Rum Baba (Baba Aux Rum)

The texture of Rum Baba is incredibly unique — soft and delicate like a rich brioche, yet wonderfully moist from the fragrant rum syrup that soaks into every bite. The balance of citrus, vanilla, butter, and rum creates a sophisticated flavor that feels both comforting and luxurious at the same time. Traditionally served with whipped cream, fresh berries, or pastry cream, it becomes an elegant dessert worthy of any celebration or dinner party.

What makes Rum Baba especially memorable is the contrast between its light airy structure and the intense flavor infused throughout the dessert. The syrup gives the baba a beautiful glossy finish while keeping the crumb tender and melt-in-your-mouth soft.

Although it looks like something straight from a French pastry shop, making Rum Baba at home is incredibly rewarding. It’s a timeless classic that always feels impressive, festive, and unforgettable.

Ingredients

Dough

• 150g milk
• 3 large eggs 
• 40g sugar 
• 3g dry instant
• 6g salt 
• 300g bread flour 
• 80g soft butter 
• Zest of 1 orange (optional for more flavor)

Rum syrup 

• 300g water
• 300g sugar
• 100g good dark rum
• Zest of 1 orange, sliced in strips

Glaze 

• 100g apricot jam
• 1 tsp rum

Chantilly cream 

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream 
• 2 tbs sugar
• Vanilla 

Directions 

Day 1

• 8 am in a bowl of mixer add milk, yeast, sugar, eggs and whisk all together. Add flour, mix until no dry flour remains, cover and let autolyse for 1 hour.
• 9 am start mixing the dough on low speed of your mixing machine for 3-4 minutes until well incorporated. 

Note: dough will seem too liquid, but don’t worry it will come up together as soon as gluten will be well developed.

• Increase the speed to medium high and continue kneading for 10-15 minutes until the dough will start to look stronger, with some of gluten strings developed.
• Add salt and mix for a couple more minutes.
• Add soft butter, mix for 15-20 more minutes on high speed until the dough comes up together and will do popping sound during mixing.

Note: make sure the temperature of the dough won’t go higher than 82F/28C, otherwise gluten will start to break apart.

• Cover the dough and let it proof for 2-3 hours at 80F/ 28C.
• During that time perform 2 stretches and folds.
• The dough should become slightly puffy.
• 12pm -1 pm transfer the dough to the fridge for cold fermentation until next day, or at least for 4 hours.

Note: chilled dough will make shaping easier. 

Day 2 (or 4 hours later)

• Remove the dough from refrigerator.
• Prepare muffin tins, or donut molds
• If using donut mold, roll the dough 1.5 inch thick, use donut cutter to cut the donuts and place them into molds to proof. (You should get about 12 )
• If using muffin tins, divide the dough into 12 pieces, round each one, and place into a muffin tins to proof.
• Cover and let them proof  for 1-2 hours at 78-80F /26-28C  until they get bigger and puffy.

Rum syrup 

• Meanwhile prepare the rum syrup, by bringing sugar and water simmering, until sugar has dissolved.
• Remove off the heat and, stir in the rum, and orange zest strips.  Let cool down. 
• Before using, remove the strips off.

Glaze 

• To make the glaze, heat the apricot jam with the rum in a microwave or over low heat to liquefy the jam.

• Preheat the oven 350F
• Bake babas for 18-22 minutes until golden brown.
• Let them cool.
• Soak each baba into a rum syrup, about 30 seconds on each side. 
• Transfer each babas to a cooling rack. Slide a piece of parchment or foil under the rack to catch excess liquid. Pour all of the remaining rum syrup  on top of each rum baba.

• Brush each rum baba with the apricot glaze.
• Prepare the chantilly cream by whisking heavy whipping cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks.
• Serve rum babas by piping whipped chantilly on top, decorated with orange zest strips soaked in syrup.

Enjoy 😊 

Rum Baba (Baba Aux Rhum)

389kcal

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Prep 40 minutes mins

Cook 22 minutes mins

Rise & Rest Time 19 hours hrs

Total 20 hours hrs 2 minutes mins

An elegant, classic European dessert sitting somewhere between a light bread and a delicate pastry. This method uses an enriched, high-hydration brioche-style dough that is heavily baked and then completely saturated in a sweet, citrus-infused dark rum syrup, finished with an apricot glaze and a cloud of pipeable Chantilly cream.

Servings 12 Individual Babas

Cuisine French

Ingredients

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The Enriched Baba Dough

• ▢ 150 g Milk
• ▢ 3 Large eggs
• ▢ 40 g Sugar
• ▢ 3 g Dry instant yeast
• ▢ 6 g Salt
• ▢ 300 g Bread flour
• ▢ 80 g Unsalted butter (softened completely to room temperature)
• ▢ Zest of 1 orange (optional, for flavor integration)

The Infused Rum Syrup

• ▢ 300 g Water
• ▢ 300 g Sugar
• ▢ 100 g High-quality dark rum
• ▢ Zest of 1 orange (sliced cleanly into long strips)

The Apricot Glaze

• ▢ 100 g Apricot jam
• ▢ 1 tsp Dark rum

The Chantilly Cream Decoration

• ▢ 1 cup Heavy whipping cream (kept ice-cold)
• ▢ 2 tbsp Sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp Vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

