Baba al' Rum**

FOR THE DOUGH *

about 2 1/2 cups flour
1 packet of dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
about 2 tablespoon sugar
about 1/4 teaspoon salt
about 4 eggs
about 1/2 cup butter


FOR THE SYRUP
about 4 cups water
about 2 cups sugar

FOR THE RUM FLAVOR

about 1 cup rum


*Dariole molds are needed to cook the dough in order to get the required mushroom shape


** Visit www.french-delights.com. or www.cookeryclub.co.uk/recipes for exact measurements.

PREPARING THE DOUGH

1. Make the yeast dough, slowly incorporating the eggs, and adding the softened butter at the end.

2. Grease dariole molds.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

4. Place dough in the greased individual metal moulds, 3/4 full.

5. Leave to rise in a warm place until the dough has risen to fill the entire molds.



BAKING THE DOUGH

5. Bake for about 20 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and let the babas cool.



FLAVORING THE DOUGH

7. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and boil.

8. Dip the babas in the boiling syrup.

9. Drain on wire rack.

10. When the babas have cooled drizzle them with rum.

11. Drain on plates.

12. Store in fridge.

13. Reapply the drained rum on the babas, before serving.

"Baba al rum" are not that difficult to make but unless one owns dariole molds (or popover molds) one can't make them at home. As I don't have any such molds, I decided against making these pastries. However if one does owns these molds and one wants to try out a baba recipe visit: www.french-delights.com. or www.cookeryclub.co.uk/recipes. There are many other sites that have baba al' rum recipes, but they don't resemble those that are presently being sold in local Italian Montreal pastry shops. Other recipes on the web include raisins, candied citron and/or dried currents which are not what Italian pastry chefs generally use to make these delicious pastries. One will find "baba alla crema con macedonia" in Montreal pastry shops, but these are simply babas which are filled with Italian pastry cream. Also, while "torta baba" or "baba cake" are rarely sold in Montreal Italian pastry shops, the world-wide web has many recipes for this style of baba so obviously these rum-flavored cakes are popular with North Americans. The baba al' rum seen in the photo was bought at "Pasticceria Alati-Caserta" on Dante street. Not only is this pastry shop one of the oldest, if not the oldest in town, but it also offers "traditional" Italian pastries rather than Americanized ones (A very good thing!). That said, one has to keep in mind that many famous "Italian" pastries are not Italian at all. Many pastries originated in France, Austria or the Middle East. The majority of food historians say that baba al rum and torta baba (Baba cake) have their origins in France (the minority argue that they have their roots in Poland and/or the Middle East). Supposedly, baba al rum was brought to Italy by the French who controlled the region of Campania in the 18th century. In 1768 one of the daughters of the King of France resided in Naples and had her chefs prepare all the popular Parisian foods, which included rum-based desserts. One food historian traces the origin of the baba to a small French town named Luneville close to the German border, and credits a Pole by the name of Stanislaw Leszczynski (father-in-law to Louis XV of France) as the baba's creator. Supposedly, Stanislaw Leszcynski had the bright idea of taking a then well-known Polish dessert called babba (which was part panettone and part brioche) and dipping it in a glass of Madeira and viola, the French-style "baba" was born. A few years later, pastry chefs working for the French king at Versailles used Jamaican rum (rather than Madeira) to flavor the baba and that's how it has been flavored ever since. Also, as time went on, more elaborate versions of the baba became popular in France, including those with raisins, saffron and candied fruits. For awhile, the shape of the baba was associated with the dome of Haghia Sofia and the pastry was dubbed Ali Baba, after the hero of "A Thousand and One Nights." However, nowadays the shape of the baba is generally described as a "mushroom" and the links to "Ali Baba" have been severed. Actually, the leading historian of Italian pastry, Fabrizio Mangoni, defines the baba as "the pastry of the Enlightenment" as it was born from an idea originating in France. Nonetheless, by the turn of the 19th century, the baba became known to the world as "a typical Neapolitan pastry" and was no longer associated with the French enlightenment or the French aristocracy. While some food historians claim the word "baba" was coined by the Neapolitan people to mimic the sound of aimless but joyful and "sheepish" chatter (ba-ba-ba-ba), others claim the word, baba, is actually Polish in origin, and makes reference the Polish "babba" dessert. Sometime in the 19th century pastry chefs not only made baba pastries but they also started to make baba cakes. The practice continues to this day. Nowadays, many pastry chefs in Italy make the baba stuffed with limoncello and/or lemon cream, while others top it off with whipped cream. In some areas of Italy chefs flavor the pastry with Moscato others with cider. The variations seem limitless.... For more information on the history of the baba visit: www.lucianopignataro.com.... The photo of the (store-bought) baba al' rum was taken by the contributor.

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