Baba au Rhum

Baba recipes make frequent appearances in Victorian cookbooks. There are a number of theories behind the origins of this dessert which hails from eastern Europe (particularly Poland). The general upshot seems to be that the boozy syrup was introduced to rescue a less than fresh cake. And boy, what a thirsty cake this can be. I have been quite conservative with the syrup but you can increase the quantity if you prefer a more drenched cake or cakes.