In my opinion, rum babas aren’t made enough, and when they are, they aren’t made well enough. This recipe is a really great one to have up your sleeve as once baked they store very well. What you’re essentially doing is making a slightly more savoury-style brioche and flavouring it with a rum syrup. The general rule here is that the syrup shouldn’t be overly thin, and it should be packed full of flavour as this is what you will taste when eating. The quantity of rum you use really depends on your preference, so just be sure to taste the syrup before using. I find lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice really gives it an extra lift. This recipe works best in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Makes 10 small babas
whole milk 60ml
fresh yeast 20g or 7g dry active yeast
plain flour 100g
strong white bread flour 130g, minus 1 tbsp
caster sugar 20g, plus 2 tsp
fine salt a large pinch
eggs 3
unsalted butter 100g, minus 1 tbsp, softened
caster sugar 400g
water 400ml
dark rum to taste
lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste
Put the milk in a saucepan and heat it to 30C.
Transfer the warm milk to a bowl and mix in the yeast with 50g of the flour. Cover and leave for 20 minutes. This is our little pre-ferment. After 20 minutes it should be bubbly and active, if not then leave for a further 10 minutes.
Mix both remaining flours with the sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the eggs and then the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and start to mix slowly until everything has come together.
Turn up to a medium speed and mix for 5-7 minutes until a soft, thick dough forms and it starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
Turn the machine off and leave the dough to relax for 5 minutes.
Dot over the butter in chunks, then mix at a medium-high speed for 5 minutes. If any butter gets missed, then scrape down the edges of the bowl. You’re looking for a shiny, stretchy dough. Check it is ready by doing the windowpane test – you should be able to stretch a small amount of dough thin enough to be able to see through it.
Take the dough out of the bowl and slap it down on a lightly oiled work surface with both hands. Fold it in half, then turn a quarter clockwise and repeat. This helps to develop the gluten strands.
Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to prove at room temperature for 30-45 minutes until the dough has more than doubled in size.
Meanwhile, grease the baba moulds with softened butter and then dust with flour and set in the fridge.
Once the dough has proved, knock it back by pressing down on it. Put the dough into a piping (pastry) bag. Squeeze the dough into the chilled moulds to fill just less than three-quarters of the way up and cut off each squeezed portion with kitchen scissors.
Put the moulds on a tray, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and prove at room temperature once more for 20-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6.
Uncover the dough, place the tray in the oven and bake the babas for 25 minutes. Turn the heat down to 150C fan/gas mark 3-4 and bake for a further 10 minutes.
Allow the rum babas to cool in their moulds before adding syrup.
To make the syrup, heat the 400g of sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved and it is around 104C. Stir in rum and lemon juice and zest to taste.
To soak the babas just before serving, make sure the syrup is still warm but take it off the heat. Dip a rum baba inside to fully immerse, gently rotate it and baste it for a minute or so. Take out and serve with chantilly cream and an additional splash of rum if needed. Once baked (but not soaked), these keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Defrost before soaking and eating.
From The Pastry Chef’s Guide by Ravneet Gill (Pavilion, £18.99)
