Name: Rum babas
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 15 g (½ oz) fresh yeast or 7 g (¼ oz) dry yeast; 315 g (10 oz) thick (double) cream; 2 bay leaves; 30 g (1 oz) icing sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cardamom pod; 45 g (1½ oz) melted butter, just warm; fresh fruit, such as strawberries and raspberries, to decorate; 250 g (8 oz) plain or bread flour; 500 ml (16 fl oz) water; 200 g (6½ oz) caster sugar; 2 tablespoons dark rum; 60 g (2 oz) raisins, soaked in 1 tablespoon rum; ½ orange, roughly chopped; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or essence; rind of 1 lemon; 3 eggs, beaten; 3 tablespoons apricot jam; 1 teaspoon caster sugar; 80 ml (2¾ fl oz) milk

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
2 hr 30

Appears in

Puddings

By Le Cordon Bleu

Published 2000

About

Spongy yeast cakes soaked in a rum syrup, which are said to have been named by a Polish king after his storybook hero, Ali Baba. Here they are served with a vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream and fresh fruit.

Ingredients

Baba Dough

250 g (8 oz) plain or bread flour
1 teaspoon

Method

Brush eight individual dariole moulds or a 1-litre capacity ring mould with melted butter, then dust with some flour and tap out the excess.
To make the baba dough, sieve the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Place the yeast in