The Baba au Rhum could easily have been called the “Baba au Cognac” or “Baba au Porto” — the name was apparently chosen at random by its creator! The story goes that it was invented in the 18th century by King Stanislas Leszczyński of Poland (grandfather of Marie-Antoinette), who improved a dry Kugelhopf by soaking it in wine. His pastry chef later refined the recipe with rum, and the baba was born.
Ingredients (makes 8 individual babas)
For the dough
- 250 g plain flour
- 7 g instant dried yeast
- 30 g caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbsp warm milk
- 100 g soft butter
For the rum syrup
- 250 ml water
- 200 g caster sugar
- 100 ml dark rum (or to taste)
- Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Make the dough: mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add eggs and warm milk. Beat until smooth. Work in the softened butter until fully incorporated. Cover and leave to rise for 1.5 hours.
- Butter and flour individual baba moulds (or a muffin tin). Fill each mould halfway with the dough. Leave to prove for 45 minutes until the dough reaches the top.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 18–20 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool slightly then unmould.
- Make the rum syrup: bring water and sugar to the boil until dissolved. Remove from heat and add the rum and orange zest.
- While the babas are still warm, soak them generously in the rum syrup — spoon the syrup over repeatedly, or briefly dip each baba into the syrup. They should be moist and gleaming.
- Serve with lightly whipped cream and fresh raspberries or strawberries.
Enjoy! 🍊🥃🇫🇷