November 2016- Cooking With Rum
Baba au Rhum is a popular French dessert. They are sweet breads (small yeast cakes) that are soaked in rhum syrup and are sometimes filled with whipped cream or pastry cream.
Ingredients - For the Dough:
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
• 2 cups unbleached white flour
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
For the Dough add- ins:
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup Butter, room temperature
• 2 tbsp Dried Currants
For the Rhum Syrup:
• 1 cup Granulated Cane Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Water
• 1 cup Rhum Agricole
Directions
To make the rhum syrup: Place the sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook until you have a light syrup, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Cool completely before adding the rhum. Stir well and transfer the rhum syrup to a large bowl.
To make the babas: In a small bowl, whisk the 1 teaspoon of sugar into the warm water until it is dissolved. Stir in the yeast and set aside for 12 minutes. In a large bowl, sift the 2 cups of flour and make a well in the middle. In the well, pour in the 4 large eggs and the yeast mixture. Using your fingers, gradually work the flour into the liquid ingredients until the dough is soft. Knead in the bowl for about 2 minutes. Cover with a towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, approximately 2 hours.
Punch down the dough. Add the dough add- ins: 1 tablespoon of sugar, the butter and currants. Work until combined well. Knead for 3 to 4 minutes. Fill greased baba molds (or use Savar in molds) half full with the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Bake at 4 5 0 ⁰ F for 10 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 3 5 0 ⁰ F. Bake until the babas are golden, approximately 20 to 3 0 additional minutes.
Reserve and put aside about 1/2 cup of the rum syrup to drizzle over the babas at serving time. Remove the babas from the pan while still hot, and immediately immerse them in a bowl filled with cooled rum syrup. Roll the babas around so they soak up the syrup on all sides. Using a ladle helps. Alternately, place the babas in a single layer in a baking dish and pour the rum syrup evenly over them. If possible, allow the babas to absorb the rum syrup overnight, covering them to prevent them from drying out. The syrup should soak right through to the center of the babas.
Serve warm or cold with a drizzle of fresh rhum syrup from the 1/2 cup that you put aside. Serve alone or with freshly whipped cream.
-Article written by Chef Susan Whitley
Chef Susan Whitley
Chef Susan Whitley
Hello, my name is Susan Whitley, I am passionate about great foods and beverages. I love finding recipes that incorporate my favorite ingredients and sharing the results with my friends and family. Through this monthly column I will do my best to inspire you to incorporate the spirit of the tropics into your everyday cooking.
Sue@gotrum.com