Rum Babas

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recipe by Kenwood https://kenwoodworld.com/

  • Time icon
    Total Time
    5hrs 10mins
  • Serves icon
    Serves
    20
  • Calories icon
    Calories
    510

Rum babas originate in France, however most Italians associate them with Naples, where they were brought in the 1800s by the French chefs who cooked for richer Neapolitan families. Made with an enriched brioche-style dough which is baked in individual moulds and soaked in a citrus and rum syrup, these boozy treats are delicious served with a dollop of Italian mascarpone cream and fresh berries. The babas can be soaked to your liking, some suggest submerging them for a few minutes, and some allow them to soak for up to two hours – you can even swap the rum for limoncello for an Italian twist.

recipe updated Apr 2, 2025

Ingredients

  • Water icon
    Water
    100 g
  • Unsalted butter icon
    Unsalted butter
    250 g
  • Lemon icon
    Lemon
    1
  • Orange icon
    Orange
    1
  • Butter icon
    Butter
    as needed
  • Dried yeast icon
    Dried yeast
    7 g
  • Egg icon
    Egg
    12
  • Baking powder icon
    Baking powder
    1 ½ teaspoons
  • Sugar icon
    Sugar
    750 g
  • Whole milk icon
    Whole milk
    2 tablespoons
  • All purpose flour icon
    All purpose flour
    750 g
  • Fine sea salt icon
    Fine sea salt
    ¼ teaspoon
  • Water icon
    Water
    1.8 kg
  • Caster sugar icon
    Caster sugar
    50 g
  • Dark rum icon
    Dark rum
    400 g
  • All purpose flour icon
    All purpose flour
    as needed
  • Apricot jam icon
    Apricot jam
    250 g

Tools

  • kCook icon Oven
  • kCook icon Cooling rack
  • kCook icon Stove
  • kCook icon Chef Patissier XL
  • kCook icon Small bowl
  • kCook icon Saucepan

Step preview

  1. Add the ingredients into a small bowl, mix to combine and set aside - 5 minutes
  2. Add butter into a clean small bowl and heat in a microwave until melted
  3. Set aside and let cool – 5 minutes
  4. Fit the Whisk Tool
  5. Add eggs into the warming bowl, fit the splashguard
  6. Mix - 5 minutes, speed 2
  7. Mix until light and fluffy - 5 minutes, speed 4
  8. Then add the ingredients into the warming bowl
  9. Pour the yeast mixture into the warming bowl
  10. While the machine is running, slowly pour the melted butter - 2 minutes, speed 1
  11. Remove the Whisk Tool, fit the Dough Tool
  12. Mix - 1 minute, speed Min
  13. Mix until smooth and shiny – 4 minutes, speed 1
  14. Remove the Dough Tool and fit the splashguard
  15. Prove until double in size – 1 hour, heat setting 2, speed off
  16. Grease the baba moulds with butter and dust with flour
  17. Knock back the dough and use a spoon to drop the dough into each mould, filling it halfway
  18. Let prove, uncovered, in a warm place until doubled in size – 2 hours
  19. Add the ingredients into a medium saucepan
  20. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved - 5 minutes, medium heat
  21. Then add rum into the saucepan and mix until well combined
  22. Preheat the oven to 170ºC
  23. Place the baba moulds in the oven
  24. Bake – 20 minutes, 170ºC
  25. Remove from the oven and let cool – 10 minutes
  26. Transfer the babas to a cooling rack and let cool completely – 20 minutes
  27. Working in batches of 10, place the babas into the saucepan and let them soak - 3 min
  28. Place the babas on the cooling rack and set aside – 30 minutes
  29. Glaze the babas with apricot jam
  30. Serve
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