I remember this indulgently delicious rum-soaked Neapolitan dessert from my childhood, when it made frequent appearances on the Sunday dinner table along with other typical southern Italian sweets. The last time I had babà al rum, Neapolitan Rum Cake, was around 2003 in Naples, in a caffè in the Galleria Umberto I. It was, needless to say, a memorable experience.
Funny how some wonderful dishes seem to go out of fashion. Once upon a time, you could find babà in any Italian pastry shop, but these days, in the US anyway, you’ll have to hunt it down—or make it yourself. Good news is, while babà may be a bit time-consuming it is not at all hard to make. All this rum cake is, at the end of the day, is a sweet dough, enriched with butter and eggs, baked until golden brown and soaked in rum-laced syrup. Rich by itself, the resulting cake is often served with crema pasticcera (pastry cream) or whipped cream. It can also be garnished with mixed berries, which is a bit lighter and healthier. Neapolitan Rum Cake makes a wonderful presentation for an important dinner, and it is often served for holidays like Christmas or Easter.
Ingredients
Makes one large babà, enough to serve 6-8 persons, or more
For the dough:
- 300g (10-1/2 oz) flour
- 2 Tbs dry active yeast
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) lukewarm water
- 100g (3-1/2 oz) mealy potato, steamed, peeled and mashed
- 75g (3/4 stick) of butter, softened
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of sugar
- 3 eggs
For the rum syrup:
- 350g (12 oz) sugar
- 500ml (2 cups) water
- Rum, 150m (1/2 cup) or more, to taste
For topping (optional):
- Crema pasticcera (see this post for the recipe)
- Whipped cream
- Mixed berries, napped with a large spoonful of the rum syrup
- Extra rum
Directions
Proof the yeast by mixing it with 50g (2 oz) of the flour and the water in a small bowl. Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm place (like inside of a turned off oven) for about 30 minutes. It’ll be ready when it ‘bubbles’ like so:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, using the paddle on low speed, mix together the rest of the flour, mashed potato, butter salt and sugar until it has taken on a grainy consistency. Then start adding the eggs, one by one. Stop the mixer and add the proofed yeast, then continue until you’ve achieved a uniform, very stick dough:
Grease a 24cm/9-1/2in ring mold very well. (NB: Do this even if you’re ring mold is supposedly non-stick; trust me, it helps.) Gather up the dough into a ball with a spatula and place it in the mold, evening it out as much as you can. The sticky dough can be hard to handle, but persist; it is easiest to use your hands for the operation.
Cover the mold with a towel and let is sit for an hour or two, until it has at least doubled in volume, filling up the mold:
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the mold (uncovered) in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the dough has turned golden brown on top and a paring knife or toothpick inserted into it comes out perfectly clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its mold for about 10-15 minutes.
While the cake is cooling, make the syrup: Add water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for about a minute, then add a good splash (or two) of rum. Simmer for another minute or so. (NB: If it’s more convenient to make the syrup ahead of time, make sure to reheat it before proceeding to the next step.)
After the cake has cooled off a bit but is still warm, prick the top of the babà all over with a paring knife or other sharp object to perforate the surface. Spoon the rum syrup, little by little, all over the top of the cake and around the edges, too, so it runs down the sides and reaches the bottom of the mold. Continue until you’ve used up all but a few spoonfuls of the syrup. (If garnishing the babà with mixed berries, save another spoonful for that, too.) Let the cake sit in its mold for another 10-15 minutes to allow the syrup to penetrate it completely.
