Rum babas by baker Mykola Nevrev
Cuisine: French
Author: Мария Каленская
Prep time: 1 hr
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hr 30 mins


Ingredients
For the dough:
  • 100 g ripe stiff wheat sourdough starter
  • 320 g strong flour
  • 280 g eggs (4 whole eggs + 2 yolks)
  • 80 g butter
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • ⅔ tsp salt
For syrup:
  • 800 g water
  • 400 g sugar
  • 300 g rum
For greasing:
  • butter
Cooking method
  1. In a large bowl, combine sourdough starter and eggs. Add flour, sugar and salt. Knead the dough for about 7 minutes with a food processor or with your hands until smooth. Add butter and knead the dough until it "takes" all the butter and becomes smooth - about 15 minutes. The finished dough will be soft and smooth. Grease the dough container with vegetable oil. Put the dough out with wet hands, cover with foil and leave in a warm place to rise for 3-4 hours.
  2. Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Grease the tins with butter. Transfer the dough to the table. Divide into pieces weighing about 50 g, transfer to tins and sprinkle a little with flour. Cover the tins with foil and leave to stand at room temperature for about 3-4 hours. The dough should visually grow and feel soft to the touch.
  3. Place a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180С. Pour a mug of hot water into a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven. Place the rum baba in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.
  4. Prepare syrup. Pour water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add sugar and rum. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce heat to low. Boil the syrup for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
  5. Remove rum babas from the tins, put them on the biscuit rack and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Dip each rum baba in turn in the still warm syrup so that the dough absorbs as much syrup as possible. Return the rum baba soaked in syrup to the wire rack. Serve cooled babas immediately or let them brew in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
My tips and tricks
Rum babas are ideal with some kind of cream. It can be classic cream, mascarpone cream, or custard. This gastronomic union will not be disturbed by any sour berries and some crunchy texture in the form of dried nuts or caramel crumbs. Italians often add Limoncello to syrup instead of rum. If you don't want to use alcohol, just boil some regular sugar syrup. Babas baked and soaked in syrup are perfectly stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Maria Kalenska Gastronomy Blog | http://www.myodessacuisine.com/recipes/rum-babas-by-baker-mykola-nevrev/