NEAPOLITAN RUM BABA CAKE, a super soft and delicious leavened dessert perfect for celebrations, ideal as a Sunday dessert.
If you ask me what my favorite dessert is, well, definitely baba, it always has been, followed by meringue and puff pastry or shortcrust, so I couldn’t resist making a beautiful Neapolitan rum baba cake and being indifferent to the taste, of course.
The recipe for the Neapolitan rum baba cake I use is from a friend, a recipe I’ve had for many years and wouldn’t trade for any other, it always rises perfectly.
Often for the syrup, citrus peels are also used, but if I want a rum dessert, let it be rum, without adding citrus to not alter the flavor; indeed, there is a noticeable difference.
Anyway, if you’ve never tried it, now is the time to make this dessert, perhaps for the upcoming Christmas, it’s rather simple to prepare, especially if you use a stand mixer like I did.
But I must say that it can also be made by hand; it takes a little time, but the dough is soft, so the work is not tiring, just long.
Then decorate it as you like, with Nutella, custard, or chocolate or leave it in its “nakedness” because it’s excellent that way too.
Follow me in the kitchen today, it’s Neapolitan rum baba cake!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 7 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8-10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use Caputo Red)
- 1/2 cube fresh yeast
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 5 tbsps butter
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- rum
Steps
Prepare a yeast starter, place 1 cup of flour, the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/4 cup of water in a bowl, mix, cover, and let it rise for 30-40 minutes.
Pour the yeast starter into the mixer, add the remaining flour, sugar, softened butter, milk, and eggs, and knead well at medium speed until the dough becomes elastic, about 30-40 minutes.
If the dough is too liquid, add a little more flour, 3-4 tablespoons, but it should still be very soft, so don’t overdo it, or you risk compromising the cake’s softness.
Place it in a bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 6 hours.
Prepare the syrup by pouring water with sugar and rum into a saucepan, and let the sugar dissolve. If using rum flavoring, like the baba fantasy flavor, add a bit of alcohol.
After rising, pour the dough into a 9 oz mold, cover, and let it rise for 20 minutes.
Turn on the oven and set it to 350°F, bake the cake for 30 minutes, and do a toothpick test before taking it out.
Place the baba on a rack, put a container underneath and start drenching the cake with the syrup multiple times, poke it with a toothpick in several spots and continue soaking, collecting the liquids from underneath.
You can also place the baba in the container to soak better, but be careful not to break it.
Place the cake on the serving dish and decorate with whipped cream tufts and candied cherries if you prefer.
Bon appétit
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