Turn the cake over on to a serving platter and unmold it. Spoon the remaining syrup over the top, and fill the center, if you like, with crema pasticcera, whipped cream or mixed berries. And now for my little special chef’s secret: if you want some extra oomph, drizzle more rum over the top of the cake, as much as you like…
When the cake has completely cooled, slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes on Neapolitan Rum Cake
Babà al rum is perhaps the best known Neapolitan dessert, but it is not, of course, exclusively Neapolitan. Most Americans know this rum cake as a French dessert. In fact, some sources say that it was probably invented in Poland, as a variation on a cake called babka. It is said that the 18th century King Stanislas the Good ordered that liquor, originally a sweet wine, be added to the babka to make it a bit less dry. How it made its way to Naples, I don’t really know, but I imagine it was probably during the French Bourbon reign over the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It is another of many dishes showing that French influence in Neapolitan cooking.
King Stanislas. From this portrait it looks as if he might have had a bit too much babà…
Neapolitan Rum Cake can be served in other kinds of molds and, when it’s served to you in a caffè or you buy it in a pastry shop, it is more than likely you’ll find it made as little individual cakelets. I’ve seen recipes that tell you to add currents to the dough, but I’ve never tried it that way. Ditto for using limoncello instead of rum, something I’ve read about but not tried.
The unusual inclusion of potato in the dough for Neapolitan Rum Cake comes from Jeanne Caròla Francesconi’s recipe in her classic La cucina napoletana, which, as regular readers will know, is my bible for all things concerning Neapolitan cuisine.
Babà (Neapolitan Rum Cake)
Ingredients
- For the dough:
- 300 g 10-1/2 oz flour
- 2 Tbs dry active yeast
- 100 ml 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 100 g 3-1/2 oz mealy potato, steamed, peeled and mashed
- 75 g 3/4 stick of butter, softened
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of sugar
- 3 eggs
- For the rum syrup:
- 350 g 12 oz sugar
- 500 ml 2 cups water
- Rum 150m (1/2 cup) or more, to taste
- For topping optional:
- Crema pasticcera see this post for the recipe
- Whipped cream
- Mixed berries napped with a large spoonful of the rum syrup
- Extra rum
Instructions
- Proof the yeast by mixing it with 50g (2 oz) of the flour and the water in a small bowl. Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm place (like inside of a turned off oven) for about 30 minutes. It'll be ready when it 'bubbles'.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, using the paddle on low speed, mix together the rest of the flour, mashed potato, butter salt and sugar until it has taken on a grainy consistency. Then start adding the eggs, one by one. Stop the mixer and add the proofed yeast, then continue until you've achieved a uniform, very stick dough.
- Grease a ring mold very well. (NB: Do this even if you're ring mold is supposedly non-stick; trust me, it helps.) Gather up the dough into a ball with a spatula and place it in the mold, evening it out as much as you can. The sticky dough can be hard to handle, but persist; it is easiest to use your hands for the operation.
- Cover the mold with a towel and let is sit for an hour or two, until it has at least doubled in volume, filling up the mold.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the mold (uncovered) in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the dough has turned golden brown on top and a paring knife or toothpick inserted into it comes out perfectly clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its mold for about 10-15 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, make the syrup: Add water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for about a minute, then add a good splash (or two) of rum. Simmer for another minute or so. (NB: If it's more convenient to make the syrup ahead of time, make sure to reheat it before proceeding to the next step.)
- After the cake has cooled off a bit but is still warm, prick the top of the babà all over with a paring knife or other sharp object to perforate the surface. Spoon the rum syrup, little by little, all over the top of the cake and around the edges, too, so it runs down the sides and reaches the bottom of the mold. Continue until you've used up all but a few spoonfuls of the syrup. (If garnishing the babà with mixed berries, save another spoonful for that, too.) Let the cake sit in its mold for another 10-15 minutes to allow the syrup to penetrate it completely.
- Turn the cake over on to a serving platter and unmold it. Spoon the remaining syrup over the top, and fill the center, if you like, with crema pasticcera, whipped cream or mixed berries. And now for my little special chef's secret: if you want some extra oomph, drizzle more rum over the top of the cake, as much as you like...
- When the cake has completely cooled, slice, serve and enjoy!
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33 Comments on “Babà al rum (Neapolitan Rum Cake)”
Good Sunday Morning from sunny Ontario. I adore Baba and have some wonderful renditions of it over the years.
