 tbsp dark rum
• 12 baba moulds

Syrup:

• 3 cups water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup dark rum (to taste)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup apricot preserves, heated
• Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish

Method for Rum Baba:

• Stir the yeast and the warm water together in a large bowl and allow the yeast to dissolve for 5 minutes.
• Lightly beat the eggs into the yeast and water.
• Mix the flour, sugar, citrus zest, and salt together and then stir the mixture into the yeast and eggs.
• Knead the dough with the softened butter for about 5 minutes, until it turns soft and elastic.
• Cover the dough and allow it to rise for 1 hour, until it doubles in size.
• While the dough is rising, soak the raisins in 3 tablespoons of rum.
• Once the dough has doubled, beat the rum-soaked fruit into it.
• Grease the baba moulds and divide the dough among them.
• Preheat an oven to 400°F.
• Cover the moulds and allow the dough to rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until the dough has just started to rise above the moulds’ edges.
• Uncover the baba’s and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they turn golden brown and begin to pull away from the sides of the moulds.
• Immediately remove the babas from the moulds and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
• While the babas are cooling, make the rum soaking syrup.
• In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the water and sugar to a boil for 5 to 10 minutes, until the syrup has thickened.
• Remove the syrup from the heat and stir the rum and vanilla extract into the mixture.
• Place the babas into the hot rum syrup and turn them several times, allowing them to soak up the syrup.
• They will swell and absorb most of the syrup.
• Carefully transfer each baba onto a dessert plate and brush with a generous amount of heated apricot preserves.
• Garnish the rum baba with vanilla chantilly cream and serve immediately.

If you have any queries regarding the Rum Baba recipe, please leave a comment.