Today I am going to show you how to make one of the most popular sweets from Naples. In fact I am going to take you to the southern region of Campania for my series on Italian Regional dishes. This region has a vast culinary tradition, so I will be presenting quite a few dishes from this area in the next few weeks. Probably the most famous of all is pizza, which was invented in Naples! You will be amazed to read the list of famous dishes that are commonly called “Italian” but originate from this area! More on that in the next few weeks. Today I want to share with you the recipe for babà, soft cakes dipped in syrup (usually rum flavoured)… one of my favourite sweets. Even though it is now considered a typical dish from Naples, I found out from the site from which I adapted this recipe, that it was actually created in Poland by the king Stanisław Leszczyński who used to find the then very popular Kugelhupf too dry for his taste. The legend says that one day he got angry and just threw the Kugelhupf to the other side of the dining table, hitting a bottle of rum that fell on it, soaking the sweet. The king tasted it and liked it so much that he decided to call it Ali Baba like the character of One Thousand and One Nights which was his favourite book. Then the sweet was exported to France where it became known simply as Baba (pronounced with the accent on the final “a”) and from there to Naples. Whatever its origin, it is now one of the most popular sweets from Naples. You can make it in individual pans like I did, or use the Kugelhupf pan. It is delicious and much easier to make than what it may seem! Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Giallo Zafferano
Ingredients for 12 babà: (I make 20 smaller babà with this same dose – mine were 45 mm – 1.75 inches in diameter and 48 mm – 1.9 inches high)
FOR THE DOUGH
125 gms – ½ cup + 1 tbsp butter, softened
250 gms – 1 cup flour
50 ml – 1.7 oz. milk, lukewarm
7 gms – ¼ oz. dry yeast
5 gms – 1 tsp salt
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
30 gms – 2 tbsp sugar
FOR THE SYRUP
600 ml – 2 ½ cups water
600 gms – 2 ½ cups sugar
Dark Rum to taste
TO MAKE THE BABÀ LOOK SHINY
3 tbsp apricot jam
1 ½ tbsp water
Start by preparing the syrup. Put the water and sugar in a pot and heat on a medium fire. Let the sugar melt and boil the syrup for a couple of minutes. Then put the fire off and add the Dark Rum. You can add as much as you like (this also depends on how “tasty” your rum is). Let it cool.
Dissolve the dry yeast in a bowl with the lukewarm milk and 2 tsp of sugar. Set aside to activate until the froth forms.
Put the flour, beaten eggs and yeast mixture in a mixer with a dough hook (1 – 2). Knead well on low speed until smooth. In the meantime, using a fork, mix the soft butter and the remaining sugar together until creamy (3). Increase the speed of the mixer and add this cream to the dough little by little while kneading (4). When it is well incorporated, put the soft dough into a greased bowl (5), cover it with cling wrap and set it aside to rise for 1 and a half hour or until it doubles in volume (6).
Then half fill your babà tins (make sure you grease them and dust them with a little flour so the babà won’t stick) and let it rise for another 20 minutes. NOTE: make sure you only half fill them, I overdid the first batch and the shape did not come out “perfect”.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180º C – 350º F for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the size of your tins). When ready, remove from the tins and put them in the cold syrup for a few minutes. When they have soaked up enough liquid, take them out one by one and gently squeeze them to get rid of the excess syrup. If your babà have come out right, they will not crumble. Set them aside.
Melt the apricot jam together with the water in the microwave.
Mix well and brush each babà with this mixture to make them shiny.
You can serve them as is, or decorate with some whipped cream and strawberries (or any other fruits that you like). You can also add more rum (or more of the rum syrup) just before serving them, if you like a stronger rum flavour.
NOTE: if you want to serve this to children, you can substitute the rum with some lemon zest.
Manu, these shiny rum babas are gorgeous and love your presentation with the strawberry and cream. Imagine that for a baba history? Had no idea. Can understand about the kugelhopf story, since it is drier (although also delicious) but these are totally rum-scious! Great recipe.
