Cherry Liqueur Babas

This beloved boozy treat—known as baba au rhum in France and babà Napoletano al rum in Italy—is made of small yeasted brioche-like cakes swimming in alcohol, and it’s originally of Polish origin. It was introduced to France in the eighteenth century by Stanisław I, the exiled king of Poland. He had the idea to soak a dry yeast babka cake into some wine, just to have something to bite into while drinking. Soon after, it migrated all over the world. In Naples, they adapted it wi