The baker’s way to make Baba au Rhum

Level: Intermediate
Total Time: 3h
Serves: 10

Baba au Rhum is a delicious French yeast-risen cake that has been soaked in a Rum-based sirup and usually topped off with whipped cream. It goes all the way back to the beginning of the 18th century when Nicolas Stohrer was the chef for the prior King of Poland, Stanislas Leszczynski. The late King once brought with him a Kouglof cake from Poland that had become too dry during the trip. Stohrer soaked the cake in wine and the result had a huge success with King. Later, when the talented chef later opened a pastry shop in Paris, the same soaked cake was on the menu. The recipe evolved over the years and the wine was being replaced by Rhum in the 19th century and the whipped cream added on in recent years.

The Stohrer pastry shop is the oldest existing pastry shop in Paris and you can still find it at 51 Rue Montorgueil.

In my first years in France, the Baba au Rhum was not really among my favorites. However, that changed when I participated in a cooking class with a french pastry chef and I learned what a good quality Baba was meant to be. The texture of the Baba is really important to get a perfect result. To obtain that, the main secret is time, so you are hereby being warned: This is not a quick version of the Baba au Rhum, but it is in my opinion by far the best! For the syrup, you need a good quality rum, and other fruits in order to create your perfect mixture. The result is amazing and it’s similar to no other cake I know of. I’d say you just have to try!:-)

THE TIPS TO SUCCEED

1: The Babas are perfect for freezing! You can bake them the weekend before your guests are coming so that all that is left to do is defrosting, soaking, and decorating.

2: Make sure you don’t overfill the molds with dough (up until 1/3rd is sufficient). The Babas will rise a lot.

3: In addition to soaking the Babas in the syrup, I recommend adding a couple of teaspoons of pure rum on top, just before serving to get a stronger rum taste.

Let’s get started

Ingredients

Baba

• 250 g (8,75 oz) All-purpose Flour
• 10 g (0,35 oz) Fresh yeast
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) Water
• 20 g (0,7 oz) Sugar
• 5 g (0,2 oz) Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 50 g (1,75 oz) Butter

Syrup

• 700 ml (3 cups) Water
• 400 g (14 oz) Sugar
• 200 ml (4/5 cup) Rhum + rum to add just before to serve
• 2 Oranges
• 2 Lemons
• ½ Vanilla Bean

Whipped Cream

• 400 ml (1 3/4 cup) Whipping cream
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• ½ Vanilla bean

How to do it?

Baba

Mix 60g (2,1 oz) flour, 50ml (1/5 cup) water and the crumbled yeast in the kitchen machine. Use the dough hook and let it work for at least 5 minutes.

Cover the dough with the rest of the flour and leave a kitchen towel over the bowl. Let it rest for 45 minutes. The dough will come out through the flour a bit like a volcano.

Melt the butter and set it aside to cool down.

Mix the sugar, salt, 50ml (1/5 cup) of water, and the eggs and add to the dough/flour. Mix at medium speed for around 10 minutes. The dough should be very sticky.

Replace the dough hook with the paddle and add 25ml (1/10 cup) water little by little while the machine is working. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 45 minutes.

Add the butter and mix for a couple of minutes.

Use a piping bag to place the dough into (buttered and floured) muffin molds. The dough might be a bit difficult to work with. Your fingers are doomed to be sticky… Make sure to only fill up until 1/3 as it will rise a lot!

Leave to rise in the oven at 35°c (95°F) for 30min.

Remove the molds from the oven and preheat it to 190°C (375°F). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the Babas are golden brown and dry.

Syrup

Bring to boil the water, sugar, zest, and juice from the lemons and oranges, and the half vanilla bean cut open,

Remove the pan from the heat, add the rum, and cover with a lid. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes before to filter the mixture.

Whipping cream

Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla bean grains into a cold bowl and mix until a creamy and firm texture.

How to soak the Baba’s

Soak the babas in the hot syrup for 3 minutes, and leave them to drip off on a grid for a few minutes.

Pour a bit of syrup over the babas 2-3 times letting them drip of in-between

Place delicately the baba on a plate and drizzle 2 tsp of rum on top. Cover with whipped cream and fruit (eg. strawberries)

How to serve the Baba au Rhum?

This is a perfect afternoon cake with tea or coffee or served as a dessert. You can also make these in mini molds and serve as part of a trio of mini desserts, or what the French call a Café Gourmand.