Baba au Rhum

“A forkful of rum-soaked baba and Chantilly is one of life’s great pleasures.” So writes Aleksandra Crapanzano in the headnote to her Baba au Rhum recipe in Gâteau: the Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes, her 2022 cookbook. We couldn’t agree more! This excellent recipe is adapted from that book.

READ: “Baba au Rhum may be the most fabulous French dessert of them all”

You might wonder whether a cake fashioned from a yeasted dough, drenched in a rum syrup and glazed is indeed simple. To this we’d say actually, it is. Sure, you need to beat the batter for some time, then let it rise (in two steps) for about two and a half hours before baking, but it’s very straightforward, and Crapanzano’s dough behaves nicely. Oh, and in case you’re baffled by “Chantilly,” that’s just French for whipped cream.

Traditionally, the baba is made in a Savarin mold, which is like a tube pan without any fancy fluting. We’ve never been able to get our hands on one; Crapanzano writes that it holds about 5 cups, which would be a little more than a liter. Her original recipe calls instead for a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan, with instructions to halve it it you’re using a Savarin mold or smaller Bundt pan. We found a lovely 6-cup Nordic Ware model, and that made a lovely size that serves 6, and adapted the recipe for that size. If you have a larger Bundt pan and bigger crowd, go ahead and double it.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

For the baba

2 1/4 teaspoons / 7 grams instant yeast

1/2 cup / 118 ml milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar