A FRIDAY TREAT

“Work is the meat of life, pleasure the dessert.” - B. C. Forbes

Another hard week is over and another evening of exhaustion. I am certainly glad that the weekend is here and that Friday evening at home can be a relaxing time of unwinding and de-stressing. After a delightful home-made meal, what better dessert than rum baba, the classic French pâtissier’s delight?

BABÁ AU RHUM

Ingredients - for the babá

2          cups plain flour

125g    molten butter

3          whole eggs

1/2        cup milk

1/2        cup sugar

1               packet dried active yeast (7g)

Vanillin sugar, pinch of salt

for the rum syrup

2          glassfuls water

2          glassfuls brown sugar

1/2        cup white rum.

Method

Take one cup of flour and mix with it the butter, sugar and the yeast that has been dissolved in the warm milk. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients have been well incorporated. Add each egg, well beaten and continue to mix, finally adding the vanilla, salt and remaining flour. Pour into a 2-litre turban cake mould and leave to rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Bake in a moderate oven (175˚C) for about half an hour or until golden brown. Boil the sugar and water until a syrup is formed (approximately 18 minutes). Remove from the flame and allow to cool slightly then stirring in the rum. Pour the cool syrup over the hot babá and allow to cool thoroughly. Serve with whipped Chantilly cream and fresh fruit if desired.