epicurious
Giant Baba Au Rhum
This playful take on classic Italian rum babà soaks a giant, plush brioche loaf in a fiery rum syrup infused with plenty of citrus.
👥 8 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 3h👤 Jesse Szewczyk📖 epicurious
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●bowl
- ●pan
- ●oven
- ●pot
- ●stove
- ●whisk
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Dough
2
Mix 4 large eggs, 4 cups plus 2 Tbsp. (516 g) all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup whole milk, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and one ¼-oz. envelope instant yeast (about 2¼ tsp.) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on medium-low speed until a shaggy, stiff dough forms around hook, about ⏱️ 10 minutes. (Dough will be very stiff at this point.)
large eggs4(2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for pan1 cup(400 g) sugar2 cups. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt1 Tbsp. sugar1 Tbsp
3
With the motor running, add 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, a piece at a time, mixing after each addition until almost completely incorporated before adding more, 10–⏱️ 14 minutes total. (Don’t worry if your dough looks a bit lumpy or incohesive at this point.) Increase speed to medium and mix dough until soft, smooth, and elastic, 6–⏱️ 8 minutes. (It should not be sticking to sides of bowl but might still stick to the bottom; keep mixing until you get there.) Remove bowl from mixer and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough sit at room temperature until puffy and almost doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
4
Coat pan with butter. Punch down dough; transfer to a surface. Pat and shape into about a 9"-diameter circle. Cut a 2"-long X in the middle, then transfer dough to pan, threading tube in center of pan through the X. Press dough down into pan in an even layer and cover with plastic wrap; let sit at room temperature until puffy and it springs back when gently pressed, about ⏱️ 45 minutes.
5
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Bake baba until top is deep golden brown, 40–⏱️ 45 minutes. (You are baking it slightly longer than a typical brioche. It should feel very firm, crusty, and a bit hollow when you tap it.) Transfer pan to a wire rack and let baba cool in pan ⏱️ 10 minutes. Carefully turn baba out onto rack and let cool completely, about ⏱️ 2 hours. Set pan aside; no need to wash it.
6
Soak and Assembly
7
While the cake is cooling, combine 2 cups (400 g) sugar, 1 cup dark rum, 1 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur, ⅔ cup fresh orange juice, ½ cup fresh lemon juice, and ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large, high-sided pot. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (Be careful. If using a gas stove, it can ignite. If this happens, turn off the heat and let flames burn out without disturbing.) Cook syrup just until sugar is dissolved, about ⏱️ 30 seconds; immediately remove pot from heat and let cool.
(2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for pan1 cup(400 g) sugar2 cupsdark rum1 cupCointreau or other orange liqueur1 cup
8
Poke 8 evenly spaced holes into top of baba with a chopstick, then poke many holes all over the bottom. (Don’t worry about the top holes; you will cover them later with whipped cream.)
9
Pour half of syrup into reserved pan. Place baba back into pan and gradually pour remaining syrup over. Let baba sit in pan, slightly pressing down on it occasionally to help it soak up the syrup, at least ⏱️ 1 hour and up to ⏱️ 2 hours.
10
Place a large rimmed plate upside down over pan and in one rapid motion turn over; slide away pan, allowing any excess syrup to drip down sides of baba and onto plate.
11
Briskly whisk 1 cup heavy cream in a large bowl until medium-stiff peaks form, about ⏱️ 2 minutes. Transfer to pastry bag fitted with star tip and pipe 8 mounds over holes on top of baba. Top mounds of whipped cream with 8 maraschino cherries. Serve baba in slices with extra whipped cream on the side. Do Ahead: Baba can be baked and syrup can be made 1 day ahead. Store baba loosely covered at room temperature. Transfer syrup to an airtight container; cover and chill.
(2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for pan1 cup(400 g) sugar2 cupsheavy cream1 cupmaraschino cherries8
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