Italian · Naples · dessert

Babà al Rum

Babà al Rum reads sweetness 7.1, citrus 6.0 and fruity 5.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Italian · Naples dessert, about 3 hr 33 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 7.1 · Citrus 6.0 · Fruity 5.6 · Sourness 5.6 · Richness 4.2 · Salinity 3.7 · Funk & Ferment 3.3 · Umami 1.8 · Floral 1.6 · Bitterness 1.0 · Smoke 1.0 · Nutty 0.6 · Earthy 0.5

What's in it (12)

Time & effort: about 3 hr 33 min (1 hr 3 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 145.2 kcal, 3.6 g protein, 4.5 g fat, 24.1 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

  1. Put the flour, yeast, the 15 g sugar and the salt in a mixer bowl and add 2 of the eggs. Beat with the dough hook on medium for 5 minutes. Add the remaining eggs one at a time, beating 3 to 4 minutes after each, until each is fully absorbed before the next goes in. The dough will be very slack, almost a batter, and it must be beaten until it climbs the hook in long elastic ropes and slaps the sides of the bowl. This takes 20 to 25 minutes in total and it is the entire secret; an underbeaten babà is dense and will not drink syrup.
  2. Add the soft butter in four goes, beating each in completely, another 8 minutes. The dough will look split and then come glossy again.
  3. Cover and prove 1 hour 30 minutes at warm room temperature, until tripled and bubbly.
  4. Butter 12 babà moulds or a set of dariole tins. Knock the dough back, and with wet hands drop a lump of about 45 g into each, filling them a third full. Prove 1 hour, uncovered, until the dough reaches the rim.
  5. Heat the oven to 190 C and bake 20 to 22 minutes, until deep chestnut brown all over and hollow-sounding. Turn them out and cool completely on a rack, at least 2 hours. Stale babà absorb syrup better than fresh; a day old is ideal.
  6. Make the syrup: bring the water, the 400 g sugar and both zests to the boil, simmer 5 minutes, then take it off the heat, remove the zests and let it cool to about 60 C, warm but not hot. Stir in the rum off the heat so the alcohol survives.
  7. Submerge the babà in the warm syrup a few at a time, pressing them under with a spoon for 2 to 3 minutes each, until they are heavy, swollen and squeak no air when squeezed. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set them on a rack over a tray; spoon the drained syrup back over them twice.
  8. Warm the apricot jam with 1 tbsp water and brush the babà to a shine. Serve at room temperature, on their own or with cream, and pour a little extra rum over at the table if you are being generous.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.