TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Babà al RumRum Babà
Naples’s celebrated yeast cake, lavishly soaked in rum syrup. This sweet of Polish origin developed its own identity in Naples. A true babà absorbs what seems an excessive amount of syrup.
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Ingredients (8 servings)
- Strong bread flour (W280 or higher)More gluten helps the cake absorb more syrup.250 g
- Fresh yeastUse 7 g if substituting dry yeast.15 g
- Fresh eggs4 pieces
- Unsalted butterSoftened at room temperature.60 g
- Sugar for the dough30 g
- Salt5 g
- Lukewarm milkAround 40°C.30 ml
- Water for the syrup500 ml
- Sugar for the syrup150 g
- Dark Jamaican-style rumHigh-quality dark rum gives a richer syrup.200 ml
- Orange and lemon peel1 fruit each
- Whipped cream, to serve200 ml
Method
Activate the yeast and knead the dough
- 1 Dissolve the fresh yeast and a pinch of sugar in 30 ml lukewarm milk and leave for 5 minutes.
- 2 Put the bread flour in a bowl, add the yeast mixture and the eggs 1 at a time, and knead for 10 minutes.
Ready when
Continue when the yeast mixture has foamed and the dough is soft and sticky.
Caution
Milk that is too hot kills yeast; keep it around 40°C.
Knead in the butter
- 1 Add 5 g salt and 30 g sugar.
- 2 Divide 60 g room-temperature butter into small pieces and add gradually, kneading for 10–15 minutes.
Ready when
Continue when the dough is smooth and elastic.
Caution
Do not add all the butter at once; add it gradually to develop the gluten.
First rise
- 1 Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place at 28°C.
Ready when
Allow 1–1.5 hours; continue once risen to 2 times its original volume.
Fill the molds and prove again
- 1 Butter the babà molds.
- 2 Fill each mold 1/3–1/2 full with the risen dough.
- 3 Let rise again for 30–40 minutes, until the dough reaches the rim.
Ready when
After 30–40 minutes, continue once the dough reaches the rim.
Caution
Do not overfill the molds; the dough will rise and overflow.
Bake and unmold
- 1 Bake at 190°C for 25–30 minutes.
- 2 Remove from the molds immediately after baking.
Ready when
They are baked when the surface is golden brown.
Caution
Unmold immediately after baking to prevent trapped steam from making them soggy.
Make the syrup
- 1 Put 500 ml water, 150 g sugar and the citrus peel in a saucepan and simmer for 3–5 minutes.
- 2 Once the initial heat has dissipated, add 200 ml dark rum.
Ready when
Continue once the sugar has dissolved completely and the liquid is syrupy.
Caution
Adding rum while the syrup is hot evaporates the alcohol; add it after the initial heat has dissipated.
Soak in syrup
- 1 Completely submerge the babà in the warm syrup.
- 2 Turn them during 15–20 minutes of soaking so the syrup penetrates evenly.
Ready when
After 15–20 minutes, they are ready when they have absorbed enough syrup to feel heavy when lifted.
Caution
Be generous with the syrup; thorough soaking is the Neapolitan way.
Serve
- 1 Lift out of the syrup and place on plates.
- 2 Serve with 200 ml whipped cream.
About this dish
Walking along Naples’s Via dei Tribunali, you see mushroom-shaped babà steeped in syrup in bar windows. Buy one and eat it standing up: this is the original Neapolitan way to enjoy babà.
Polish babka (baba) is said to have reached Naples via France in the 18th century. One account credits Poland’s King Stanisław Leszczyński with bringing it to France during his exile. Naples, however, made this cake entirely its own. The quantity of rum syrup, the springiness of the sponge and the pairing with whipped cream make it a different dish from its Polish or French relatives.
The baked sponge remains submerged in syrup until it can absorb no more. Neapolitans describe this state as ubriaco—drunk.
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