Equipment

• ▢
  Stand Mixer (Fitted with a dough hook, absolutely essential for this high-hydration dough)
• ▢
  Muffin Tins or Donut Molds
• ▢
  Cooling Rack
• ▢
  Pastry Brush
• ▢
  Piping Bag (Fitted with a star tip for cream decoration)
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Day 1 – High-Hydration Kneading & Cold Retard

1. 8:00 AM: In your stand mixer bowl, combine the 150g of milk, 3 large eggs, 40g of sugar, and 3g of dry instant yeast. Whisk thoroughly by hand until the yeast and sugar completely dissolve.
2. Dump all 300g of bread flour into the liquids (add optional orange zest here if using). Mix with a spoon just until the dry flour pockets vanish and a loose, sticky dough forms. Cover and let it rest undisturbed for 1 hour for the autolyse phase.
3. 9:00 AM: Attach your dough hook. Mix on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes to incorporate. The dough will look very wet and loose, but do not add flour; structure will build through mechanical action.
4. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and knead continuously for 10 to 15 minutes until the network strengthens and you see visible gluten sheets pulling from the sides. Sprinkle in the 6g of salt and mix for 2 more minutes.
5. Turn your mixer up to high speed and begin adding the 80g of soft butter a tablespoon at a time. Knead intensely for another 15 to 20 minutes. The dough will slap and make a loud popping sound against the bowl as it transforms into an incredibly glossy, smooth sheet. Safety check: Ensure your dough temperature doesn’t exceed 82°F (28°C) or the fat will separate.
6. Cover tightly and let bulk ferment for 2 to 3 hours at 80°F (28°C). Perform two wet-handed stretch-and-folds during the first 90 minutes.
7. 12:00 PM: Once the dough looks slightly puffy and light, transfer it directly into the refrigerator for an overnight cold fermentation (minimum 4 hours if baking same-day) to stiffen the fats for easy shaping.

Day 2 – Shaping, Proofing, and Baking

1. 8. 8:00 AM: Remove the chilled, firm dough from the refrigerator. Prepare your pans: * If using donut molds: Roll the cold dough out to a thickness of 1.5 inches. Cut individual rounds using a donut cutter and place them neatly into the molds. * If using muffin tins: Divide the cold dough mass into 12 equal pieces (approx. 50g each), roll them into smooth, tight rounds, and drop one into each greased muffin well.
2. 9. Cover loosely and proof at 78–80°F (26–28°C) for 1 to 2 hours until the babas grow significantly in size, looking fragile and puffy.
3. 10. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the babas for 18 to 22 minutes until the entire exposed crust is a deep, uniform golden brown. Let them cool completely.

Syrup Soaking, Glazing, and Cream Assembly

1. 11. Preparing the Syrup: While the pastries bake, combine 300g of water and 300g of sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat, stir in the 100g of dark rum and your orange zest strips, and let cool. Strain out the zest strips right before using and save them for decoration.
2. 12. The Soaking Sequence: Submerge each cooled baba completely into the cooled rum syrup, allowing it to soak for roughly 30 seconds per side until it behaves like a saturated sponge. Transfer them onto a wire cooling rack placed over a sheet of parchment paper to catch the run-off, then pour any remaining pan syrup evenly over the tops of the pastries.
3. 13. The Glaze: Warm your 100g of apricot jam with 1 teaspoon of rum in the microwave or over low heat until liquefied. Use a pastry brush to coat the exterior of each soaked baba with a shiny layer of warm glaze.
4. 14. In a chilled bowl, whip your 1 cup of heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of sugar and vanilla until soft, holdable peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag with a star tip, pipe a generous swirl of Chantilly cream over the top or into the center cavity of each Rum Baba, and decorate with the reserved rum-soaked orange strips before serving.

Nutrition

Calories389kcalCarbohydrates55gProtein6gFat15gSaturated Fat9gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat4gTrans Fat0.2gCholesterol80mgSodium67mgPotassium97mgFiber1gSugar35gVitamin A556IUVitamin C1mgCalcium44mgIron1mg

Notes

• The High-Speed Gluten Threshold: The dough for this recipe behaves more like a thick cake batter than a standard bread dough during the initial mixing phase. Do not panic or add extra flour. High-speed, continuous mechanical kneading is absolutely mandatory to force the developing gluten strings to link up and trap the high volume of moisture and eggs. The popping sound against the mixer bowl is your cue that the structure has successfully formed.
• Why Cold Fermentation is Vital: Because this dough contains an exceptionally high ratio of soft butter and eggs, attempting to shape it while warm is nearly impossible and incredibly messy. The cold overnight retard solidifies the internal butter fats completely, turning the volatile dough into a firm, workable paste that can be cleanly sliced, rounded, or stamped with a donut cutter without deflating.
• Syrup and Pastry Temperature Balancing: To achieve perfect, even syrup absorption without causing your pastries to disintegrate into mush, always match cold or completely cooled babas with cooled or warm syrup. If you submerge a boiling hot baba straight from the oven into boiling hot syrup, the starch bonds will break down instantly, causing the delicate dessert to collapse.
• Muffin Tin Indentation Hack: If you are using standard muffin tins rather than ring-shaped donut molds, you can easily create a visual nest to hold your Chantilly cream. Immediately upon removing the unsoaked babas from the oven, use the clean rounded back of a melon baller or a small tablespoon to gently press a 1/2-inch deep indentation straight down into the center of each hot top crust.

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