RUM BABAS

I obtained this recipe from one of the most talented pastry chefs that I ever worked with — pastry phenomenon, Michael Rispe. It happens to be the easiest baba to make, and while most would say, ‘Not for breakfast!’, we find that a little baba with rum, torn peaches and fresh cream in summer really hits the spot.

MAKES 12

BABAS

125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) milk

30 g (1 oz) fresh yeast, or 15 g (½ oz) active dried yeast

4 eggs

75 g (2½ oz) melted butter

250 g (9 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

20 g (¾ oz) currants

cream and fresh fruit, to serve

Warm the milk and add the yeast. Set aside for about 5 minutes to allow the mixture to get all foamy. Mix the eggs and melted butter into the yeasty milk.

Combine the flour, salt and currants in a separate large bowl, then add the milk mixture. Now with your hand — yes, your hand! — mix lightly to just bring the mixture together. Cover and set aside in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Fill a piping (icing) bag with the mixture, then half-fill twelve 100 ml (3½ fl oz) greased dariole moulds. Set aside again in a warm place for another 20 minutes, or until the dough has risen to the top of the mould.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF/Gas 4). Bake the babas for 15 minutes, then unmould. While the babas are cooling, prepare the soak.

SOAK

200 ml (7 fl oz) orange juice

grated zest of 1 orange

½ vanilla bean, cut in half lengthways, seeds scraped

100 g (3½ oz) panela or raw (demerara) sugar

100 ml (3½ fl oz) decent rum

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan with 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) of water and heat until just warm. Please do not boil off the alcohol — that would be a waste!

Soak the cooled babas in the mixture for 2–3 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Once soaked, the babas can be kept in the fridge overnight, drizzled with the remaining soak so they don’t dry out.

Just before serving, add an extra splash of rum to each baba to help them on their way.

Serve with cream and fresh fruit.

BABAS TO GO

The babas can be baked ahead and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Bake them as directed, but don’t soak them. Pull them out of the freezer as needed, let them thaw, then soak them in the rummy orange juice mixture before serving.