Flaming Baba au Rhum Recipe (2024)

The chocolate didn't appeal to me in this recipe. Instead, I went with raisins, which Melissa Clark said is more traditional. I used 1/3 C raisins soaked in about 2 Tb of dark rum. I folded them in th batter after the first rise. The cake turned out delicious and I can't imagine it being better with chocolate.

THE way to get syrup infused is to put the cooled brioche back in pan, pour on the liquid, and let macerate before unmolding again.

Substituting cake flour will be a very bad idea. This is a yeast bread and needs gluten to keep its shape.

This was a huge hit at a dinner party I just threw. I followed the instructions but added some candied orange rinds left over from Christmas and a splash of Cointreau to the rum. It was fabulous. I also added a bit more chocolate than the recipe called for and sadly, it all melted together causing large chunks of chocolate, not that anyone complained. Perhaps next time just a bit less chocolate.

This is by far one of my favorite cakes from the NYT. The cake is light and airy, and it's even yummier leftover for a day or two, as the cake will absorb all the excess rum and develop an even stronger flavor.

I added a teaspoon of vanilla to cut the rum taste slightly - I thought it worked well, adding another layer of flavor.

This turned out beautifully . Next time I would cut the rum quantity in half however and substitute some additional non-alcoholic syrup since the alcohol flavor of the syrup was a touch strong for my taste. My family loved the cake and the syrup and cream were a big hit as well!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/savarin_with_chantilly_30509I like the soaking method in the above recipe for Savarin (Paul Hollywood). “ When cool enough to handle, remove the savarin from the tin and pour half of the syrup into the tin. Gently place the savarin back into the tin to soak up the syrup and cool completely. Pour the remaining syrup into a roasting tin, then place the savarin into the syrup and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to a serving plate.“

Since it's just an enriched yeast bread, and enriched yeast breads freeze well, I'd think this an excellent candidate for the freezing treatment. Biggest problem may be that it's going to take quite a while to defrost, and you'll probably want to defrost it unwrapped because while it'll dry out a bit, you're soaking it in syrup and so drier is better than having moisture condense on the outside.

Strangely, we rather hated this. I'm not sure why. I think we had too much booze in it. And the flames were - shall we say unsettling? I brought out iced cream and we all ignored the Baba.

Wonder if substituting Genepy for the rum would get you close to Le Rock’s version?

The cake was delicious and devoured quickly. I wish I had used a very simple bundt pan instead of my heavily fluted pan. I did butter it generously but the cake stuck hard. I also wish I had used chopped dried apricots marinated in rum rather than chocolate which migrated to the bottom and sides where it stuck hard to the pan. I’ll make both those changes when I make it again, which I will.

It surprised me that the batter was so thin and runny! Maybe I did something wrong, but it did not at all resemble the video. I was actually very disappointed. We used to get baba au rhum in jars in NYC back in the day that were much better, and a lot less work. Not even the flambe was exciting.

Can I substitute Constant Comment tea for the liquid in the syrup and skip the straining part?

If I want to make the cake two or three days in advance, what's the best way of keeping it fresh? Should I soak it in the rum mixture right away, or on the day I'll be serving it? Thanks!

It was fun, but not worth the rising times for me...

Perfect as is, no changes. Mine absorbed all the liquid sauce, I had nothing left for serving but it was not necessary as the cake was super good and super moist.

Will the cake be too dry if I bake it a day before actually serving? And should I do the soaking step the next day...as I plan to take it for a Sunday brunch.

We used finely chopped dried apricots in lieu of chocolate or raisins and it was delicious. I thought the recipe was unclear as to when to soak the cake, we started pouring the syrup over about an hour before serving. It was a delicious birthday dessert and not too boozy (I hate boozy desserts and I liked it)! The flame aspect was a little underwhelming, a long lighter might have packed more punch...

So easy to over cook!! Definitely pull the cake as soon as it looks gold. Next time I might double the chocolate. Easy, quite a sow and tasty.

How many grams are 10 table spoons of butter?

The cake looked beautiful when I turned it out of the pan, and I was very excited about the sauce because it called for orange peel, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. However, I was disappointed in the end result. The rum completely overpowered it. If I make it again I will add the rum to sauce before it cools so the alcohol can cook out. I poked holes in the slightly warm cake so the sauce could absorb more easily.

One of my favorite desserts but with candied orange rind or yellow raisins. Chocolate? I don’t think that works.

I am glad to see the switch to metric and think it is a good thing (to have them now listed before cup measurements. However, the cream and creme fraiche should also be in metric to be consistent, as well as the 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Could I use bourbon or Amaretto?