Rum baba: the detailed recipe explained
To ensure a classic dessert that never gets old, try our rum baba recipe! Explained step by step below, the Ptitchef team will guide you in making this must-have dessert that everyone loves. A moist cake soaked in rum syrup and topped with vanilla whipped cream, how can you resist?
Ingredients
The dough:
The syrup:
Decor:
Materials
- Stand mixer or dough kneader
- Baba or savarin mold
Preparation
In a bowl, put the flour, salt, sugar, and dig a hole. Put the yeast in the middle, being careful it doesn't touch the salt. Add the eggs and start to knead at speed 2 for 4 minutes.
Then, while kneading, add the softened butter little by little. Once you add all the butter, keep kneading for 10 minutes. The dough should form a ball.
Form a ball of dough and place it in a bowl, cover with a cloth, and let it rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
Then, make a hole in the center of this ball and spread it to form a balanced circle.
Place the circle of dough in a greased baba mold, then let it rise again for 1 hour at room temperature. Then, bake for 20 minutes at 350°F (180°C). Unmold the baba and let it cool.
For the syrup: Put the sugar, water, zest of 1 lemon, and juice of both lemons in a large pot. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add the rum and the split vanilla bean with its seeds. Cover the pot and let infuse for 15 minutes.
Place the cooled baba on a rack, on top of a deep baking tray or any other support that can hold the poured syrup. Using a ladle, pour the syrup little by little over the baba to soak it. Once all the syrup is used, feel free to recover it and repeat the operation a second time. Refrigerate the baba for 30 minutes.
Microwave the apricot jam for 30 seconds, then strain it to remove the fruit pieces. Brush the cooled baba with the jam to make it shine.
For extra indulgence, feel free to add whipped cream in the center of the baba, which you can sprinkle with lemon zest.
And there you have it, your rum baba is ready! For rum lovers, serve it with a bottle, as some may want to add more to their slice.
Observations
The syrup: You can add other aromatic elements like cinnamon, for example. As for the rum, you can add more or less.
My dough doesn't come off the bowl: If after 10 minutes of kneading after incorporating the butter, it doesn't come off, put the bowl in the fridge. Leave it for a good ten minutes, then start kneading again. The dough heats up easily, and kneading too long tends to warm it up.
Soaking: If you have a large basin, it will be wiser to soak the baba in the syrup rather than pouring it over. You can prepare the syrup in advance, but in that case, you will need to pour it over the hot baba just out of the oven (cold syrup on hot baba OR hot syrup on cold baba).
