Baba au Rhum
Rum-Infused Dessert with a Regal Past
Few French desserts boast a history as regal and intriguing as Babas au Rhum. The story of the Baba au Rhum dates back to the 18th century, when the exiled Polish King Stanislas Leszczyński, living in Lorraine, found his brioche too dry. His chef, Nicolas Stohrer, ingeniously moistened the pastry with wine, eventually replacing it with rum. The result? A luscious, spongy cake that delighted the royal court and later became a Parisian sensation still served at Paris’s oldest pastry shop: Stohrer pâtisserie.
The first known reference to baba in a cookbook appeared in 1835, when legendary French chef Marie-Antoine Carême included a recipe in his L’Art de la Cuisine Française au Dix-Neuvième Siècle. His version, titled Baba Polonais, featured a dough enriched with eggs and butter, baked into a tall mold and soaked with a sweet, spiced syrup.
This beloved pastry traces its origins even further back to Poland, where "baba" referred to a tall, dome-shaped cake traditionally baked for special occasions. The word itself means "old woman" or "grandmother" in Polish.
Baba au Rhum, photo by Francois de Melogue
A Personal Connection to Baba au Rhum
I have grown up loving babas. My mother, Micheline, would make them once in a while, and they always felt like a special treat. My recipe is based on a version found in Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat's classic cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Pastry. When she passed away, I inherited her tattered copy of their book.
Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat are renowned for their expertise in French baking. Healy, an American theoretical physicist-turned-cooking teacher, developed a deep passion for French pâtisserie and dedicated himself to mastering its techniques. Bugat, a distinguished French pastry chef and recipient of the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) title, contributed his extensive knowledge of traditional methods. Their collaboration produced one of the most respected books on French pastry, guiding home bakers through intricate recipes with precision and clarity.
On the weekend between my birthday and my mother’s, I felt a sudden pull toward this recipe, a longing for the flavors of my childhood. As I opened the book, I discovered something unexpected—her handwritten notes in the margins. Familiar loops and flourishes, small adjustments, little reminders, all in her hand. With each step, I could almost hear her voice guiding me, her notes offering a sense of familiarity. The scent of butter and rum filled the kitchen, wrapping me in a memory that felt both distant and close at once.
Classic Baba au Rhum
Prep Time 15 minutes + 2 to 3 hours rising, Cook Time 20 minutes, Servings 8
Ingredients
For the Baba Dough:
2 teaspoons (17 grams) active dry yeast
4 tablespoons warm water
1/4 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour (for yeast mixture)
1 1/3 cups (170 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (16 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (4 grams) fine salt
2 tablespoons warm water
4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the savarin molds
For the Rum Syrup:
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
a generous 2 cups (500 milliliters) water
a scant 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) dark rum
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) Grand Marnier
1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
Zest of 1 orange
Crème Chantilly:
a generous 3/4 cup (200 milliliters) heavy cream, whipped with 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the Dough
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 4 tablespoons of warm water. Stir in 1/4 cup (30 grams) of flour and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 1 to 2 hours in a warm place, or until doubled in size. In French kitchens, this is called a 'pouliche'. Pouliche is nothing more than a very wet dough that pre-ferments.
Dissolve the sugar and salt in 2 tablespoons of water.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the remaining flour. With the motor on, add the butter and process until it resembles cornmeal. Add the pouliche and 1 egg. With the motor running, add the second egg, and the dissolved sugar and salt. Let the motor run for 3 minutes. The baba dough will be very elastic, warm, and well mixed. The consistency is like slime (parents will understand this better).
Put the batter into a piping bag with a large plain tip.
Butter petite savarin molds generously. Pipe batter in and let the molded babas sit in a warm kitchen until risen to the top of the mold, about 45 minutes.
Bake the Babas
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
Put the babas in the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a toothpick stuck into the baba to make sure it comes out clean.
Remove from the molds and let cool on a wire rack.
Make the Rum Syrup
In a saucepan, combine sugar, water, vanilla bean, and orange zest. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and stir in the rum and Grand Marnier.
Soak the Babas
Dip the cooled babas into the warm syrup, ensuring they absorb the liquid thoroughly. Let them rest for a few minutes to soak up the flavor.
Serve
Garnish with Crème Chantilly and serve with a bottle of high quality aged rum. Allow your guests to add an extra tablespoon or two to their baba.
Notes: Babas can be baked in various molds and sizes. The traditional choice is a savarin mold, which creates a large ring-shaped cake that can be sliced at the table. For individual servings, petite savarin molds produce donut-sized babas, while baba molds, which are small cylindrical molds, are also a popular option. The choice of mold affects the final presentation as well as the baking time, with larger molds requiring longer baking periods. However, it does not alter the signature airy texture and rich, syrup-soaked flavor of this classic dessert.