Interesting! I’ve never had these, but they sound absolutely delicious. 🙂 Great recipe, and gorgeous photos!
This sounds wonderful, I can understand why they are a popular sweet in Naples. The individual mini Baba are so cute. Great photo’s, love the method shots 🙂
This is one of my favorites. I like the texture and of course the flavor the rum gives.
Did you say rum? Sold! Can you make these in something other than a baba tin?
Hi Rhonda! 🙂 I have not tried it, but maybe in a muffin tray? Or you can make it as a cake to be shared in a Kugelhupf tin (the other traditional way to bake this). For both these variations though the cooking time may have to be adjusted depending on the dimensions of the tins. 🙂
Those look so good, Manu! I know I am saying that on your blog all the time..but what can I say when all your dishes are amazing!
I never tried this before and you know what baba on my native language means “grandma’ :)) Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful Monday!!!!
It interesting that the leavening for this sweet is yeast and not baking powder. The story is very cute and the sticky soaked sweet looks delightful. Is the shape the traditional shape it is baked in?
Hi Eva! Thanks! Yes, that’s the traditional individual shape for babà, but if you make it as a cake to be shared, then you can make it in a Kugelhupf tin. 🙂
What a great story Manu. I didn’t know anything about the story behind Babas. It was a funny story. I love the way you make them and how you have garnished them beautifully with fresh strawberries and cream. Thanks for sharing the idea and the great story behind it.:-)
Mmmm I love baba’s! Do you think the result will be as good when making it by hand rather than with a mixer?
Hi Maria! I have never tried it, but it should be ok… it is a very old recipe and there were no mixers in the past, so I think it will work fine… only it will take a bit longer and it will be more tiring~ 🙂 Let me know!!
These look SO good! I need to make these asap
I’d heard of “Baba au Rum” (not sure of the spelling) but didn’t know the recipe or story behind it. Your photos are gorgeous!
Manu these look great!! I dont know that I have ever seen these before, but I totally want to try one now.
While you use a whole box of butter, I’m probably using like 2 Tbsp. worth of butter. That tells you how much you’ve been baking delicious baked goods! I’m serious. My butter doesn’t get consumed much… 🙁 This is such a lovely sweets and I’m already in love!
These look fabulous, darling! I love the syrup dip, that sounds lovely 🙂 Buzzed
You should get the King 1001 Nights of Snowfall for Christmas by Bill Willingham. He’ll love it!
http://www.amazon.com/Fables-Nights-Snowfall-Bill-Willingham/dp/1401203671
OOooh..it has rum in it. I know this is going to be a hit at my place! Love the story behind it.
Oh another keeper! I have never heard of this actually but they look so delicious!
Girl, How can I lose weight when you keep posting goodies like this!?! 🙂 I want to jump up and make these for supper! To heck with leftover turkey!
Just come across this on Foodbuzz, Im so glad! Im just going to grab a coffee and sit down for some sunday morning reading!
This is divine. I have to try making this. You are a wonder Manu. You always amaze me.
What a great post and beautiful pictures! I just had to share it with our Facebook fans.
I was looking for a Baba recipe to make for my father-in-law for Thanksgiving and came across your recipe. I’ve made them before years ago but didn’t remember what recipe I had used. I liked that you had step-by-step photo’s of the process and your presentation of the final product looked beautiful. That being said, unfortunately, the recipe was a total failure. I was somewhat confused with the sugar ingredient. I wasn’t sure if it was a typo or not as you just listed “2 tbsp” then in the directions you said to add “2 tsp” to the yeast and then further along the directions said to add the rest of the sugar. I’m fairly certain I worked my way through that, but in the end the dough never did rise or double in size. I did follow through til the end and baked them. Needless to say, they came out terrible. Frustrated, but determined, I had a back-up recipe and tried that. Happy to say this time around they came out perfect. Wishing everyone else more success than I had.
Sorry to hear that Leslie. The recipe is correct. The 2 tsp of sugar you add to the yeast is to help it activate. Maybe your yeast did not activate… it happens. If the yeast does not make a froth, you should throw it away and use another sachet.