Rum baba
Description
The pastry is simple and quick to prepare. First, prepare the yeast dough using the sponge method: Dissolve the yeast in water. Pour 60 ml of warm water (heated to 40°C) into a bowl, add the yeast and half of the indicated amount of flour. Mix well. Sprinkle the surface of the sponge with flour, cover with a cloth, and place in a warm spot to ferment for 2.5–3 hours. Take another 60 ml of water and dissolve the egg, salt, and sugar in it. When the sponge has doubled in volume and starts to collapse, add the prepared mixture and the remaining half of the flour. Knead the dough. At the very end, add softened margarine. Sprinkle the dough surface with flour, cover with a cloth, and place in a warm spot for another 2–3 hours. During fermentation, knead the dough a couple of times and add raisins. The finished dough should hold its shape well, not stick to hands or utensils. Shape the dough into balls. Grease the baking molds with oil and place the dough balls inside. The molds should be filled no more than one-third of their height. Bake the babas at 200–220°C for 45–60 minutes, depending on their size. Remove the baked pastries from the molds and let them mature for 4–6 hours. During this time, prepare the soaking syrup and icing. To make the syrup, combine sugar with water, bring to a boil, and skim off the foam. Boil for 2–3 minutes, then cool. Add brandy and rum essence, and mix well. Now prepare the icing. Put sugar into hot water and stir until dissolved, then simmer over low heat, occasionally skimming off foam. Test the icing readiness as follows: take a drop of syrup and drop it into cold water. If the drop turns into a sugar ball that can be rolled between fingers, the icing is ready. Pierce the baba in several places and dip it into the syrup for 10 seconds. After 20 minutes, you can spread the ready icing over the surface of the rum babas. Enjoy your meal! Serve with tea or coffee.