A fresh start for 2011

I'd love this fresh start to be for me and as Movie Dinners is out in the USA on the 5th of January 2011 perhaps it will be but lets start with something a little more realistic. I'd like to revive the rum baba.

Rum Baba

Babette’s Feast (1987)

As a finale to a magnificent celebratory meal of thanksgiving the “Savarin au Rhum avec des Figues et Fruit Glacée” seems an ideal choice. Translate the French into language usually found on menus in more plebian establishments and you get Rum Baba.

Along with the Black Forest gateaux the Rum Baba’s fame peaked in the Seventies as a sophisticated dinner party dessert. Women in kaftans wheeled rum babas proudly into the through lounge on their hostess trolleys. Karen Carpenter accompanied this momentous occasion with her rendition of “we’ve only just begun” and the gentlemen filled the room with the fug from their slim panatellas.

Heston and Delia have both revived and updated the gateaux but the Rum Baba has long been neglected. Consigned to the back of kebab shop chiller cabinets it awaits rediscovery. Babette chose food for her guests that expressed her thanks in a way words simply couldn’t. Serve Rum Baba’s to your guests and they may be speechless too. There is no need to preface the pudding with a large Doner, extra chili sauce, and several pints of lager.

Mise en scene

Batter

125g plain flour

100ml milk

75g softened butter

1 x 7g sachet yeast

2 medium eggs

1 tbsp caster sugar

Pinch of salt

Syrup

300g granulated sugar

300ml water

Juice of a lemon

1 dsp rum per person

6 individual rum baba moulds (available online)

How to …….

Pre heat oven to 180C Gas 4

1. Pour the milk into a jug and warm in the microwave (zap for 20 seconds.) Tip in the yeast and stir. Leave in a warm draught free place for the yeast to activate.

2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Using one hand as a mixer stir in the sugar. Once frothy, pour in the yeast and milk mixture and tip in the eggs and the softened butter. Using a clawed hand in a circular motion mix until the ingredients come together as a smooth batter.

3. Leave this batter mixture to rise for up to 15 minutes. Butter your moulds well and place onto a baking tray. After about 15 minutes transfer the batter to the moulds. Fill each only 2/3rds full as the batter will continue to prove and rise. Leave for a further 20 to 30 minutes before baking for 30 minutes until golden. Remove from the moulds and cool on a cooling rack

4. Make the syrup by placing the sugar, water and lemon juice in a pan. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar and the boil rapidly for 2 minutes. Remove form the heat and add the 6 dsps of rum. Cool.

5. Soak each baba in the syrup. Place in a dish and refrigerate until needed. Serve with figs and cold cream.

Voice over

To ensure the syrup soaks in well prick the sponges all over before soaking in the syrup. Left over syrup can be used to make Rum fizz or even a daiquiri so long as there weren’t too many crumbs remaining!