Rum baba recipe

Details

• Cuisine: French
• Recipe Type: Dessert
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 mins
• Serves: 6

Step-by-step

1. Make the dough. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, honey, butter and 2 of the eggs using an electric mixer. Knead the mixture by hand until you have a smooth paste (it shouldn’t stick to the sides of the bowl).
2. Add the remaining egg and mix again. The dough should be soft but should hold together.
3. Lightly butter the sides of an 8-cup silicone baba mould. Place the prepared mould on a baking sheet. Divide the dough equally among the cups of the mould, filling each no more than two-thirds full.
4. Leave to rest in a warm, humid place for at least 2 hours, until the dough has risen to the top of the cups.
5. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F/gas mark 3. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Unmould immediately and leave to cool.
7. Make the syrup. Remove the zest from the orange using a vegetable peeler, avoiding the white pith.
8. Pour 650ml/23floz of water into a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod (bean), scrape the seeds into the pan, then add the pod, sugar, cinnamon, star anise and orange zest. Bring to the boil, then immediately remove from the heat and leave to cool.
9. Pour the cooled syrup into a large jar and add the rum. Immerse the babas in the syrup one by one, being careful not to break them. Seal the jar. Place in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.
10.  To serve, carefully lift the babas out of the jar and arrange on serving plates, then spoon over the rum syrup.

This recipe is extracted from Big Mamma Cucina Popolare, by Big Mamma. Published by Phaidon, £27.95.