I will try your recipe.
Question??? Am I reading 2 Tbs. to mean 2 tablespoons dry yeast???
Please respond ASAP, would love to make this for family next weekend.
Dolores Greco
Yes, I know it seems like a lot but the dough needs to be extra-spongy to soak up the rum!
Just made this & I can testify to its greatness. Really light and full of flavour. Added some orange zest and the juice of half an orange into the syrup, and also subtracted 100gr of sugar. I would strongly advise using a different recipe for the crema pasticcera though – the one indicated above was incredibly sweet. Overall, a great success and a wonderful recreation of the baba I was served in Rome yesterday!
This was a Sunday staple in our home, from one of the local pastry shops in NJ. Sadly, these family run businesses have mostly closed and the traditional special occasion baba no longer appears when we venture back. You reminded me that with a little time and patience, it is easy to revisit old memories.
Apparently there are some places left in NY that have it, but otherwise it seems we need to keep those memories alive ourselves!
I made my first baba au rhum last year for Christmas! I’d only had the small individual cakes prior to that, but I love presenting a large cake filled with whip cream and topped with glacéed fruits. I look forward to trying your version.
Yours sounds really nice, David, topped with whipped cream and glacéed fruits, very elegant.
Hi Frank. What a tasty recipe. I like babà al rum but I have not tried yet to make it. Thanks for sharing your recipes…il sounds very yummy. Paola
Thanks, Paola! Definitely worth trying out, especially for those of us here who don’t have access to pastry shops that offer it.
I’ve had this before but never even thought of making it myself. But I love rum in baked goods, so this would be a natural for me. Really nice — thanks so much
You’re welcome John. Definitely worth a try…
Want. Now. With my morning coffee. Rum included.
Breakfast of champions… 😉
The classics are always the best — that’s why they’re classics. I’ve never made or tasted this cake. I would love to sample it — since we live in the Midwest I guess it’s up to me to make it since I’d never find it around here. I really enjoy reading your history. Buona giornata!
It’s a rarity where we live, too, so yes, homemade is the only way to enjoy it. Buona giornata anche a te!
Bravo! Going to try it❤️
Thanks, Karen! Let us know how it turns out.
Thank you for this lovely recipe Frank, This is one of my favorite cakes. very good opening too.
I have tried to find a good ” baba au run “. At last I found.Thank you.
Do you use all purpose flour or self rising please? Since yeast is used, I’m thinking all purpose?
Yes, all purpose!
Do you use all purpose flour or self rising please?
Whenever we visit the Amalfi Coast we make sure to not just have babà al rum, but we also pick up a boozy jar of babà to bring home with us. We’ve never tried to make babà al rum ourselves, but your post inspires us.
Thanks, guys! Worth a try making it at home. Not difficult at all.
guardando le tue foto mi è venuta una voglia matta di babà, sono anni che non ne mangio uno !
Pure per me erano anni che non mangiavo il babà. Felice di riscoprire i suoi sapori!
Well Frank, Babà is a dessert I love to eat in Italy – but it has to have that rum or liqueur of some sort – not just sugar water and artificial rum flavoring, as some places serve it. I always borrow a fluted mold from a friend when I made a babà. She brought it back from Salerno long ago and it makes a glorious presentation. Now I have a yen for this wonderful Italian pastry – with the cream and the berries please.
I agree completely, Linda!
My French mother always served baba, but it was always too strong for me! Now, of course I appreciate it, and yours looks perfect!
Thanks so much, Mimi! Very kind of you to say. :=)
Una maravillosa receta, acompañada de una magistral entrada y una estupenda explicación. Gracias por compartir.
Gracias a Ud., Sonsoles, por su comentario!
looks divine and your a skilled baker
Thanks so much, Rebecca! The funny thing is, I’m not much of a baker at all. Well, at least I don’t have much experience at it. That’s how very easy this recipe is.