Rum Baba
Instructions
To prepare the baba, begin by melting the brewer's yeast in the lukewarm milk together with 2 teaspoons of sugar (1), stirring for a few moments with a teaspoon: wait a few minutes, until foam forms on the surface. Put the flour into the bowl of a food processor (fitted with a dough hook), add the 4 whisked eggs (2) and later the yeast mixture (3), making sure the ingredients slowly blend together. Knead the dough well until smooth and lumpless.
Meanwhile mix the softened butter with the remaining sugar (4-5) and add it little by little to the mixture into the food processor (6), raising the speed.
After having obtained quite a soft mixture, pour it into a bowl previously greased with butter (7). Cover the bowl with cling film and let it rise in a lukewarm place for an hour and a half (8). Then put the dough into 12 small moulds, with a 2 1/3-inch (6 cm) height and a 1 -inch (4,5 cm) diameter, previously greased with butter (9).
Fill the moulds half way up and let them rise for 20 minutes more (10); then bake them in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 15 minutes. Take the babas out of the oven and let them cool down (11-12).
Meanwhile prepare the syrup by boiling the water with 2 cups (500 g) of sugar for a couple of minutes and add as much rum as you like. Once ready, dip the babas into the syrup, which will increase in volume as they absorb the liquid. Melt 2 tablespoons of apricot jam with a tablespoon of water in a small saucepan and brush it onto the babas, so that they'll become glossy and very appetizing.
