Baba

Ingredients:

Woman

• 1/3 cup black raisins
• 1 tbsp dark rum
• 70 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 0.5 cups of milk
• 1 packet of dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 and 2/3 cups premium flour
• 0.5 tsp salt
• Rum syrup, recipe below
• 3/4 cup apricot jam
• 1 tbsp. water
• Whipped cream, recipe below

Rum syrup

• 1 cup of sugar
• 2/3 cup dark rum
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped cream

• 2 cups chilled heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine the raisins and rum. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and grease the inside of a 5-cup (16 x 9 cm) rum baba mold with a tube in the middle. Grease all the curves of the mold thoroughly. Heat the milk to 110-115°F (43-46°C) and pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the yeast and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs first, then the flour, salt, and the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes. Scrape the dough down the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment and form it into a ball. It will be very soft. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
3. Drain the rum from the raisins. Fold the raisins into the batter with a spatula and spoon them into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface of the batter, cover the pan with a damp towel, and let rise until the batter reaches the edges of the pan, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 190°C and prepare the rum syrup.
5. Bake the baba for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes, then turn the rum baba out of the pan and onto a baking rack set over a baking sheet. Slowly pour the rum syrup over the warm cake, allowing it to fully absorb. The liquid will soak into the cake, so be sure to use all of the syrup.
6. Heat the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water until it becomes liquid, strain through a sieve, and spread over the rum baba. Serve with whipped cream in the center of the cake and a separate bowl of whipped cream on the side.

7. Rum syrup

   
   Combine sugar and 1.5 cups water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a 1-liter heatproof measuring cup and let cool. Stir in the rum and vanilla.
   
   

   Whipped cream

   
   Whip the cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. When it begins to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip the cream, or you'll end up with butter!